Whats stopping you from starting? Is a question I still ask myself quite often. Maybe you’re the same. You have all these great ideas but never act on them. Lets take the idea of working from home as an example. Maybe this is something you’ve been thinking about for some time. I know I did. I’ll tell what stopped me and how I finally got started.
Before I do though, here’s a thought: Usually there is an event of some kind that gets you from neutral into first gear. It appears that the Corona Virus is providing that impetus for a lot of people who have toyed with the idea of starting a home business for some time.
Being forced to stay at home – to self-isolate – is pretty motivational after all. Maybe lack of time is whats stopping you from starting. You won’t have that excuse soon. Using that time wisely will be important. Especially when you consider the effect it’s having on the economy. How will things look when you emerge from hibernation? Many are predicting yet another global recession.
For me though it was the prospect of redundancy. The first murmurings of a looming recession back in 2008 got me looking for alternative careers. The bank crisis, which followed and led eventually to redundancy, sealed the deal for me.
What’s Stopping You From Starting – Fear?
But why did I wait for the axe to fall before I took action? I’d have to say it was that old chestnut – fear.
Fear of change
The Fear of losing money
Of failure
Fear of poverty
I’d decided, as I saw lots of friends and colleagues lose their jobs and realised that my turn would inevitably come, to start a plan B. By 2010 the Internet seemed the logical place to build it. Wary of scams and short-lived online business ideas, I decided a franchise was probably safest.
I found a company that was selling franchised e-commerce web stores in all sorts of niches and registered my interest. Soon they were emailing details of their latest franchises. It all looked great: A pre built website stocked with products with training included.
But still I dithered and failed to get started. Whats stopping you from starting? I asked myself again. I still had a job and I had the money. So what excuses was I coming up with as I watched other people snap up these businesses? Some of which would have been an ideal fit for me. But something held me back.
I guess I was thinking that if I lost my job, my savings would at least pay the mortgage for a few months while I looked for something else. I now realise that this is a poverty mindset about money. Its much better to invest it than to try and cling to it.
Eventually a store came onto the market at a discounted price and in a niche (wine) I was interested in. I paid the money which the left me with some savings, and got started. In the year preceding my redundancy I worked steadily on the business in my spare time. It failed.
Failing Forward
But I did at least fail forward. Whatever it was that had clicked and made me open the purse strings was still with me. I found other online opportunities and by the time I was actually laid off I had money coming in. All the time I was learning a new profession. I was garnering transferable skills that would see me all right: Blogging, advertising, social media and marketing.
But I was wasting these skills on the sort of churn and burn, short-lived businesses that were rife on the Internet back then. You’d hear about them through networking. Recognising them for what they were you could get in, make some money and get out as soon as they started to go pear shaped. After a couple of years of this I knew I didn’t want to continue on that roller coaster. What I needed were good mentors.
Till this point I’d been busking my way, picking up bits and pieces of knowledge, tips and tricks. I’d been dabbling in MLM and network marketing, never getting a firm foothold in anything solid. Just getting by. So I stopped looking for “opportunities” and focussed instead on looking for education.
Education Is The Key
Lack of knowledge might be whats stopping you from starting. The kind of specific education I was looking for though didn’t seem to exist in the usual places. Yes you could study Internet marketing at College or Uni, but not entrepreneurship. I felt too old to back to school and also knew that what was being taught would be out of date and more theory than practice. I wanted mentors who were actually in the trenches. Eventually I found them.
If something is stopping you from starting – no matter what you want to start – I recommend you do the same. Mentors won’t do it all for you but they will provide invaluable, experience based knowledge, insights and advice that will save you time and money.
The mentors I eventually found have over the last ten years taken this concept to a whole new level. Back in 2008 when I was just starting on my plan B these guys were already very successful Internet entrepreneurs. They hadn’t fumbled around with silly opportunities however but had focussed on solid emerging business models like affiliate marketing. They’d found great mentors themselves, adjusted their mindsets and made fortunes.
Instead of stopping there though, resting on their laurels and enjoying their millions, they decided to create a mentoring community for other people like me and possibly you.
No More Excuses
I wish I’d found them sooner. The platform they’ve built and continue to enhance is quite incredible. It provides not only mentorship, training and support, but all the practical things you need to build a successful work from home online business.
If you are interested in working from home on a business you love – possibly around a passion or interest this is for you. If you don’t have a solid idea about what niche to start with you can become an affiliate for theirs. They offer a range of lucrative affiliate partnerships. If something is stopping you from getting started this could be the answer.
You can learn about this by subscribing to a series of free videos that explains everything very clearly. Since these are delivered daily for 7 days the timing might just be perfect given that it’s likely Corona will see most of us stuck at home for at least that long. What better way to spend that time than learning how you could start a life changing new business and education as soon as you like?
Just click on the link below to meet the founders and, if they resonate with you, sign up for the free videos.
