One night you were singing in the shower (as you normally do), and all of a sudden, you get this brilliant idea of a product that you know everyone in the world would love. Just so you don’t forget this brilliant idea, you hop out of the shower, wholly drenched to jot down your fantastic idea. At that point, you’re fired up about your idea and take steps to do some research and get a business plan started.
Well, upon doing research, you run into quite a bit of information.
The information is quite intimidating, intimidating to the point that you’re talking yourself out of starting your own business. You’ve seen the business survival statistics and have watched enough episodes of Shark Tank to worry yourself that you’re not going to find financing for your business. You’ve convinced yourself that you’re not savvy enough to build a website and talked yourself into believing that you’re not persuasive enough to make people want to buy your product.
After going back and forth in your mind of all your inadequacies, you’ve now convinced yourself not even to consider it anymore. Fear of failure and giving into the unknown are some of the top reasons why people never get their businesses off the ground, and the unfortunate part is that some of the things that put fear in their heads are things that aren’t even true.
Because of fear, we let some of the biggest misconceptions about entrepreneurship keep us from reaching our dreams.
If you have a dream of starting your own online business but have some concerns, that’s perfectly normal. But before you throw your dream of entrepreneurship in the trash, first make sure that the information you’re coming across is facts and not misconceptions. Take a look at some of the biggest mistakes that surround starting an online business.
1. You Can Start an Online Business For Free
Some website building platforms offer free services, but you also need to approach this venture knowing that it takes money to make money, and if you see something being offered for free, be very wary of it. If something is “free,” there’s some angle behind it, and it’s leading to getting you to make some purchase.
The reality is that you need to be prepared to spend around $500 for a year on your website. That’s around $42 per month. And who knows, you may not even have to spend that much but don’t blindly take on this venture thinking that you can do it for free.
2. You Don’t Need Business Insurance For online Stores
People will tell you that you don’t need business insurance because you’re not running a brick-and-mortar business. That’s a HUGE misconception. Whether you’re running a physical store or an online store, you need to get your business insured for protection against potential risks, using a service like simplybusiness.com.
The part where people get things wrong is where they think of insurance as protecting the actual business, like with property or equipment damage but little do they know that damage to your transaction can come in the form of reputation damage like libel and slander as well as data breaches and loss of income if your business has to temporarily be shut down. By obtaining business insurance, your business can be covered for all of that, and all of those situations and scenarios can happen with online businesses.
Another good thing is that obtaining business insurance isn’t going to break the bank either. There are “under the table” business owners operating without business insurance because they think it’s such an expensive added cost, but it’s not. Business insurance is one of the best and most affordable investments you can put into your business.
The other thing to keep in mind is how your insurance needs may vary by the type of business you run. Let’s say your first dive into entrepreneurship involved getting loans from services like VisioLending.com and investing in rental properties. With that line of work, you may have set up an LLC or even a series LLC and insured those to protect your assets. If you were looking for minimal fees, you might have opted to purchase the property as yourself, and increased your umbrella insurance through your agent. The takeaway here is that just because you may have been in business for yourself before, don’t assume that you know exactly what coverages you need. Always talk to a professional to cover your assets.
3. You Have to Do Everything Because It’s Your Business
Another misconception about starting an online business that adds to the fear you already have is that people think you have to do everything on your own. That’s not the case at all. In fact, according to CNBC, trying to do everything on your own is the #1 mistake that a small business owner can make, leaving them to get burned out before they can get started.
If there’s an area in your business that you either don’t have time to do or don’t have the knowledge or skills to do, you can look into hiring freelancers and virtual assistants to help you in unfamiliar territory. Plus, taking this route is a lot more cost-effective than hiring someone full-time.
4. Don’t Believe the Hype
Those are just a few of the most common misconceptions that have discouraged so many people from chasing their dreams of entrepreneurship. A lot of times, people will talk themselves out of starting their own business and opt for gig economy jobs, which are great ways to make money, but it’s nothing like having your own business.
Don’t let misconceptions cheat you out of success, do your research, and even talk with local business owners in your area to see if some of the things you’ve seen are facts or pure misconceptions. Because if you can go work for an economy gig, you also can create one and have other people working for you!
