Having a unique business idea doesn’t automatically guarantee you a spot on the entrepreneurial wall of fame. Often, there is a lot of push-pull emotionally and logistically that prevents so many ideas from coming to fruition.
I had the pleasure of chatting with Rob Christie on an episode of the Bond Appetit podcast. Rob is the founder of the shared office and co-working space company Christie Spaces. He has spent decades working within an entrepreneurial capacity, which has given him a sharp eye for exactly how to achieve business success in an environment of self-doubt and uncertainty.
Lose Your Fear of Failure
Fear within business is the suppressor of success. We all get scared from time to time, but having a perpetual fear of failure could be the main element that is preventing so many of us from achieving our business goals.
Rob isn’t one to frighten easily, and stresses that a vast majority of his success is down to shunning fear. “Lack of fear of failure, I think that’s worth a lot,” he says. “I think people are frightened of failure and so they don’t do anything.”
He explains that taking that leap shouldn’t be surrounded by the looming potential of failure. “In most cases, particularly in affluent western society, failure is not going to kill you,” so why not take the chance?
Entrepreneurship involves a lot of learning and self-evolution, and if a particular avenue that you have decided to take should fail, then consider it an opportunity to learn from it, move on, and do better on the next round.
Seek Out Advice From Your Community
Eureka, you’ve had a revelation and you are now the keeper of an amazing idea that is going to blow your business into the stratosphere.
Hang on, slow down there buddy, before you get too excited, you have to consider, is your idea genuinely original and will it work within the market?
Unfortunately, most business ideas are not unique. Many hours can be spent trying to refine something that either may not work, or has already been done and succeeded.
In order to refine your idea so it has a unique edge, Rob explains that you need those honest voices to tell you like it is. Surrounding yourself with a sounding board that offers tangible advice is the best asset an entrepreneur with an idea can have.
“Sometimes it can be a simple variation that can make a huge difference,” says Rob, meaning that just the tiniest suggestion can put your particular idea on a different trajectory that sets you apart from the rest.
Don’t Overthink, Take Action
We want our businesses to be perfect, but as Rob so rightly points out, striving for perfection could hinder your progress. He would be the first to tell you that the more action you take in business the more success you end up having. “Your inactivity, you’re thinking about something, you’re overthinking about something or over planning stuff that can be your downfall.”
This links back to losing your fear of failure, sometimes it’s just better to go ahead with something, have it fail OR succeed and then you can begin to see the steps you need to take in order to make an idea successful.
So, lose your fear of failure, take action and have conversations surrounding your ideas to get moving along your path to business success.
Listen to the entire podcast episode with Rob Christie here.
https://mustamplify.com/bondappetit287/
Author: Ronsley Vaz
Ronsley is the founder & chief day dreamer at AMPLIFY. He is an author, speaker & serial entrepreneur.
He has a Masters’ degree in Software Engineering and an MBA in Psychology and Leadership. He is known as the creator of We Are Podcast – the first Podcasting Conference in the Southern Hemisphere, and the host of The Bond Appetit Podcast and Should I Start a Podcast. He has an audience of over 3 million in 133 countries.