Remove Barriers Stopping the Start
Starting is the hardest part. Not because it is actually hard, but because you make it that way. You will find reasons to delay the first step, and sure, those reasons seem important at the time, but are they?
When I wanted to start my woodworking business I mulled over the idea for months. I researched how to start a business, the difference between a sole proprietorship, LLC, and corporation, what the state requires, how to do taxes, and more. Funny enough, the thing that held me back was the name. I didn’t want to get it wrong.
I learned it’s a best practice to name your business something other than your own name because it builds credibility. So I pondered and thought until my thinker was through and realized I could generate a list of 100 names, but all I was doing was finding an excuse not to start.
And I realized it was an excuse. There was no real barrier. I didn’t need a lawyer or accountant. I didn’t need to draft articles of incorporation. All I needed was to use my name and get started.
One day I snapped out of it and decided I would setup a sole proprietorship with the name Keaton Beyer Woodworking. I filed with the state and my city and was done in half an hour. That was it. Half an hour of navigating my states website was the barrier that held me back for months.
I didn’t need to worry about taxes, I hadn’t made money. I didn’t have to worry about liability or certifications or insurance or licenses. All I had to do was register, pay a fee so I could start the real work.
Which brings me to you.
Do you have something you want to do but are holding back? What is causing the hold? Is it a tangible, real problem you need to overcome, or is it a barrier you put in place that could easily be sidestepped?
If you are unsure, do a simple exercise.
Get a piece of paper and write down what you want to achieve at the top, then draw a line down the middle. On the left side write barriers and on the right write why. In the barrier column, write down what is standing in your way. Right next to that in the right column jot down why that barrier exists. What is causing it?
Remind yourself of the goal. If your goal is to start a YouTube channel and a barrier is not having a camera, ask yourself if that is true. Do you need a camera or will your smart phone suffice? Sure, the quality won’t be top of the line, but does that matter for your first video?
Your goal is to start, to try, and to do so you must remove all the barriers you can.
Some barriers may be tangible, but easily removed with a little effort. Say you want to build a coffee table but you don’t have a plan. Don’t reinvent the wheel, go to Google and search for “coffee table plans”. You will find hundreds available, many for free, so take your pick and hurdle that barrier.
There are so many things that stop us in our tracks, but very few of them are really stopping us. By dissecting the individual barriers one at a time you’ll see you are the problem. Simply getting out of your own way to clear the path.
The trick is to write the barriers down. Once you get the big, scary, ominous problem on paper it turns into what it really is. A simple action item.
After all, once you start, you have a real mountain to climb. You have to make your way up the learning curve, and that can be steep. Don’t make your life harder by adding barriers blocking your way.