“It takes money to start a business.”
For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to start my own business. I had this dream since I was a kid. Yet, my mother would often say this to me throughout my formative years, into adulthood.
It takes money to start a business. How often have we heard this?
Like a “fool”, I listened to her. I say that I was a fool because my mother knew nothing about running a business. She worked for someone for twenty years, then retired early. She didn’t do this by choice but because she couldn’t speak English, which severely limited her job opportunities. How then does she know it takes money to start a business?
A more important question: Why then was I taking advice from her?
Dream-Stealers
They Do This Out of Love
When I had this realization, I decided I would no longer tell her my plans. Some people are dream-stealers. They do not necessarily do this out of malice but out of love. They want you to take the safe route, which means a “stable” job. This was my mother’s concern for me. She had immigrated to the United States, hoping to give her children a better life than the one she had. To her, it was risky to start a business.
Like most people, she hoped I would like government employment and stick with it until I got old and retired. Of course, unless you’re willing to spend the next 30 or 40 years in a government position, dying a slow, spiritual death, no other job is stable these days.
Ask me how I know. I did in fact hold a government position. After doing in essence nothing for close to a decade and feeling dissatisfied, I decided to walk away from the job. I was dying a slow, spiritual death every single day that I went go to work. I was seeing other people get the positions I wanted because they went to the same church or shared the same religion.
Most of all, I wanted to do something where I can make a difference in the world and help other people. I was not doing this. So I decided to take a job in the private sector. I gave up the stability of government employment for more risk but more reward.
Start the Business With What You Have
Yet, the voices of my dreams are deafening. That yearning to start my own business and be my own boss would get louder with each successive year.
The same limiting belief my mother imprinted in my subconscious would stop me dead in my tracks. It takes money to start a business. I was afraid of getting started.
It’s true that in some fields, you need money in order to start a business. Restaurants are a good example. You’re going to be a few hundred thousand dollars in the hole before you ever start and get your first customer.
Somewhere along the line, I learned the works of Bob Proctor. His teachings would change many areas of my life. The ah-ha moment came when I listened to a line from the audio program, Bob Proctor’s Magic in Your Mind.
You start with what you have and move forward from there.
Lessons Learned
The lessons learned here are simple.
- Don’t listen to the advice of someone who’s never done what you’re trying to do.
- Get a business coach to shorten your learning curve.
- Remember that they do it out of love and concern for your well-being.
- They want you to take the path that’s safe and well-established.
- Keep your dreams to yourself if you want them to come true.
- Tell them only to people who will support you.
- Most of all, start with what you have. Forgive, accept, and move forward.
Your time on this planet is limited. So stop listening to and following others’ limited beliefs. This is just their views on what they think the world should be. Stop working for someone else, making their dreams come true. Start chasing after what matters to you and what you love to do most.
If you really want to move faster, then consider hiring a business coach. She or he will be able to spot deficiencies in your education and suggest little things you can work on. The coach is also your champion for when things get rough. She is there to give you a different perspective and remind you of how far you’ve improved and progressed.
Forgive the person or the situation. Forgiveness in this context means to let go of unconditionally. It does not mean sitting down with the person who harmed you and ask them to apologize. Oftentimes, that person may not even know the harm he’s caused. Or even worse, he may no care enough to apologize. When you forgive, it does not mean you continue to let this person hurt you. You are letting go of the energy that keeps you from going after your dreams.
Get Going!
Start Your Business With What You Have
Do I need to keep reiterating this point?
So how do you start with what you have? Simple. Keep your job while you build up your business. Take the money from your job and invest in yourself and your business. Hire a business coach to address deficiencies . You’ve been an employee for most of your life. So, your education and training will reflect this. The business coach covers gaps in your new life you’ve decided to embark on. That’s the quickest way to move towards what you want. You can read all the books in the world and watch all the YouTube videos. Still, having a model, someone who’s already in accomplishment of your dreams, helps a lot. This person can also open doors for you through her network.
Overtime, if you do these things on a consistent basis, you’ll start to achieve more financial freedom that having your own business gives you