4 Business Blocks Stopping You From Starting Your Service Based Business

4 Business Blocks Stopping You From Starting Your Service-Based Business

Yes.

Do you want to be a successful female entrepreneur running your own freedom-based service business? Are you looking to finally say goodbye to your nine-to-five corporate job, but somehow you can’t get yourself to do it?

I was once just like you. I had a “successful” corporate career, the money was good, but I just found no fulfillment. Inside I was slowly dying. I knew I had to get rid of the life-sapping nine-to-five experience, with all the office politics and long hours.

I knew there was much more inside of me, but I didn’t know how to get it out into the world. And I was afraid to take action. It was only after much soul-searching, lots of reading, and lots of time spent with myself that I learned that it didn’t have to be this way.

The truth is that the world needs more female entrepreneurs – more women who unleash their potential and live life on their own terms. You have so much talent stuck inside of you, it's really a pity to let it go to waste. Stuck inside a corporate cubicle, working a job that maybe pays well but keeps you in a cage – that's missing out on life.

Life can be much more than that. In this short article, I'll go over what's holding you back and how you can set yourself free. I’ve done it, and so can you!

So let’s get to it!

What’s Holding You Back?

The first step towards starting your own business lies in figuring what’s holding you back. You have to ask yourself, why aren’t you doing it yet? What are you waiting for? More money, more experience, a better financial position, a better idea, certainty?

As you take stock of your reasons, you will come across four key areas that hold back every woman who desires to be a successful female entrepreneur. We can break these four areas into:

1. Limiting beliefs;

2. Fears;

3. Cultural conditioning and,

4. Lack of knowledge.

Once we understand what these factors are, and how they influence us, we can stop letting them control us. In understanding them, we will also understand how to set ourselves free. This is how I first did it, and how you can do it too! We’ll now go through each factor individually.

Ready?

1. Limiting Beliefs

Do you know that nagging voice in your head that always tells you that you’re not good enough? That you can’t do it? That you’re not ready? That you don’t have enough experience?

Every time you decide to take action, that voice comes back to you. And those limiting beliefs keep assaulting your mind, until you lose all faith in yourself.

These beliefs undermine your confidence and keep sabotaging you at every step of the way. Even if you appear outwardly confident, in the background these beliefs still function to hold you chained. In fact, low self-confidence is killing female entrepreneurship.

So how can you start breaking the chains? The first step to take is to start questioning your limiting beliefs. Is it really true that you don’t have enough experience? Haven’t there been thousands of people who went into business with little to no experience whatsoever, some straight out of college? If they did it. So can you.

In any case, it’s likely that you have a lot more experience than you are giving yourself credit for. A brief glimpse back over your previous job roles and responsibilities, your education etc, will reaffirm just how much experience you actually do have.

The more you question your limiting beliefs, the weaker they will become, until one day, you will break free and take the leap, just like I did!

2. Fears

Your fears are those dreaded scenarios that enter your mind every time you’re about to take action on your dream. For example, all those doubts that don't leave you alone at night. All those thoughts which make your vision seem impossible.

The most common fears women entrepreneurs experience are:

• Fear of failure

• Dreading success

• Fear of being judged

• Fear of upsetting others

To succeed, you have to free yourself from your fears. Research shows that removing these self-doubts removes a HUGE barrier to business success.

And let me tell you… you will only get your dream business when you become your DREAM YOU! Professional growth is not possible without personal growth. So the first thing is to work on YOURSELF.

The secret to overcoming fear is learning to accept and live with the risks. After all, risk and being vulnerable are parts of life. If we close ourselves in, trying to be invulnerable, we stop living. We are as good as dead. It is only by embracing life, with all its uncertainties, that we can achieve our real potential, personally and professionally.

3. Cultural Conditioning

Depending on your background, different cultural conditioning may also affect you. Research shows that this is one of the most significant factors that stops women from starting a business.

Many of us are led to believe that entrepreneurship is a male-centric activity, and women just cannot succeed. But nothing can be further from the truth. And what I discovered through my own journey, is that not only can you succeed. But you can succeed by being who you are.

Cultural conditioning is unique to every woman, so it’s important to find a mentor who has walked the same path you want to walk. They can show you how your conditioning undermines you, and what you can do about it.

4. Lack of Knowledge

The next significant factor that holds you back is lack of business knowledge. Without the right understanding of what you have to do to start, run and manage your business, you cannot succeed.

And unless you come from an entrepreneurial family, or you have already been an entrepreneur, it's difficult to gain this knowledge by yourself. And so either you dedicate an inordinate amount of time to reading, studying and making mistakes, or you cut the time it takes to learn what you need by having a mentor.

Consequently, 48% of female entrepreneurs report that one of their most significant roadblocks is lacking a mentor. It is essential to seek out someone who has already walked the path, who has been in your shoes, and who can show you the way.

Learning the nuts and bolts of running a business can be intimidating at first, especially in what is still a male-dominated industry. This guidance can be indispensable to your success.

Learn How To Unleash Your Potential Today

Now that you have an overview of the factors holding you back, it’s time to understand how they apply to you as a person. Then you can start taking action to start your business and quit your 9-5!

I'm accepting applications for my 1-1 Coaching Program from women that are powerful on the inside & are ready to rise up and be seen.

Applications are open and you can book your call here.

About Me

Hey, I'm Tasmin! I'm a Mindset & Business Confidence Coach for new and aspiring female entrepreneurs. I help overcome their fears and ramp up their confidence so that they can escape the corporate drudgery and create a life and business on their terms.

