How to Get Through the Hard Parts of Starting a Business
One of the most exciting and scary things anyone can do is start a business. Every year, millions of people want to become entrepreneurs because they want to be their own boss, follow their passion, build something from scratch, and maybe even become financially independent. But the sad truth is that most new businesses fail within the first few years, not because the founders weren’t talented or ambitious, but because they weren’t ready for all the problems that come up. New business owners face a lot of problems, like getting enough money, keeping track of cash flow, building a customer base, and staying healthy during times of high stress. But many business owners have successfully navigated these dangerous waters and built successful businesses. People who are prepared, resilient, adaptable, and know how to deal with problems as they come up are often the ones who succeed.
Understanding and getting through money problems
Financial problems are always at the top of the list of problems that new businesses face. The challenge starts before the business even opens, as many people who want to start a business have trouble getting enough money to do so. Traditional bank loans often need a good credit history, collateral, and proof of a successful business, which new businesses don’t have. It takes creativity and determination to get past this first funding problem. To begin, figure out exactly how much money you need by making detailed financial projections that include both one-time startup costs and ongoing operational costs. A lot of business owners don’t realize how much money they need, which can lead to cash problems too soon that force them to make bad choices.
Instead of depending on just one way to get money, look into many different ones. When you can, bootstrap by starting small, reinvesting early profits, and growing without outside money. This method keeps full control and avoids debt, but it does slow down initial growth. Ask friends and family who believe in your vision for money, and make sure these deals are written down so that relationships stay strong. You can get small business grants from the government, nonprofits, and businesses that don’t have to be paid back. Look into crowdfunding sites that let you test your idea while also getting money and building a customer base. Look into microloans from community development financial institutions that help entrepreneurs who don’t have access to other forms of credit. If your business has a lot of room to grow, look into angel investors and venture capital firms. Just know that this means giving up some equity and control.
Managing cash flow becomes the most important financial problem once the business is up and running. Sometimes, income isn’t steady while expenses are, making it seem impossible to pay employees or suppliers. Keep detailed financial records from the start and use accounting software to keep track of every dollar that comes in and goes out. This will help you get through cash flow problems. Make cash flow projections that show where your money will be weeks and months in the future. This will help you plan for times when you might not have enough money. Speed up your receivables by sending invoices right away, giving discounts for early payments, and following up quickly on accounts that are past due. When you talk to suppliers, ask for net-thirty or net-sixty terms that give you time to collect from customers before you pay them. During times when you’re making money, save up for an emergency fund to help you get through the times when you’re not. Think about getting a business line of credit that lets you borrow money when you need it without the stress of a regular loan. Most importantly, know the difference between profit and cash flow. A business can be profitable on paper but still run out of cash if customers don’t pay on time or if too much capital is tied up in inventory.
Starting from scratch to build a customer base
Getting those first few customers is probably the most frustrating thing for new business owners. It seems like an impossible task. It can be hard to get people to choose your new business over established ones when you don’t have a good reputation, customer reviews, or brand recognition. The key to getting through this problem is to use strategic, consistent marketing and provide such great value that early customers become enthusiastic supporters.
Start by getting to know your ideal customer inside and out. This means knowing not only their demographics, but also their specific problems, wants, fears, and the words they use to talk about them. This knowledge lets you write marketing messages that connect with people on an emotional level instead of just listing features. Find out where your ideal customers hang out, both online and off, and then show up there regularly. This could mean joining Facebook groups that are relevant to your business, going to industry conferences, taking part in local community events, or making sure that your website is optimized for the search terms that your customers actually use. A lot of new businesses make the mistake of trying to be everywhere at once, which spreads their limited resources too thin. Instead, pick two or three channels where your ideal customers are most likely to be and focus on those before moving on to other places.
Use content marketing to build trust and get customers to come to you naturally. Make blog posts, videos, podcasts, or social media posts that really help the people you want to reach with problems in your field. This method makes you look like an expert and gives people something of value before asking for anything in return. This builds trust that turns into customers when they’re ready to buy. Give people great reasons to try something new, even if they are hesitant. Early adopters could get big discounts, money-back guarantees that take away all risk, free trials that let people see how valuable your product is for themselves, or extra services that go above and beyond what they expected. Make it as simple and safe as you can for people to agree to work with you.
