Common Myths About Starting a Small Business - Shaun Stenning

In the "dot com" era of the 1990s, I started a couple of technology companies and ended up running my own profitable small business for five years. Starting your own business and working for yourself sounds great — and it can be! But it seems like many people who dream of starting their own business don't understand some of the hard realities that go along with this undertaking.

According to Shaun Stenning, “Entrepreneurship is not for the timid. It’s not that it takes tremendous amounts of courage, but you do need a certain tenacity to hit the ground running every morning when you swing your feet out of bed.”

“As the allure of entrepreneurship grows in the zeitgeist of global culture, so too do the myths surrounding it,” Shaun said.

Here are common entrepreneurial myths about starting a business that I used to believe, which I can now debunk for you.

You have to know what you’re doing.

You actually don’t need to know exactly what you’re doing to get started. Time has proven that continuously.

You Have No Boss

A big reason some people want to start their own business is so they can be their own boss.

You have to have a full business plan.

I personally don’t like giant business plans.

You Can Work Fewer Hours

While you can set your own schedule as a business owner, you will likely end up working a lot of hours overall to get everything done.

Entrepreneurs tend to work long hours on most days. In startup mode, that’s simply what’s required. However, you have to be aware not only of your cash burn rate as a startup but also of your personal burn out rate