Women leaders and entrepreneurs continue to start or buy two out of every three new businesses in the U.S. They are willing to take the risk of the first big step to small business ownership. The question is, what is it that allows us (women) to take that first big step, out of our comfort zone to become a small business person and then fear the decisions that are required to strengthen our chance for success?
Mistakes in business, and life, are inevitable and every time we don't take a risk and seek a new opportunity we lose the chance of progress. Success in business is about progression - if your business isn't constantly changing and progressing than it is dying.
As Anthony Robbins says, "there are only 2 pains - the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. The first hurts for a short time the latter for a lifetime."
In my experience, working with women entrepreneurs, some of the most costly decisions (risks) that aren't taken because of fear are:
(1) Hiring or firing an employee for fear of not making the best choice. Better to make the wrong choice and rectify it fast than not make the decision at all and have a regret that effects the entire business.
(2) Asking for help for a particular problem: legal, accounting, operational - for fear of the cost of the consultation. The decisions you need to make in your business often require an unbiased, outside of the organization perspective. The cost of getting advice wil more than pay for your ability to review all sides of the situation.
(3) Continualy reviewing your marketing plan to spend money on what works rather than what you did last year. The world is changing and so must your marketing plan. Don't just sign up for the latest greatest because someone told you to. More importantly, don't stick with the same old, same old because you don't want to spend the time, energy or money on taking a better approach.
The biggest risk of your life is opening that small business. Don't allow yourself to stop making decisions just when you are ready to be successful. Every decision you make can be amended, but making no decision leads to regrets and regrets last a lifetime.
