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Starting a Business

Avoid These 8 Excuses -- They're Success Repellent

Avoid These 8 Excuses -- They're Success Repellent
Image credit: Shutterstock
VIP Contributor
Founder, Uber Brands
5 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

If you desire success, you really have to want it.

Take a step back for a minute and think of a few successful people you know. How did they put themselves in that position? They surely didn’t get lucky. They simply wanted it -- they wanted it so bad that they were willing to outwork everyone else.

Those that don’t truly want success make excuses. Here are eight excuses that act as success repellant.

1. "I don’t know how to start a business."

A lot of my friends are having kids, and as soon-to-be first-time parents they all say, “I have no idea how to be a parent.” Guess what? They just figure it out. They learn along the way. They ask fellow parents for advice and they even turn to online resources for help and guidance.

Nobody starts out knowing everything about running a business. In fact, you will never know everything -- being an entrepreneur is a constant educational journey. Find a mentor, network with other entrepreneurs, pick the brains of successful individuals and use online resources, such as this site, to find answers to your questions.

Related: 6 Genuine Reasons Why People Become Entrepreneurs

2. "I don’t have enough money."

Dell, which at one time was the largest seller of personal computers, was started with $1,000. Saying “I don’t have enough money” is just an excuse people make when they don’t really want to start a business -- they know deep down they aren’t ready or willing to put the time and effort in, so rather than admitting that, they declare it’s the lack of funds standing in their way.

There are plenty of ways to start a business with little to no capital. Create an instant source of revenue, start small and bootstrap your growth and eliminate unnecessary expenses in the beginning. 

3. "I don’t want to go into debt."

You don’t need to take out a large bank loan to start a business, nor do you have to accumulate a pile of credit-card debt. Sure, a loan or credit can help you grow faster, but it isn’t impossible to gain traction without tapping into borrowed money. 

Start small and take baby steps. Not every business is going to become an overnight success, no matter how much financial backing it has. A large majority of business fail, and it has nothing to do with a lack of money. Bad business decisions will ruin a company, well funded or not. Concentrate on making intelligent decisions while slowly growing with the financial resources you have available.

4. "I have a family to focus on."

A lot of people will use this as an excuse to stick with a career or nine-to-five job that they hate. There is no rule stating that you must quit, risk it all and jump into an entrepreneurial journey head first. Start small. Start part time. Just start.

The key is time management -- if you have a full-time job and a family then your available down time is limited. Wake up early and work on your business before you head into your job. Put the kids to bed at night and work on your business for a few hours.

Are you willing to operate on little to no sleep and limited personal time? If you want success you need to sacrifice.

Related: 20 Years, 20 Tips for Building a Healthy Business

5. "I’ve already tried and failed."

Very rarely does an entrepreneur hit a home run his or her first time at bat. Sure, it happens, but don’t bet on it. If you fail, get back up and try again. If you have that entrepreneurial spirit, failure shouldn’t stop you -- it should motivate you.

It’s a horrible excuse. If you want to quit, fine, but don’t make excuses. Just admit you don’t want to risk experiencing failure again.

6. "I don’t have time."

If you want something bad enough you make time for it. Get up before the sun rises. Stay up late. Stop watching Game of Thrones marathons. Skip happy hour. Give up your weekends. 

Find the time.

7. "I’m currently dealing with [insert life dilemma]."

You know what they say -- s**t happens. Life often throws us curve balls that we are forced to deal with. Nobody is immune to difficult times and situations. Everyone is dealing with issues that hit deep -- no matter how amazing things look on the outside.

I lost my dad right after I started my company. I was a mess. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for a certain individual that helped me get through it. Surround yourself with amazing people and use any negative situation or life event as motivation. 

8. "Someone already took my idea."

This is an excuse that drives me crazy.

“I had a great idea, but someone took it.”

They took your idea? Really? News flash: not every idea is going to be 100 percent unique or new. There is nothing stopping you from reinventing the wheel. If you really believe that someone took your idea, then make it better. There are over a dozen major car manufacturers, so why did Elon Musk start Tesla? Because he knew he could build a much better product. 

Every day that passes is a day you don’t get back. If you want something, go after it. Leave all excuses at the door.

Related: 4 Tell-Tale Signs That Scream You're an Entrepreneurial Newbie

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