3 fears that show that entrepreneurship is a psychological ordeal

Many people bring the world of business back to a very Cartesian universe where conjecture blends with statistics and analysis… And yet, if entrepreneurship is attached to very rational principles, one must recognize its successful entrepreneurs, a good part of unconsciousness.

Fear of failure:

Much more important than in the Anglo-Saxon countries, Failure is present in almost all the heads of French creators. Let’s face it, our culture is not ideal for risk taking and differentiation.
An entrepreneur who has failed loses the confidence of certain people: bankers, relatives, friends… it is a total exposure and what could have been a source of admiration becomes a source of criticism and judgment.
Overseas failure is valued. It is believed that the entrepreneur has learned from these mistakes and is growing out of these experiences. Some countries even consider that it takes at least two failures to bring real professional added value.

Fear of the unknown:

For Reid Hoffman, co-founder of Linkedin,”an entrepreneur is someone who throws himself off a cliff and builds an airplane on the way down.
Launching, throwing oneself, making the big leap into emptiness would therefore be a first step in creation. Doesn’t it then take a part of the unconscious here?
The second step would be to build this aircraft. Many successful entrepreneurs started from ideas that did not resemble the final product. Here are the great stories. Knowing how to adapt your aircraft to the height of the vacuum, the speed of fall, its weight… knowing all these data and adapting its construction in real time is the key to survival and entrepreneurial success.

Fear of emptiness:

Starting a business often means cash-flow problems. Many invest a large part of their savings without any insurance of a gain. How can I not say “and if no customer adheres to my offer?”. To use Hoffman’s image, it is common to have vertigo at the top of the cliff but only a thorough and serious study of his market will limit the risks. A good market research is a study that already brings together a few early adopters who want to discover the offer. The Fear of a vacuum should only be short-lived because the rational aspect of the business plan makes it possible to reassure and sometimes even ensure its success.

All these fears are common and natural. Only motivation and perseverance remain strong allies in this psychological struggle. But fear of failure, the unknown or the void, there is only one remedy that limits the side effects: a complete and structured business plan.