Put all of your energy into giving your first customers amazing experiences. Remember that each one is more than just a sale; they could also be a source of referrals, testimonials, and social proof. Always go above and beyond what people expect, ask for feedback and actually use it, ask for reviews and testimonials, and set up referral programs that reward customers for telling others about you. In the beginning, personal outreach is often more effective than passive marketing. Send personalized emails, LinkedIn messages, or phone calls to potential customers to show that you’ve done your homework on their needs. This method doesn’t work forever, but it’s very good at getting those important early wins that get things going. Work with other businesses that serve the same customers as you do, and look for ways to promote each other’s businesses to people who already trust you.
Keeping a balance between work and life and managing time
Starting a business can take up all of your time. Many business owners work seventy, eighty, or even more hours a week while doing many things at once. You’re in charge of everything, from the CEO to the marketing department to customer service to accounting to cleaning. This constant pace can’t last and will cause burnout, health problems, strained relationships, and eventually the failure of the business when exhaustion makes it hard to make decisions and do your job well. To get past this problem, you need to set clear limits, make tough choices, and use systems that make things more efficient.
You need to accept that you can’t do everything, at least not well. Find the things that you do best—the things that give you the most value and that only you can do. These usually include making big decisions that affect the direction of the business, key customer relationships, product development, and strategic planning. As soon as you can afford it, delegate, outsource, or get rid of everything else. Get employees or contractors to do specialized tasks, hire virtual assistants to handle administrative tasks, use automation tools to handle repetitive tasks, and stop doing things that don’t help your business grow. Many business owners have trouble delegating because they think no one else can meet their standards or they are afraid of how much help will cost. But trying to do everything yourself is much more expensive because it keeps you from focusing on important tasks and makes you make mistakes because you’re tired.
Use time management tools to protect your most productive hours. Instead of reacting to things that seem urgent, set aside certain times on your calendar for certain types of work. Protect your deep work time, which is when you can focus on creative and strategic tasks without being interrupted. Instead of switching between tasks all the time, handle email and messages in groups. Learn how to tell the difference between urgent and important. A lot of urgent things aren’t really important, and important things don’t usually feel urgent until they become crises. Use the Eisenhower Matrix or something like it to set priorities and spend your limited time on tasks that are both important and urgent, and then on tasks that are important but not urgent that will help you avoid future crises.
Set boundaries that you can’t change that will keep your health and relationships safe. Set aside time for regular exercise and make it a priority, knowing that your physical health affects your mental clarity and business performance. Set aside time with family or friends when you won’t be using your phone or other devices so you can be fully present. Get enough sleep, even if you think working all night will help you get more done. Most entrepreneurs don’t know that not getting enough sleep makes you less creative and less able to make good decisions. Plan regular breaks into your day and week, and remember that taking breaks isn’t being lazy; it’s a way to get more done. The best business owners see their energy as their most valuable asset and make choices that keep it up and running instead of constantly using it up.
Making choices and getting through uncertainty with little information
When you start a business, you have to deal with uncertainty all the time. You’re making important choices about products, prices, hiring, marketing, and strategy without all the facts and with no guarantee of what will happen. Some business owners get stuck in analysis paralysis and keep researching and planning without doing anything, while others make decisions on the spur of the moment that they later regret. To get past this problem, you need to learn how to take risks and make decisions that will help you move forward even when you don’t know what’s going to happen.
Experimentation should be your main way to deal with uncertainty. Instead of trying to get everything right before you launch, use a test-and-learn method. Instead of making guesses, release minimum viable versions of products or services to see how customers really respond. Before spending a lot of money on marketing, try out small tests first. Before rolling out new processes to a lot of customers, try them out with a few first. This experimental way of thinking turns uncertainty from something that stops you in your tracks into chances to learn and grow. Each test gives real data that helps you make decisions later, slowly lowering uncertainty through experience instead of guesswork.
