Starting a Small Business: Is Someone or Something Discouraging You?

When I first started out as an entrepreneur, my family and friends definitely weren’t very supportive of my decision. They laughed at me, to my face and behind my back. They basically told me that I was crazy and needed to go get a job!

Years later, I may still have my ups and downs as an entrepreneur from time to time but as Frank Sinatra sang: “I did it myyyyy way!” I earn a living doing what I do and I do it all on my own terms. I am not at the mercy of an employer or boss, which is possibly the most rewarding part of having your own business.

I believe to this day that if I had more support and less doubt from the people in my life at the time, I would have gotten a lot further as a small business owner in a shorter period of time.

So my question to you today is, do you have someone or something in your life that’s discouraging you from moving forward with your plans to start your own business? If so, here’s a little motivational post to help you eventually pull away from and around that roadblock.

You’re the Only One Who Can Live Your Life Successfully

From the time we’re children, many of us are conditioned to live our lives based on the wishes and desires of others – our parents, teachers and peers. But the truth is that they don’t know what’s best for your life. Only you know that. You are the only person who can live your life, so keep that in mind when you find yourself making decisions based on what other people want for you.

Relieve Yourself of the Opinions of Others

There’s a saying that goes “your opinion of me is none of my business.” A lot of people go through life making decisions based on what other people will think of them. Why do we care so much about what others think? When it comes right down to it, the opinions of other people really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. The only opinion that matters is the one you have about yourself. Are you happy? And if not, what do you need to do to get happy?

Some Day…

Are you taking up space on “someday isle?” That’s a place where people sit by idly, speculating on what they’ll do “someday” instead of taking action today. They make excuse after excuse about why they can’t take action: someday when my kids graduate from high school… someday when I get my master’s degree… someday when I save this amount of money. What is really stopping you from taking the first step to make your small business idea a reality? You can start today, even if it’s just sitting down and writing a plan of action. JUST DO IT.

If you’re serious about starting your own small business, you will do it. It’s as simple as that. As Tommy Lasorda said “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.” There comes a moment in life when you have to decide that nothing and no one will stop you from pursuing and achieving your dreams.

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