The 7 Most Unexpected Hidden Truths In Starting a Business That You Must Know
Introduction
Everyone wants to be successful in life, and the most common way to do that is by working hard on your career path or start your business. However, starting a business is never an easy task. In my honest opinion, it is scarier than losing a job.
But despite that, how come that many people still pursue this? Well, There are a lot of things why. And one most common reason is that they want to earn money hoping to be rich someday. And so that they can build a better future for themselves and their families.
It might be easy as it seems, but be warned, because we’ve prepared a list of the 7 Most Unexpected Hidden Truths In Starting a Business That You Must Know.
7 Most Unexpected Hidden Truths In Starting a Business
Hidden Truth #1
It costs a lot of money
Starting a business requires Capital. These are the amounts of money that you will need, to buy the necessary things that are required to operate your business such as Materials, Services, Manpower, Types of equipment / Types of machinery.
Is Capital for Business Important In Starting a Business?
Of course! Think of this, your business is like a car and the capital is the fuel to make it operational. Hence, you cannot operate without the required capital to start your business.
How can I get the capital needed in starting a business?
1. Loan it or some of it – You can apply for a loan and use it as your capital in starting a business. Then pay your loan dues coming from your earnings. However, before doing this, you must come up with a solid business plan to ensure that your products will sell.
2. Borrow it or some of it from family or friends – You can try to borrow money from your family or friends in return you will pay additional as interest.
Or you can offer them that in return for lending you the capital will earn a percentage of the profit from your business venture. However, make sure that you will honor your word once you are starting to gain profit.
Or if the profit is not yet made, be honest to the person and tell the truth. Because this is one of the most common reasons to have conflicts with family or friends, due to dishonor of promises, and mistrust.
3. Choose a business that doesn’t require capital – Did you know? there are a lot of business types that do not require capital. Such as:
A. Affiliate Marketing – Affiliate marketing is when you promote the products of a business and when you make a sale you get paid in a form of commissions.
B. Reselling – Reselling is a business model where you act as the middleman between a supplier and a customer. Primarily, you sell the products even if you do not have the inventory. You can add a percentage of margin on top of the supplier’s price which will be your earnings.
C. Dropshipping – This is an improved version of reselling, it has the same process, and the difference is that your suppliers will ship or deliver the orders directly to your customers.
D. Offering your skillset to people – Another form of business that does not require capital is when you offer your service to other people or even businesses. Basically, your capital is your skillset itself.
Should you be bothered by finding business capital in starting a business?
It shouldn’t bother you, since there are a lot of ways to start a small business. Remember that in business, even the smallest step of improvement is important.
You can start small with what you are capable of producing at the moment. Then later on expand your business bit by bit.
Hidden Truth #2
Most people around you will not support your business
This is an awful fact in starting a business is that nobody will support your business. Not even your friends, family, or even your mutual/common friends in your social media will not support your business.
Is showing support from friends & family to your business important in starting a business?
Yes! It is important! Showing support to small businesses is a huge contributor to whether your business will succeed or not. And it sucks that people around you do not even care how important your business is to you. To further elaborate why business support is important:
A. Algorithm – Did you know? All social media platforms and even marketplaces have an algorithm, that is the biggest reason why posts go viral because of the likes, shares, reacts that your posts get.
Once their system detects an increased volume of engagement in your post, that platform will show it more to other people. This algorithm was used by Google, Facebook, and even your #fyp in TikTok uses the same algorithm.
B. Motivation – Yes it is true that…
“You should not seek motivation from other people, because it should start within yourself.”
However, we are human beings, and most from our past experiences programmed our minds to function even more if we are given a type of motivation such as Praise or Appreciation.
As an example of that, when were kids, if we manage to get good grades we are given by our parents’ gifts or sometimes a simple pat at back saying “Good Job”.
And what happens after that? You feel determined and motivated to do well again in school to receive those again. Because it feels good right?
Now, going back to business, if you do not receive any type of motivation such as Praise or Appreciation it will be difficult for you to do well in your craft.
How can I get the motivation in starting a business?
Unfortunately, you are the only one that can help you be motivated in starting a business or in running it. Because you cannot rely on or expect others to do this for you.
I understand that it sucks, but that is how it works. This applies whether you are starting a business or you are already running your business.
Regardless of if your friends or family supports your business or not, you must continue to explore, learn, and improve. Because all of this will benefit you in the future not them, and your success will be more glorious and fulfilling!