Make decision-making frameworks that help you move forward quickly. If you have to make a decision that can be changed later, do it quickly based on what you know now, knowing you can change your mind if you need to. Save in-depth analysis for decisions that can’t be changed and will have big effects. When you have to make a choice that you really don’t know what to do, you might want to set deadlines for making a decision so that you have to make one and don’t keep thinking about it. Before making a big decision, do a pre-mortem. Imagine that the decision has failed spectacularly and work backward to figure out what could go wrong. This will let you deal with possible problems before they happen. Ask mentors, advisors, or other entrepreneurs who have had to make similar choices for their thoughts, but remember that their situation is different from yours and the final choice is yours alone.
Learn to deal with failure, knowing that mistakes and setbacks are a normal part of being an entrepreneur and not a sign that you’re not cut out for it. Successful entrepreneurs don’t always make the right choices; they just know how to bounce back from bad ones better. When something doesn’t work, look at what went wrong without blaming yourself too much, learn from it to make better choices in the future, make the changes you need to make quickly instead of stubbornly sticking with what didn’t work, and move on without thinking about what went wrong. Keep things in perspective by remembering that most business decisions are not really final or terrible. Most of them can be changed, undone, or learned from. This way of thinking makes decisions less emotionally heavy and lets you act even when you’re not sure what to do.
How to Build Credibility and Get Over Impostor Syndrome
A lot of new business owners feel like they’re not real or qualified, and they have impostor syndrome that tells them they’re frauds who will be found out. When potential customers doubt your credibility, when your competitors seem more established and professional, or when you’re competing for contracts against businesses that have been around for decades, this internal challenge shows itself on the outside. To get over these credibility problems, you need to work on your mind and build your credentials from the outside.
If you have impostor syndrome, remember that these feelings are very common among entrepreneurs and high achievers. They don’t mean that you’re not qualified. Change the way you think about yourself from “I don’t know enough” to “I’m learning and growing.” Remember that expertise is relative; you don’t have to know everything to be very helpful to customers who know less than you in your area of expertise. Keep a record of your successes and positive feedback so you can look back on them when you’re feeling down. Find mentors who have been through the same doubts as you and surround yourself with people who believe in your abilities.
Use a variety of methods to build credibility with people outside of your business. Build a professional online presence by having a good website, active social media accounts, and consistent branding that shows you’re real. Write blog posts, make videos, record podcasts, or write articles for industry publications that show how much you know. These show that you know what you’re talking about and make you a thought leader. Get the right credentials, certifications, or education that will show skeptical customers that you know what you’re talking about. Join professional groups and associations that make you look more credible by being part of them. Get testimonials, case studies, and reviews from happy customers and show them off. This is a great way to build trust. Get endorsements or work with well-known companies in your field to borrow their credibility by working with them.
Instead of trying to hide that you’re new, be open about it. Make your recent launch a strength by saying that you’re hungrier, more focused, more creative, and easier to reach than competitors who have become complacent. Position your business as one that brings new ideas and ways of doing things to an industry that needs to change. A lot of customers would rather support new businesses, especially if they have interesting stories about how they got started and what makes their approach different. Be honest about your journey, including the problems you’re solving. This kind of vulnerability often makes connections stronger than pretending to be perfect.
How to Deal with Competition and Position Yourself in the Market
It can be scary to enter a market where established competitors already serve your target customers. You can’t compete with them because they have bigger budgets, more well-known brands, established customer relationships, and economies of scale. But many successful businesses have found ways to get around what seemed like impossible competitive disadvantages by competing in a smart way instead of trying to beat established players at their own game.
Before you do anything else, you need to really understand your competition. This isn’t so you can copy what they’re doing, but so you can find gaps and chances that they’re missing. Look at your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses without bias. What do they do well, and what do customers always complain about? What groups of customers or needs are they not meeting or completely ignoring? These gaps are your chances. Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, which takes resources that new businesses don’t have, focus on a small area where you can provide value that no one else can.
