40 Excuses Entrepreneurs Must Overcome To Succeed In Business

Entrepreneurship is hard. No question about it. Anyone who says it’s easy is either lying, suffering from amnesia, or has never actually tried to start and grow their own business before. One of the hardest parts about becoming an entrepreneur is simply just getting started. It’s scary taking chances, making yourself vulnerable for failure, and starting an untemplate lifestyle, but that’s also what makes it so incredibly rewarding and worthwhile.

So why is so hard to start? Because as humans, even though it’s not in our best interest, we love to make excuses. It’s so much easier to shift blame onto someone or something else and stay passive versus taking action and ownership of our lives and the directions we take. As Untemplaters, you should already know that shattering the template lifestyle isn’t easy and making excuses won’t get you far. But nobody is perfect and we all have days when we succumb to doubt, fear, anxiety, and inaction that we try to validate with excuses.

We get into trouble when we have too many of these days in a row and can’t snap out of our funk. Here are 40 excuses entrepreneurs must overcome to succeed in business. Instructions: Count how many times you’ve made each of these excuses in the last two weeks and then check your score below.

Excuses, Excuses – Now Take The Quiz!

Instructions: Count how many times you’ve made each of these excuses in the last two weeks and then check your score below.

1. I’m too tired.
2. I’m not smart enough.
3. I don’t know how to start.
4. There’s too much competition already.
5. I’m too young to be taken seriously.
6. I’m too old to start something new.
7. I don’t have enough money.
8. I’ll wait until the weather changes.
9. It’s just too hard.
10. I don’t want to fail.
11. I’m scared of change.
12. I don’t know where to begin.
13. I don’t have the right experience.
14. I’m already stressed out.
15. I don’t have the right skills.
16. I don’t think I can do it.
17. I don’t have enough time.
18. I’ll start after I get in shape.
19. My expenses are too high already.
20. I won’t get approved for any loans.
21. I can’t come up with any good ideas.
22. I’m uncomfortable taking risks.
23. The industry is too slow.
24. I’ll start after I do xyz.
25. I can’t start if the economy is bad.
26. I have to get caught up before I can begin.
27. I don’t know anyone who can help me.
28. I won’t have any support.
29. I already failed before.
30. I need a perfect plan before I can start.
31. My family will think I’m crazy.
32. I don’t want to give up spending time with friends.
33. I don’t want to make sacrifices.
34. People won’t like me.
35. I don’t have any resources.
36. It will never work.
37. I can’t do it by myself.
38. My bf/gf/spouse doubts me.
39. I don’t have enough knowledge.
40. I’ll never succeed.

Scoring

0-5 Top of the class: Congrats on being in the top of your class! You’re a go-getter who thinks positively and has high self-confidence. Even the most hard working entrepreneurs have doubts from time to time, but you know the importance of keeping them to a minimum. You maximize your time and rebound quickly when you run into obstacles. Nice work, keep it up!

6-10 Borderline: You’re on the right track, and it’s time to grunt and keep pushing forward so you don’t get into trouble. You’re teetering right on the edge of rising to the top and sliding down a slippery slope, so it’s vital you work on your self esteem and take more responsibility for your own actions. Focus on the excuses you’ve made the most often and figure out what you need to do in order to overcome them quickly. Time is of the essence!

11-15 In trouble: If entrepreneurship is something you really want, it’s time to give yourself a mental makeover. Right now you don’t have enough drive, confidence, or initiative to get yourself off the ground. Recognizing that your potential for success is currently compromised is the first step to finding solutions that will help you rise above your lethargy and fears. Put together an action plan, work on your consistency and execution, and focus on the positives!

16+ Time for a kick in the pants: It’s time to whip yourself into shape if you truly are serious about having a chance to achieve your entrepreneurial dreams. Your current attitude has you headed for failure before you’ve even started. Don’t get stuck on an endless uphill battle. Stop making things so much harder for yourself and change your mindset. You’re making too many excuses all the time. Everyone has the power to control their own destiny and you too can get out of your funk and push yourself to the next level. Tap into your fighting spirit and rise to the occasion!

Overcome Fear, Doubt, And Take Control

You’ll notice the majority of the 40 excuses entrepreneurs must overcome to succeed in business are centered around fear and doubt. Nothing in life is certain, especially in the lives of entrepreneurs, so it’s completely natural to have anxieties. But letting those fears and doubts consume your life and drown out your motivation will prevent you from performing your best and will hold you back. Take control of your thoughts, do your due diligence, get organized, stop complaining, start thinking positively, execute, and follow through!

Untemplaters, how did you score on the 40 excuses entrepreneurs most overcome quiz? What are some of the excuses, fears, and doubts that you struggle with the most? Which ones have you been able to overcome?

 

Updated 2016. Original content and photography authorized only to appear on Untemplater.com. Thank you for reading!