No, you shouldn’t be bothered by it. The whole offers a lot of strangers and most of them will show support to your business more than you can expect from the people around you.
Just continue to drive your business with purpose and show gratitude to those who show support. Even if it is just 1 like or share, still say thank you to those people who cared to do so.
Should you be bothered if your friends or family doesn’t show support for you in starting a business?
No, you shouldn’t be bothered by it. The whole offers a lot of strangers and most of them will show support to your business more than you can expect from the people around you.
Just continue to drive your business with purpose and show gratitude to those who show support. Even if it is just 1 like or share, still say thank you to those people who cared to do so.
Hidden Truth #3
People will not make a partnership with you
Yes, this is similar to the second one. Though this time we are talking about the other business owners around you that if you offer them a partnership they will refuse.
Is having a partnership in starting a business important?
Yes, it is important because in starting a business, you must learn what are the things you should do in certain situations to make your business work.
And you guessed it right, your business owner friends will not help you on this one! (Though maybe not all of them)
Why is that? We’ve thought of some reason why other people refuse to join a partnership.
1. They are afraid – Mostly fear is the main reason why they do not want to cooperate with you. Because they fear that you might take control over them or you might scam them whatsoever. Regardless, trust can be the main reason why other people fear to make a partnership with you.
2. They want to solo off the earnings – Business is business, and most businesses are driven to earn money. And unfortunately, some people just want it for themselves and they want to count you out of it.
You may call it selfish, however, that is how business works. You either join them or compete with them.
But even if that is the case, worry not. Since if you manage your business well you will be able to dominate even their businesses, now they will realize that “Damn! I should’ve partnered with that person!”.
And similar to what they’ve done to you, all those earnings will be just for you! Karma kicks hard you know.
So stay humble always, who gives a damn if they join you or not! Just go on and continue to improve, learn, and harness your skillsets. And eventually, your business will be on top of them.
How can I get business partners in starting a business?
The best partner in business is your other half, it seems weird but in most cases, people who are in a relationship that became business partners work well.
Why is that? Because you already knew each other, you trust each other, and you know how your partner thinks. In business, trust is the main core.
If you cannot trust your business partner, eventually it will ruin your business from the inside. So instead of looking for a business partner, make a partnership with your other half. And the success of the business will be the success of you both.
Should you be bothered in having or not having a business partner in starting a business?
It depends, remember that this is your business. Hence, you can take all the weight yourself and learn a lot of things that can improve your decision-making.
Or you can try to share your experiences with your other half so that your partner can become a better version as well.
Always remember that it is lonely at the top, and it would be fun if you can share that space with somebody close to your heart.
Hidden Truth #4
You will fail many times more than you expect it to be
The most common misconception by a lot of people is that they think all businesses will succeed overnight or with a snap of a finger. Well, that is not how business works.
In this path that you will be taking as an entrepreneur, you will face a lot of disappointments, sadness, and failure. It is part of the process to mold you and become a better version of yourself to make the right decisions whether in business or life.
And in this journey, failure will always be in front of you. Because you will be trying different approaches until you were able to find the right formula to make it work.
Is failing in starting a business important?
As much as you hated it, yes, it is important. Did you know? Even those successful entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, and Jeff Bezos.
All of them failed more than once in their lives as an entrepreneur.
Did it matter to them? Yes, because every time they start over it is never from scratch it is always from their experiences and their failures. Did it stop them?
Never, because success is the by-product of failure. You need to fail before you can succeed.
Even Thomas Edison mentioned that…
“I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.”
What Thomas Edison meant is that he does not consider it as a failure, rather he thinks of it as a learning experience on how to do it right.
Because that is all that matters in business, you just need to be right one time. And once you can do that, the rest will be history.
How can I avoid failure in starting a business?
You cannot avoid failure in Business, rather, you should embrace failure instead.
In starting a business or even in running a
business, you should always take risks of failure, because you cannot know the outcome of a specific strategy if you will not try it!
Do not be afraid to make mistakes or failing. Because you can get a lot of learning experiences from those which you can use as your starting point to formulate new ideas.
You must keep on trying until you can figure out the formula for your strategies to be successful.
Should you be bothered by failures at the beginning in starting a business?
No, it shouldn’t bother you at all because it is always part of the process. You just need to stay committed to your craft and continue to trust the process.
And eventually, you will find the aspects that you need to tweak to make it work.
Even the brightest minds in business mention that the obvious is the most ignored thing in business.
