You Can Do It! Fight the Fear and Start Your Own Business in Sarpy County

For many people, the thought of starting a business is both exhilarating and terrifying. On one hand, you're finally taking control of your career and pursuing your passion. On the other hand, there's so much that can go wrong. From failing to attract customers to mismanaging your finances, it's no wonder that many aspiring entrepreneurs never take the plunge.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to reduce the risk of failure and increase your chances of success. In this blog post from the Sarpy County Chamber of Commerce, we'll share tips on how to overcome the fear of starting a business so you can pursue your entrepreneurial dreams.

Calculate Startup Costs

One of the first things you need to do when starting a business is calculate your startup costs. This will give you a good sense of how much money you need to get off the ground and how much you need to generate in sales to break even.

There are a number of ways to calculate startup costs, but one of the simplest is to use the "rule of thumb" method. With this method, you add up all of your one-time costs (e.g., equipment, inventory, legal fees) and then multiply that number by three. This will give you a good estimate of how much money you need to get your business up and running. Once you have an idea of your startup costs, you can start planning how to finance them.

Invest in Accounting Software 

Once your business is up and running, it's important to stay on top of your finances so you can make smart decisions about where to allocate resources. This is where accounting software can be a valuable tool for small business owners.

There are a number of different accounting software programs available, but they all essentially serve the same purpose: helping you track income and expenses, manage invoices and bills, and prepare for tax time. Some popular accounting software programs for small businesses include QuickBooks, FreshBooks, and Wave Accounting.

While it's not required that you use accounting software for your business, it can certainly make financial management easier — especially if you're not comfortable working with numbers or don't have experience with double-entry bookkeeping. 

Start Your Marketing Campaign

It’s important to establish your brand early in your marketing process. According to Imaginasium, your brand is your identity, and it's important that you create one that customers can trust. Once you have your brand established, then your marketing materials will all reflect that branding. Be consistent with your logo, tag line, and the values you establish now.

If you need help with your branding or your supporting marketing campaigns, consider working with a marketing consultant or freelancer. They come with lots of education and experience, and you can dictate how much time they spend working on your projects, which can be ideal if your budget is small. They will likely rely on PDFs to send you proofs and mockups, so try using a PDF to Word converter to get a more edit-friendly version in case you want to make small changes. These tools are free and easy to use. Just add the file, select the new file type, and convert.

Setting Attainable Goals

One final tip we have for overcoming the fear of starting a business is setting attainable goals — both in terms of what you want to achieve with your business and how much money you want to make. Ambition is admirable, but when starting a new venture it's important to be realistic about what you can achieve in the short-term so you don't get discouraged if things don't go according to plan.  

Once you have a better idea of what's realistic, you can start setting goals for yourself and your team — just make sure they're specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

Take the Risk

These are just a few tips on how to overcome the fear of starting a business. The truth is that there's always some risk involved in starting any new venture,  but if you calculate your startup costs and set attainable goals, you’ll be on your way. Take advantage of resources like free conversion tools and freelance expertise to get through areas where you need support. And remember: even if things don't go exactly as planned, there are always valuable lessons to be learned from failure.