How Did You Get the Confidence to Start Your Business? | Small Business Trends.

If you’ve reached that fork in the road where you are trying to decide whether to keep pursuing your own career or starting your own business, this is a very insightful article for you to read.

Perhaps the most helpful comments are from Scott Belsky, Behance.com.

Scott tell us not just how to get the confidence to start a business but actually how to make it work. The ideas he fleshes out in this articles are the following:

1) Gathering the Panel: get a small group of like-minded individuals together to consider a new idea

(2) Put Your Money (or Time) Where Your Mouth Is: When an idea starts gaining traction in your mind, it is time to “invest” something in it.
(3) The Controlled Test: When the time is right, you will feel a rush of motivation to “test” your concept. Often times this is a controlled microcosm of the business you have in mind
(4) Listen Listen Listen: The first realization you must have is that your business plan is (likely) wrong, and that the “needs” you first identified may differ from the actual needs and frustrations you must address among your potential customers. To identify the true market opportunity, you must listen.
(5) Debate Toward Shared Conviction: As you incorporate the feedback you are getting and prepare to launch a real business, encourage debate among your team and advisors about the decisions you are making. As debate ensues, try to reach some level of shared conviction in your team

Confidence ultimately comes from data (feedback), honest communication, and a team with a shared commitment.