One of the challenges that could get in the way of your confidence even before you start a business is the fear of business. No, we don’t mean the fear of starting your own business. What we mean is the fear of the world of business. The language, the figures, the networking, recruiting, marketing and technology… The business world can seem scary for those thinking of entering it without any previous experience or knowledge.
This is understandable even for the brightest, most motivated to-be-entrepreneurs, as starting and running your own business does require knowledge that you didn’t know you needed to have. Especially in the startup stage, you will most likely undertake the roles of several departments such as accounting, marketing, sales, call centre and many more. And even after you’ve grown your business to a stage that those areas can be managed by employees, you still need to know how things all work. You need to be able to understand your business and all its components in order to be able to set suitable goals and guide your staff.
The thought of learning all sorts of business related things in order to coordinate your startup can be intimidating. For some, this pressure is enough to set back their dreams of starting their business before they even begin the journey. Sure, learning all aspects of business isn’t for everyone, and not completely necessary depending on your business idea and structure. Depending on the number of people involved in your business, you can share responsibilities based on strengths. Or, although not ideal for the long term, you can always reach out to friends and family for their help in some aspects of the business that you’re not confident in.
However, as entrepreneurs, you already know that nothing is off limits and that you can learn anything you set your mind to. And the good news? Business isn’t that complicated once you get the hang of some of the terms and concepts used. And there are a number of things to keep in mind when taking your first step into the business world to overcome the fear of it and start speaking its language.
You don’t need business education to understand business.
A large chunk of small businesses is owned and operated by people with particular skill sets, not any specific business knowledge. When you step outside and look around at all the businesses around, do you think their owners all went to business schools? Surely not.
Having had some experience or education in business could help when first starting your business, but it isn’t a requirement to have previous business knowledge. The complex matters dealt with in business schools are hardly relevant in a small business setting, anyway.
You don’t have to know everything before you start.
While every entrepreneur is different, there are a few things that all startup entrepreneurs should do or have before starting a business. And knowing everything is definitely not one of them.
You should learn how to do market research, write a simple business plan and understand the essential requirements of your business, all before you fully decide to go ahead with the business idea. Everything else can wait until you need to know it.
You only need to know what you need to know.
Just because you don’t know if you can ever become a business guru, that doesn’t mean that it should stop you from trying. And when you try, you’ll find that you don’t need to be a guru. You don’t need to know the ins and outs of business law or tax laws, and you don’t need to know all the theories, calculations or the up and coming marketing techniques.
What you spend your time on learning and managing will, and probably should, be restricted to those that are actually relevant and helpful for your business.
There are fun ways to learn business online.
If, however, learning is your thing and you would rather learn business in an educational setting rather than on the go, there are a lot of ways to do this without attending a university. While not necessary for starting a small business, taking a few business classes online can help you understand some of the ideas and concepts before you fully enter the business world, and give you some general knowledge that you could use down the line when your business is ready to take the next step.
Check out Lynda.com where you have access to around 6000 online video courses in various discipline such as business, design, technology, and so on. Another great online resource is Udemy, where you can take various courses within the business umbrella, such as finance, communications, management, sales, and more.
Everything makes sense and comes together in the end.
The most important thing to remember is that the world won’t end just because you don’t understand something. Your business doesn’t just depend on your knowledge, and just because you can’t comprehend a concept, it doesn’t mean that it will fail.
When you come across certain aspects of business that you don’t quite get, don’t panic or beat yourself up over it. Chances are, somewhere down the line when you’ve got the hang of your business life, it’ll all come together and you’ll have an “a-ha!” moment.
Business can be intimidating for those who haven’t come from a business background. There is no question about it. However, just like everything else that you’ve achieved in your life so far, there is nothing that you can’t own when you tackle it and just give it a go. Remember your first day on your first job. The thought of learning the new company’s systems, tools, culture, schedules, and everything else probably seemed impossible. You probably felt a bit self-conscious, too. But soon enough, you were one of those experts that the newbies were intimidated by on their first day. And now, the thought of starting a new job at another company doesn’t intimidate you so much because you know you can do it. Business is just like that.