Want to chat about how I can help you? Apply for a Free Session with me here. I'm excited to talk to you :-)

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8 Steps To Becoming A Fearless Entrepreneur (And Step Away From Being A Fearful Employee)

8 Steps To Becoming A Fearless Entrepreneur (And Step Away From Being A Fearful Employee)

You have been working your 9 to 5 for some time now but there’s been an idea growing on your mind lately - running your own business. If you’re still stuck in your job, it means the thing that’s holding you back is probably the fear of not making it. That much dreaded word 'failure' is a huge obstacle.

Entrepreneurship does not come easy. However, having the right plan and taking concrete steps to build up your own business can be rewarding in the long run despite the risks. There is no right time to quit your job and start a job and there never will be. If you want to quit your job and start a business, now is as good a time as any. All you have to do is prepare for it and bite the bullet.

If you want to be your own boss and work for yourself, you cannot just sit around nurturing idly on your ideas. You have to make the hardest step first – getting started. Many people hold themselves back because frankly they don’t even have a clue how or where to start in the first place so they get overwhelmed and give up before they have even started.

Truth is, you have to start with a proper plan in mind and perseverance. If you’re ready to quit delaying and postponing until the time is right (hint: the perfect time  NEVER arrives) then, to get you started, here are some basic steps to point you in the right direction.

1. Research, Research, Research!

The last thing you want to do is jump off a cliff without a safety net. You leave your steady job just to find out the idea you had was not as viable as you thought after all. That's why there are no alternatives to a well-thought out research of your business idea. Ask questions like, does my service solve a problem people are having? Is there heavy competitions in what I want to do? (note heavy competition doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t enter a market and can be an indication that there are plenty of people with a problem that needs solving) What are my strengths and unique selling point? Have these done before? These questions will help you narrow your research down to more granular questions and gives it purpose.

2. Make Sure Your Idea Is Viable

Your idea can be a very good one, addressing and solving real needs of people. But if it can't be produced or delivered to the people successfully, it will most certainly fail. Look into the logistics of how you plan to get this idea to fruition and move on from there.

3. Prepare A Comprehensive Business Plan

You have researched your idea and made sure you can deliver and the produce services. What to do now? Put the information into something tangible for you to follow. An organized business plan is one of the most effective tools to help you make executive decisions about your new startup.

A good idea will only be as successful as the execution and implementation of it. Many ideas have fallen flat on their faces not because the ideas were not good, but rather the execution of it was a pure disaster. A good business plan should discuss all the major aspects and tackle the possible challenges. Starting from the financial aspect to your day to day to operations and also your marketing and promotional strategies, everything should be outlined.

4. Pinpoint Your Sources Of Funding

Look into the ways you plan to acquire funding for your new startup. In the meantime, it’s also a good idea to analyze your own personal finances. Remember you’re planning to quit your job to achieve this. You need to have your personal finances in check and see if you can function through the grind of your startup until it starts to give you a profit. A good benchmark is having either 6 months (optimistic approach) or 12 months (cautious approach salary saved up. You’ll be surprised how quickly those savings can whittle down and growing a business from a place of scarcity is not a good place to be. If you are more risk averse, you can consider starting your business as a side hustle whilst still in your 9-5. This will require strong time management skills and focused work but around your day job but gives you that extra bit of comfort.

5. Sort Out All The Legal Requirements

Make sure you look into all the legal aspects and obligations you and your new business startup has to comply before going into market. The last thing you want is to start up an operation which is giving you healthy profits only to be surprised with a government notice causing a major inconvenience and ruining your flow.

6. Use Your Current Network

Do not think of your current job and the professional network that you have created within as an anchor holding you back from achieving your dreams. Instead, leverage them to create bridges that might help you. Use your already broad list of professional connections to maybe jumpstart your venture. For example, you may know a web developer who can give you a discount when creating your new venture’s website. Use all the resources at hand to their best potential. That’s what successful entrepreneurs do!

7. Prepare To Actually Act Like An Entrepreneur

Modern-day concepts of an entrepreneur have misinformed people of the idea of entrepreneurship pretty badly. Entrepreneurship is not about ordering people around and maybe coming up with an idea and then expecting to make a fortune out of it. It's about hard work to make your dream come to true. Some early entrepreneurs may even have to work harder than their employees to see through every little aspect of the business. Yes, you can achieve that Hollywood portrayal of an entrepreneur life but do not expect the results without putting in the hours and efforts needed behind it.

8. Leave With A Good Relationship With Your Employer

You have made up your mind and ready to take the plunge. All there is to do now is to actually let your current employer know and leaving. But you must do this professionally and the right way. Respectfully let them know you plan to leave and start of your own venture.

You could also wait around and help to find a suitable replacement for your position. You can never be sure when you may need the help of your previous employer with your new venture. And if you leave in an unprofessional manner, you’ll be burning a bridge and losing a possible helping hand. NB. Once your business is picking up steam, propose a term where your new venture and your previous employer can go into a mutually beneficial partnership. It never hurts to give it a go, right?

 If you’re ready to overcome your fears and mindset blocks and create your dream business, then go ahead and join my free Facebook Community for free resources, training and sisterhood and support on your business journey.

About Me

Hey, I'm Tasmin! I'm a Mindset & Business Confidence Coach for new and aspiring female entrepreneurs. I help overcome their fears and ramp up their confidence so that they can escape the corporate drudgery and create a life and business on their terms.

Want to chat about how I can help you? Apply for a Free Session with me here. I'm excited to talk to you :-)

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