Print This Post

Obstacles to Starting a Business

Starting a business is not without obstacles. In fact, the whole process of entrepreneurship seems like overcoming one challenge after the other.

When thinking of starting a business, here are the obstacles that you may encounter:

• Going blindly into the business – Passion is not enough; you need to know what you are getting into. You don’t just wake up one day and say to yourself “I want to start my own coffee shop” when you don’t know an iota about the coffee shop business.
• False confidence – Even if you think you know something, think again. The adage “little learning is a dangerous thing” is so true in entrepreneurship
• Lack of faith in yourself – The lack of belief that you can make money while having fun is the number one killer of any startup business. Believe in yourself first, and your ideas and success will follow
• Lack of resources – Unless you can think of creative ways to generate resources and find investors willing to take a chance on your business, it is best to start a business when you have ample capital. Otherwise, you need to be extremely good in tightening your belt and operate on shoestring strategies.
• Too much resources – Sometimes too much of a good thing can be bad, especially if you lack creativity in how to spend the money. Remember the dot com bust where startup companies awash with venture capital and investor monies withered away? They may have money, but they didn’t know how to spend it well!
• Costs of cutting loose – If you are jumping from the corporate world to self employment, you may experience a cut in pay (at least initially). You need to have saved at least 6 months or longer of your living expenses, so even if the business does not make money yet you (or your family) won’t starve. The change in social environment can also be a hindrance for some who needs office chatter and interpersonal interaction.
• Burden of being the boss – If you don’t do a task, it won’t get done (unless you can already afford employees). Work may sometimes spill over and cut into your family life. Being an entrepreneur also means you need to wear many hats, doing marketing in the morning to bookkeeping in the evenings.
• Fear of the unknown and fear of failure – A very real and understandable fear. But do your research, learn more about the business, develop confidence in yourself, get help from the right parties and you can overcome all challenges.