Episode 040 – 5 Myths About Starting A Business

There is such folklore surrounding business start-ups, do this, don’t do this, and the information just seems to be endless. But there are some fundamental rules, much like baking a cake that you need to follow.

You have to start at the right time

Right time, when is ever the right time to start anything! Doom and gloom is always lurking around every corner it feels lately. There will always be a time when the economy is not performing, banks are not lending, and financial matters seem pointless. Fun fact, did you know that after the great depression more millionaires were made than ever before. Yes, times are tough but as the economy and individuals come out of those times, they want to spend!!!! So why not you? Fortune favours the brave, and your time is right now to start a business. Challenging times help you to look at the problems that you customers may be facing and come up with a creative solution to continue to serve and fix problems. Do not allow fear to manifest into procrastination about starting your business. Action is the best medicine to kill fear and create real change and results.

You need lots of money to start

False, false, false, blind optimism will make you spend way more than you need to start a business. There will be an investment needed from you absolutely, but often new start-ups get blinded by the lights and the big promises. You need to understand that everything takes time and regardless if you had bucket loads of cash and got your whole business setup by someone else, it still does not mean it will work. Your business becomes a living part of who you are, and it grows and refines its messaging as you grow with the business. For me I never recommend throwing good money after bad, but by systematically creating and being smart about where you spend your money.

You need to work 24/7

Following on from our previous myth of needing lots of money, starting a small business is hard work, everyone knows that it’s going to take some time to get it off the ground. But that does not mean you work yourself into the ground! Yes, there are going to be times where extra effort and longer nights are required to get your business moving, but neglecting your personal health is a quick ticket to disaster. Time away from your business to rest your mind, often brings clarity and reason to challenging situations. Having a great night’s sleep and time with the family is no different when starting your business. Taking time to eat properly and nurturing your body is the key to keep your mind sharp and firing on all cylinders. Meditation, journaling, and gratitude practices are very common among the best in the business. Practicing gratitude also helps to keep you motivated and avoiding the feeling of overwhelm and tiredness.

Success is about a winning idea

How many people have you spoken with who have had million-dollar ideas, and in reality, they probably were, but did they ever get off the ground? Poor execution kills more dreams than bad ideas ever have. So, this myth is well and truly busted. Curiosity and passion and the two hallmarks of a successful start-up, always questioning, always searching, and refining their business messaging and systems. Often thinking about a winning business idea, you automatically think that it needs to be original and never seen before, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. You want to take an existing idea that is already receiving traction in the market, there is nothing worse than trying to figure everything out from scratch and not having a benchmark to work towards. This methodology can see you burn cash very quickly and very large amounts. A great example is bakers delight here in Australia; it’s just baked goods just reimagined. I urge you to consider finding an area of the market that is not being serviced or an area that you believe you can fill the gap.

You should not start a business while you have a full-time job

Starting a business while you are still employed is the smartest decision ever, not the worst! Small business needs to be created and birthed into the world slowly and carefully. The age-old saying Rome wasn’t built in a day is sound advice you need to heed. There are so many facets of the business that you can get done all while having the security of a paycheck. Setting up business names, social media, online presence, business plans, and the most important of them all testing a measuring your business idea in the market. Starting small and releasing the information to a small group of individuals will help you to understand what the market is responding to and what you may need to change to get laser focused for success.

My goals for today’s episode is to highlight that starting a small business does not need to be hard, expensive, daunting or have the world’s greatest timing. My best advice after working with people just like you is to just start. Create a business plan to help you formulate a roadmap to follow.

Small business is very uncertain but having a plan will give you a small amount of certainty. Test your idea before you sink too much money into the business early on. Small business is all about testing and measuring, moving, and changing and learning to be nimble and think quick. As always if you have questions reach out, remember your smallest actions will create your greatest reality, take care everyone!

Additional help.

Please as always share your ideas in the group or ask for help! If you are not part of Plan to Profit community then please check out the link below and join our brand-new community!

Meet Your Host

Carol Lange 

From a young age I have been surrounded by business success. Having formally studied a Double Degree of Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Management, this led to many successful opportunities.

I have been an employee for large accounting firms and international companies. I have run two highly successful businesses, becoming sought after in my industry internationally.

I have spoken nationally on the topic of money management and loved having the quiet coffee making radical changes for my clients. I am not a limelight chaser, just a quiet achiever looking to make a difference in the world.

Thankyou for joining me on the podcast, my dream is to inspire you to take action that will create a difference in your life! Dream no more and live the life that you have always wanted.