Make it clear and interesting how you are different. New businesses with higher costs and lower volumes than established competitors usually lose when they only compete on price. Instead, set yourself apart by offering better service, specialized knowledge, unique features, convenience, values that match those of your customers, or a better customer experience. Your differences should matter to customers, be hard for competitors to copy, and last over time. Make sure that this difference is clear to everyone who comes into contact with your business by communicating it consistently across all customer touchpoints.
Take advantage of your size and how new you are. Small businesses can adapt more quickly than big ones because they don’t have to deal with as much red tape. You can give customers more personal attention and customization than bigger competitors can afford to do. You can take chances and try out new ideas that established businesses stay away from to protect their current sources of income. Instead of seeing these differences as weaknesses, see them as strengths. Instead of just making deals, build relationships that go beyond price comparisons and feature lists. Many customers actively choose to support small businesses because they value the personal touch and flexibility you offer.
Keeping your mental health and emotional strength up
The emotional ups and downs of being an entrepreneur—the thrilling wins followed by devastating losses, the constant stress of not knowing how much money you’ll make, and the loneliness of being solely responsible for every decision—are bad for your mental health. Entrepreneurs are more likely than the general population to suffer from anxiety, depression, and burnout, but these problems are often ignored or not treated because of stigma or the belief that successful entrepreneurs must always show confidence. To get past this problem, you need to realize that mental health has a direct effect on business success and that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
Create a support network that knows what it’s like to be an entrepreneur. This could include other business owners who have been through similar things, a business coach or therapist who specializes in entrepreneurship, masterminds or peer groups that offer both advice and emotional support, and friends or family members who you can trust to listen without judging. Being alone makes problems worse, but being connected gives you a new perspective, support, and useful help. Instead of pulling away when things get tough, reach out. This will help you avoid getting stuck in negative cycles.
Make habits that keep your mind healthy and help it heal. Regular exercise helps you relax and think clearly, and it also fights the sedentary nature of many business activities. Meditation or mindfulness can help you deal with anxiety and stay present instead of always worrying about the future or thinking about the past. Keep your hobbies and interests completely separate from your business. This will help you keep parts of your identity that go beyond being an entrepreneur. These things give you the mental breaks you need and remind you that your worth isn’t just based on how well your business does. Set limits on work, such as specific stopping times and real days off. This is because you need to rest and recharge in order to be successful in the long term.
Instead of seeing setbacks and problems as signs of personal failure, think of them as normal parts of the entrepreneurial journey. Every successful business has had to make a lot of changes and come close to going out of business. People who don’t know the person well might think that their success came out of nowhere, but it usually took years of hard work that people who aren’t close to them can’t see. Keep things in perspective by remembering why you started this business and what success really means to you. This could be more than just money; it could be your lifestyle, the impact you have, your creative expression, or whatever else made you want to be an entrepreneur in the first place. Instead of only celebrating big milestones, celebrate small wins often to build momentum and positive emotion during the long journey from launch to sustainable success.
In conclusion
There are real, big, and unavoidable problems that come with starting a business. No amount of planning can get rid of uncertainty, no perfect strategy can stop problems from happening, and no entrepreneur can succeed without having times of doubt and trouble. But these problems shouldn’t stop you from starting your own business; they’re just things you need to be ready for and plan for. Some entrepreneurs who fail aren’t smarter, more talented, or luckier than others who succeed. They were the ones who saw problems coming, made plans to deal with them, stayed flexible when their first plans didn’t work, kept going through tough times without giving up too soon, and took care of themselves well enough to keep their energy and clarity up for the long trip.
Not everyone should start a business, and that’s okay. Not everyone has or wants to make the sacrifices, be strong, and be okay with not knowing what’s going to happen. For people who are called to be entrepreneurs, whether it’s because they have a strong vision, are unhappy with traditional jobs, want to be independent, or love solving certain problems, the challenges are just things they have to get through to be successful. Be aware of the challenges that lie ahead as you start your business, but also have faith that millions of people before you have successfully faced these same problems and built businesses that changed their lives and helped their communities. Get informed, get support, keep your perspective during the ups and downs that will happen, and remember that every challenge you face makes you stronger, smarter, and better able to handle whatever comes next. Whether or not you face challenges doesn’t matter for the success of your business; what matters is how well you deal with them when they come up.
