FIVE (5) MYTHS ABOUT STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS THAT SHOULDN’T STOP YOU

FIVE (5) MYTHS ABOUT STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS THAT SHOULDN’T STOP YOU

 

Entrepreneurship is on the rise in present times. With the power of the internet and social media, starting your own business has never been easier.

But nothing good in life comes easy. And starting your own business isn’t an exception. You need to learn what the customers demand, build an impressive product or service, and find ways to minimize costs and risks.

Unfortunately, many people don’t even take the first step because of fear of failure. They believe the myths they have been told by friends or inexperienced people who couldn’t do it themselves.

Here are the five myths about starting your own business that shouldn’t stop you.

1. You Need A Lot of Money

Starting your own business takes effort and willpower, not money. Small amounts of money can bring in small profits, which then, can be reinvested to scale the business. Many of the successful companies in the world – including Dell, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, eBay, and SAP – started as a bootstrapped enterprise.

2. It’ll Take A Long Time To Start

A serial entrepreneur, Bob Adams started multiple businesses within weeks. His Cape Cod map business took five weeks to generate profits. He started other business such as bicycle rentals, boat brokerage and trading, and house painting.

Starting your own business seems hard because you look at the big elephant and get scared. If you eat the elephant one bite at a time and focus on action, soon uncertainty will convert into certainty and you’ll be astounded to find that it was not that hard.

3. You Need to Quit Your Job

You don’t need to quit your job. In fact, it’s advisable that you start out small while keeping your day job. A day job will give you the mental peace to work on your business with a free mind. If you have work, it’s better to hire people on hourly basis to keep the workflow smooth.

It’s important that you start small and slow. That way, you will have enough space to make mistakes and learn how a business really works. Without your job, you won’t be able to take risks. With a job, you’ll be better able to test an idea, analyze the results, revamp the product, test it, and keep your product improving this way until you get it right.

As Mark Cuban says, “You only have to be right once.”

4. You Have to Work 24/7

It’s true that you need to put in great effort. But great effort is about consistently working every day, it’s not about burning yourself out so much that you don’t feel healthy or active during work.

You can’t pour from an empty cup, therefore it’s important that you take the time to recharge and rejuvenate yourself. Eating healthy, sleeping enough, exercising every day, taking regular breaks, and taking a day off every weekend are all part of the deal.

5. You Need Experience

Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, says that, “even if you’re the best of the best, there’s always a chance of failure.”

Starting your own business in an unexplored field fills you with excitement and curiosity. Everyone makes mistakes and learns along the way. You can learn any business by breaking it down into digestible pieces.

As Tony Robbins says, “success is 80% psychology and 20% strategy”. What matters is that you put in the effort, break down dreadful problems into doable tasks, and keep persevering till the bitter end.

Starting your own business is not about resources, it’s about effort, willpower, and ability to learn and adapt.

Beyond Thank You: How to Show Appreciation and Express Gratitude in English

Beyond Thank You: How to Show Appreciation and Express Gratitude in English

If I asked you to count how many times you said “thank you” today, how would you respond?

After all, it *is* one of the most essential phrases in the English language.

That said, if you really start to think about it, you probably don’t say thank you as often as you’d like to.

We can all agree that you should say “thanks” when someone does you a favor, when you receive a gift, or when a complete stranger takes the time to respond to your question, such as when you ask for directions in a new city.

But how often do you thank a friend or colleague for waiting for you when you’re running late, for listening to you when you feel sad or stressed and just need to express yourself, or for giving you a compliment or constructive feedback?

Let’s be honest here – sometimes we all fall into the bad habit of taking people for granted (or at least taking their kindness or generosity for granted).

Every November, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday dedicated to giving and expressing thanks, showing gratitude to our friends and family, and appreciating all of the good things in our lives.

While you could argue that we should be practicing gratitude year-round (and you would be right), the Thanksgiving holiday reminds us to slow down, look around us, and pay attention to all the gifts life has given us.

Through this article, you’ll learn how to genuinely say thank you, show appreciation, and express gratitude in English.

Remember, it’s not just about the words, being grateful can actually improve your mood, your attitude, and even your life!

Difference Between Thanks, Appreciation, and Gratitude

When we talk about giving thanks, we are actually talking about several different concepts.

Saying “thank you” describes the simple, clear act of using a phrase like “thank you,” “thanks,” “thanks so much,” or any of the common phrases we use to verbally express our thanks that I share below.

When we appreciate someone or something, we perform an action; we recognize the value of something we received, the time someone spent with us, or their contribution to our life.

Appreciation goes beyond acknowledging its value to feeling a deeper sense of gratitude.

When we show appreciation for something, we demonstrate our feelings through actions. This usually involves saying a genuine “thank you” either publicly or privately.

On the other hand, gratitude can be considered an attitude or approach to living a good life.

The word gratitude describes the state of being thankful or grateful due to a constant awareness of the positive aspects of your life.

For many people, gratitude is actually a practice, something you work on doing on a daily basis.

In short, thanks are simply words, appreciation is an action, and gratitude is a practice. You can be thankful, appreciative, and grateful all at the same time!

Why Saying Thank You is Important

As I mentioned above, saying thank you more often and giving thanks as part of a gratitude practice can have an important impact on your personal well-being. 

However, for non-native English speakers, saying thanks can also have a major impact on how native speakers view you, the way you express yourself, and how people receive you and your message, particularly in the workplace.

First of all, saying thank you shows good manners. In fact, it’s it’s one of the quickest and easiest ways to ensure that someone sees you as polite.

Remember, we’re more likely to remember when someone doesn’t say “thank you” after we’ve invested time and energy into helping them. I bet you can think of a few examples right now!

Besides demonstrating good manners, saying thank you signals your respect for the other person’s time or knowledge, and an acknowledgement that the other person offered you time, energy, or help that you received with appreciation.

In this way, saying thank you actually connects you to the other person, beyond the exchange of words.