What do you think holds you back from creating something worthwhile? Are you scared of starting your own business? More importantly, why doesn’t everyone start a business?
Most likely, it’s because people are afraid of failure and doubt their abilities. That fear of failure and self-doubt can make it difficult to go out on your own.
Doubting yourself can make you think differently, or maybe believe it’s not worth it at all. In this article, I’ll go over five reasons why that may be the case.
- Lack Of (Or Very Little) Discipline
- Lack Of Proper Research
- Always Doubting Yourself
- The “I Don’t Have Time” Excuse
- The Fear Of Failure
Why doesn’t everyone start a business?
People fear they’ll fail and self-doubt their abilities to succeed. That fear of failure can be the biggest setback for anyone reaching their true potential. Let’s go over some reasons why people don’t go on to start a business for themselves.
Lack of (or very little) discipline
Motivation can help keep you going, but oftentimes, it’s short-lived. Anyone can get motivated to do something big, but then it can go away in a day or two.
That’s why discipline is needed for long-term success. If you can master discipline, you can develop good habits to stick to over time.
How staying consistent has helped me stay on track with business
I learned not too long ago that staying consistent helps with making progress. Success comes from consistency, and I’ve managed to do that very well.
For my website, I keep myself on a regular writing schedule. For over the last year, I’ve written at least two-three posts for my blog.
That’s a good result of having discipline because I know what I’m doing is a long-term journey to success. Things take time to see the desired results, and being disciplined can come a long way.
What keeps people from starting a business?
- It is because people believe they will fail that they become discouraged. People don’t take on challenges out of fear of failing.
Lack of proper research
One thing that new entrepreneurs don’t do early on is research the niche or industry they’re in. Knowing how to properly research and see if their business is relevant can help.
Whether that’s doing research online, or reaching out to people in the industry you want to work in, it can help to see if you can have a thriving business. So that’s something else to consider when you’re starting a new business.
Always doubting yourself
If you doubt yourself too often, that can set you back a lot. Doubts can develop through your own thoughts, or by listening to what other people have to say.
For example, the people you’re surrounded by can play a big part in how you make decisions. If people you know say you can’t do a certain say, you’ll eventually stop and stick to remaining average.
Family and friends can be common people who say you can’t start a successful business. They may say that because they don’t want to see you go through those struggles. Or it could be they care more about themselves regarding what’s in your best interests.
I see self-doubt around me often
Whether I know it or not, I observe self-doubt in people I interact with often. They could be former coworkers or individuals I interacted with in public. What I hear far too often is the following:
“I don’t know if I have the talents or creativeness to start my own business. It’s too hard, and I could fail miserably. So I’m not even going to give it a try.”
Whenever I hear that it saddens me to know that people will give up on their potential. What could be something that changes their life is turned down for good.
It’s why I emphasize the need to surround yourself with people who will support you in your journey. It’s not going to be easy, so you need to be around people who think like you, and have gone through similar struggles.
The “I don’t have time” excuse
In the past, I use to be one of those people giving that excuse. At the time, working a full-time job gave me a reason not to start a business for myself. Why should I start a business when I don’t have adequate time during the day to do so?
Now, I’ve thrown that excuse out of the window because I didn’t realize how much time I wasted doing little things. Whether that was scrolling on my phone, or watching TV, that was valuable time meant to be doing productive tasks.
If you happen to give that excuse, I believe that’s a cop-out. Why so? Because you can find more time during your day to work on a business.
Even if it’s for one hour a day (or 10 hours a week), it’s far better than not putting any time in at all.
The fact is you do have time. You just have to make an effort to carve some time out during the week. Pull out your calendar and see where you have free time to schedule these activities.
The fear of failure
For the most part, this one holds people back the most because they don’t want to deal with the negative consequences. Some questions they may ponder include:
- What if it doesn’t work out?
- What if people don’t want what I have to offer?
If they dive into the business journey, they may face obstacles along the way. For some people, it’s not worth going through those headaches.
The truth about failure: Failure is good
In society, failure is often condemned; for example, you hear the common saying, “Failure is not an option.”
Here’s the thing: Failure is a normal part of life, so I disagree with that notion. Failing allows us to learn from our mistakes and attempt to do things better next time.
Failure in business is something people often go through. Setbacks will occur and mistakes will be made, but putting in the effort and time will pay off.
A relevant article from notimekillers.com
Read next on “Is it a good time to start a business? 3 reasons to begin”, to see if now is the best time to start a business for yourself. If so, starting today is the best way to go forward.
Final Words
There are many reasons why people won’t start a business. Unfortunately, not every single person will start one that brings more opportunities and potential for success.
The five reasons discussed earlier are common ones to consider. But I think the fear of failure is real for those who don’t want to take that step forward in the entrepreneurial journey.
If you’re one of those people who find these reasons to be true, I hope you take the time to reconsider your thoughts. Starting a business is not meant to be easy, but it doesn’t have to be confusing either.
Your Turn: Have you struggled with starting your own biz?
I would like to get your thoughts on this topic. Are you one of these people who’s concerned about making that jump into entrepreneurship?
Have any of these reasons caused you to step back and not make the move? What could you have done differently about it?
Will you move forward and start working on that biz today?
Feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment below. I look forward to reading your responses, and I’ll gladly respond promptly.
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Eric is the owner and chief editor of notimekillers.com. He takes great pride in helping people manage their time and grow their businesses. Eric is a firm believer in financial and time freedom, as he believes in financial independence and taking ownership of your time. “Time is your most important asset. It can be your best friend or worst enemy. How you use your time can shape the future you desire to have.” In his leisure time, Eric loves to write and read whenever possible. He enjoys going for long walks outdoors while doing in-home workout videos every week. You can also connect with Eric via LinkedIn.
Thank you for a very encouraging post. I have seen myself in many of your bullet points.
I thought I didn’t have time. I had started building a website business, but then I kept myself busy with gig work such as DoorDash.
I told my wife that we needed immediate cash. All the while, I was tearing up my car and spending a ton of money on repairs.
So finally, I told my wife and I was hanging up the DoorDash keys and would stay home to build my business. I realized that I was sacrificing our future on the altar of immediate needs.
I had to stop doing that. I can also sabotage myself with self-doubt.
Again, thank you for the post.
Hi Scott,
There are a lot of people who want to start a business, but end up not doing so. Why is that? These reasons laid out may explain why, but especially when it comes to lack of discipline.
Not having self-discipline and saying “I don’t have time” can create setbacks for a lot of people. It saddens me to think that people will take their time for granted.
Your recent situation is a good example of what people should not do. I don’t recommend it to anyone working side jobs- for the sake of making money now.
Instead, you should work on growing a business that will create recurring income for yourself. That’s the whole idea of having passive income down the road.
I’m glad you decided to take a different direction, as I believe it’s the better one to take. It may lead to a better outcome as well.
Thank you very much for sharing your insights- they’re greatly appreciated.