Therefore, if you fail. Just look around you and find out what are the necessary change that you must make then try again. It’s all about trial and error!
Hidden Truth #5
Business is not about money, it’s about purpose.
Another misconception by a lot of people in starting a business is that businesses must be earning money. But, unfortunately, if that is how you perceive it in starting a business or running it. It will not work.
Because business is much deeper than monetary value, it should be solving the problems of the people and build communities.
Hence, if your business is driven by money and not by its purpose. You better start having a deeper understanding of your goals and how should your business be.
Is purpose important in starting a business?
u to do extraordinary things. Therefore, if your business is driven by a deeper purpose it can evolve to something greater in the future.
Almost all the successful brands like Apple, Amazon, and many more. Their core is the purpose of why their businesses exist. For example, look at Amazon.
Amazon is made by Jeff Bezos to ensure the wants and needs of the people can be acquired with just a click of a button.
During the time Steve Jobs is taking over Apple, all of the products that they make is to solve problems, like the iPod, which saves your computer memory since you do not have to save your songs on your computer.
If you assess how these brightest minds in business think, they always start with their purpose and from there they try to solve problems using their products.
How can I add purpose in starting a business?
You can do that by knowing first your purpose, your business is going where you want it to be. It should always be in line with you.
Therefore, if you do not know your purpose why you are doing business any way you will not be able to make it work.
If you do not know how to find your purpose? Check out our blog about the 7 Japanese Philosophies that will improve your life & business.
Should you be bothered by not having a purpose in starting a business?
Yes, it will be bothersome for you if you are not driven by purpose. Did you know? Even those businesses that didn’t even make any profit are continuing.
Even if there are a lot of reasons why they should shut down and file bankruptcy they don’t and still get through those challenges and become successful? That is an example of being driven by purpose.
You are doing it because you believe in something deeper that others might not see.
It is deep in your subconsciousness which motivates your mind to continue despite all the hardships that you might face.
Imagine those awesome parents, that even they work 11 hours a day and 6 days a week, they manage to do it even if it is very draining and tiring.
Because they are driven by a purpose and that is to provide for their family so they can have a better life in the future.
Another example, those grab drivers who stay outside even if it is raining and are at risk of getting sick by COVID.
They are doing it so that they can provide and put food on the table for their families. That is driven by purpose.
Hidden Truth #6
Business is a challenge of patience
Another misconception of a lot of people, they think that business blooms overnight.
Well, I am telling you right now, it doesn’t work like that. And even successful entrepreneurs are emphasizing this hard truth.
Before you can experience that “Fulfillment” that your business is earning consistently, it will take a lot of time more than you can expect it to be.
That is why it is a challenge of patience, and guess what, a lot of startups give up easily once they are starting to realize this unbearable fact.
Is having patience important in starting a business?
Yes! Definitely! Starting a business is like planting a tree, it will take a lot of time to establish its roots and cultivate its nourishments to bloom and become fruitful.
Aside from that, you must make sure to take care of it, meaning you must observe if it is not blooming.
You need to treat any problems that are preventing it to fully bloom, and you must cure it to eliminate it to make that tree grow even more.
Just like in business, you need to figure out why your strategies are not working, and what are the necessary changes that you must do to improve them.
How can I have patience in starting a business?
It depends on your determination, as we mentioned a while ago, in starting a business you will be facing a lot of failures and disappointments.
However, these are key factors in how your business will be successful.
That despite all the failures, disappointments, and hardships. You must stay determined and focused.
Since all of these are part of the process which you must experience for you to grow. You must embrace all of these, and in order, to do that, you must change your perception in life & business.
Start by shifting your paradigm, to learn more about Paradigm Shift, read it here.
Should you be bothered by not having patience in starting a business?
Yes, because starting a business or even running a business requires a lot of patience.
And most of the startups end up giving up at the beginning of their journey as an entrepreneur is because they lose their patience.
All those days without sales? It is just the beginning, you will be experiencing much more challenging situations in the future.
Hence, you must have the guts to endure it and learn along the way.
You must keep on learning and gaining new pieces of knowledge and experiences as your journey continues.
Never give up! If there are no sales, then use this time to learn new timely strategies then try again. Keep on trying until you get it right.
Hidden Truth #7
People will criticize or ridicule you for starting a business
Did you know? There are a lot of startups entrepreneurs who experience bullying especially online in starting a business? Which is one of the toxic cultures of the society and sadly some Filipinos as well.
That if they see you trying, instead of helping you they will throw negative things onto you such as “You will never succeed” or “Your business sucks“.
They will criticize you as if they are also entrepreneurs themselves. As if they know so much, but if you check, they do not even start a business and some are worse since they are the ones who started by gave up easily.
Or others are criticizing you, saying that they “can do better than you“. But look at them, if it is true that they are better than you. How come they haven’t started their own thing yet?
It is always easy to say something negative to other people while it is very difficult for them to say positive things. I wish that most people accept that and change their ways because they are getting too toxic to other people.
Is it important to ignore criticism in starting a business?
I admit that even we hated it, we must accept and hear out criticisms. However, learn to filter the authentic ones from the useless ones.
If that’s the case, how can I filter the authentic criticisms from the useless criticisms in business?
There are different types of criticism, before you can filter them out, you must first understand what are the types of criticisms.
So that you can pick which are useful for you in starting a business or running a business.
In accepting criticisms you must filter out the opinions that would matter to you or your business.
Aside from that, You must only accept those opinions relevant to business improvements and relevant thoughts to being an entrepreneur.
Should you be bothered by criticisms in starting a business or even in running it?
It depends If opinions that are thrown at you are negative, useless, or irrelevant. The best thing to do is just ignore.
Since it does not give you any benefit at all, it does not going to change or improve your business strategies. Hence, why should you listen to them, right?
That is one of the toxic cultural traits of society is that if they are seeing that you are going “against the tide” or doing something different, unique, and different from what they know.
It will cause them to uproar and say their irrelevant opinions to pull you back to the “tradition“.
Hence, only accept those that would bring impact or improvement to you and your business. Otherwise, practice the “power of ignoring“.
Conclusions
Many people are afraid to start their business or even just do something that they love or are passionate about. Because they know that there is a lot of negativity attached to it.
But they are just seeing what is only on the surface of it, once a person sees something negative most didn’t even bother to try and see the positive things for themselves.
Starting a business or running a business requires you as an entrepreneur to change how you perceive things because the negative is always visible but you must accept that. Because if there is a negative thing going on, something positive is going on as well.
It is the balance of the universe and how our lives work, but in some cases, we are being programmed to perceive things according to how it was taught to us.
Entrepreneurs may look weird from a normal person’s vision because entrepreneurs think extraordinary with so much optimism. Because they are thinking differently from most people. They can go against the status quo and the usual.
And that is why they’re successful entrepreneurs because they manage to do and think differently. Therefore, if you are decided to pursue the path to be an entrepreneur, you must do the following:
10 Things you must do in starting a business
- Think and do different from others, Be unique. Do not chase someone’s tail. Make your own track and continue to follow that road.
- Stay humble, focus on your goal, but never forget those who helped you and always thank them for their support.
- You must change your perception of things, whether in life or business. Affirm your goals and continue to persevere until you achieve them.
- Cut off or ignore those people who are pulling you down, you cannot carry the weight of people’s opinions about you or your business. Remember that an eagle cannot soar high if it’s carrying something.
- If people around you do not support you, do not be disheartened, the world offers a lot of strangers that will support you.
- You must keep on learning, improvement stops when you become complacent.
- When you improve, your business improves as well. Therefore, if you give up, the journey of your business stops right at it.
- Embrace failure, disappointment, and mistakes. Learn from them. And use it as your starting point to improve.
- Know your purpose and use it as the guiding light for your business. By doing so, you will be able to do more than you can expect from yourself and your business.
- Do not focus on the money, instead find a solution to help the community. It generates more income and impacts your customers.
Starting a business will require your commitment, if you take care of and love your business, it will do the same for you.
Apply faith in what you do, persevere, and continue to improve. Always keep moving forward and eventually the right time will come to you.
Author: Carlo David
KG Collections is an online store on Facebook, Established on April 15, 2020. Primarily, We started selling Pre-loved goods which eventually expanded to sell brand new apparel through reselling.Now, KG Collections is a franchisee of Siomai King, Mangbok's, And other food products. We are also a franchisee and operator of the newest delivery platform called TokTok PH.Aside from franchise and reselling business. KG Collections also participates in multiple affiliate marketing programs, content creation, and online course teaching.KG Collections is managed directly by the owners Kathlene Garcia & Carlo David, the couple's goal is to build a business community for small business owners where they can attain new knowledge and be inspired with their businesses.The organization will also launch its online course programs to help the public learn new things, which the courses will be prepared by professionals who have excellent skillsets to share and teach the enrollees.-KG Collections
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