Top 5 Myths About Business You Immediately Need to Get Rid of

Do not allow these misconceptions to hold you back anymore

There are 3 kinds of people in the world.

• People that look for a stable and well-paying job.
• Those who take risks and build their own business empire.
• Lastly, the ones who want to start a business but never do.

The 2nd type of people who do not have the courage and motivation to take action.

The third category is massive. A lot of people dream of starting their own business but never actually start it. They find ideas, make plans, and then forget them.

Why don’t they take action? Reasons may vary. If you belong to this category, the possible reasons holding you back could be:

• Half-baked plans
• No enough funds to start with
• No idea about how to start
• Not motivated enough
• Want a partner but can’t find one
• Being surrounded by various misconceptions about business.

While all the first 5 problems are manageable and can be resolved, the last one is quite dangerous. You can manage to figure out another way if one is full of obstacles, but you won’t even care to try if you think the destination is not worth it.

A mind surrounded by misconceptions begins to see problems that don’t actually exist.

What I mean is if you make an assumption about a particular thing, make sure it’s based on your own experience. Everybody has different capabilities and viewpoints. What others think is an obstacle may turn out to be a big advantage for you.

In this post, I tried to bust some of the widely believed misconceptions about business in an attempt to give you a fresh perspective.

Let’s get started.

Your idea must be unique

A unique idea is not always a billion-dollar idea. You can come up with the best idea in the world and still fail. Similarly, any repetitive idea doesn’t always lead to failure if you have a winning strategy.

Whether you enter a crowded market or create a whole new one, your success will depend on your worth, hard work, and strategies. An idea alone can’t lead you to glory. It’s definitely an important part but not everything.

You can build a multi-million business on an old/repetitive idea if you know how to stand out. Here are a few tips to follow.

• Find loopholes in the market and create a business strategy to fill them.
• Set yourself apart either in terms of product quality or the service.
• Market your brand aggressively.
• Create an emotional bond with consumers.

The last mover can dominate the market with the right strategies. We have several real-world examples to prove that. Jio, India’s one of the leading telecom companies, has very well proved it.

When Jio was launched in India back in 2016, the market was entirely captured by 12 big as well as small other telecoms. The mobile tariffs were extremely high at that point in time. And, people were fed up.

While every new company enters the market with a customer-friendly scheme to get noticed, Jio literally broke all records. Absolutely free data and calls were too sweet of an invitation to resist.

As a result, Jio acquired nearly 16 million subscribers within the first month of its launch. The impact was so powerful that around 8 rival companies had to quit the race over time and the remaining ones are still struggling to survive.

That’s what happens when you address the pain point of your consumers and give them something they never have imagined.

If your business idea is outdated, that’s okay. Make sure your strategies to beat the competition are not. Surprise your consumers the way that they can’t help noticing and talking about you.

You need a lot of investment

It primarily depends upon the type of business you are getting in. There is no denial that you have to invest to build something reliable. If you have an idea and planning about starting a business that requires a huge investment, you probably already believe that you are financially capable enough to invest. Can’t say about your dreams, but your plans are always within your capacity or else they would have been dropped way earlier.

The actual problem is not the investment. It actually is the lack of belief, or say — fear. What if it doesn’t work out?

First, be sure about your business plan and strategies. Research and prepare a solid full-proof plan for each step and situation, and, understand every single thing you need to. Make a plan-B in case something doesn’t go as per the primary plan. Once you are confident enough, it will eliminate all the self-doubts, making you more willing to put your savings into your business fearlessly.

Besides that, research and knowledge minimize the chances of you taking wrong and unnecessary steps. Doing mistakes is quite obvious during the early phase. And some mistakes may cost a lot of money. You can save up a lot by just knowing what to avoid.

If we knew what exactly would work for us, it would save around 20–25% of the money we often end up investing.

Invest in research, courses, books, personal coaching, and everything that will educate you about the industry. This, in my opinion, is the most impactful way to reduce your overall investment.

In Benjamin Franklin’s words:

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.

The best time was X years ago

This is the most popular misconception. Even you might have the same views about a particular opportunity. Everybody does.

Now is the time to drop this mentality right here. There can be a good time to do something special, but there can’t be any bad time to do it.

If you think that you have lost an opportunity because you had not taken an action 3 years ago, try to find better excuses. This one is just awful.

Being the last mover is not always bad. It also has a great advantage. Last movers can study the market and their competitors beforehand and make plans to tackle them accordingly. They start with a better understanding of the market as they have already learned a lot from their competitors’ mistakes and achievements. By the time they enter, a lot of secret strategies are already disclosed for them to minimize their chances of making any critical mistake.

Factors that you think are against you sometimes turn out to be hidden treasures. All you need is a different viewpoint.

There is no particular golden time to enter a market. If someone tells you this, they are just lying. Competition is never a barrier if you understand the rules of the industry, are a little creative, and have a solid business strategy.

You have to be very lucky

Luck is undoubtedly a factor. But I don’t think most of us have a clear picture of the word ‘luck’ in our minds. In business, luck isn’t like a dice game. Don’t wait to be picked randomly. It’s not gonna happen.

It is said that before seeing overnight growth, you have to go through years of struggle. We have different perspectives about luck. In my opinion, luck is just an unexpected result that comes from your hard work. It is a hidden outcome of your efforts that you don’t see coming.

Precisely, what I believe is the ratio of work to luck in business is 80:20. The 20% depends on the first 80%. What it means is if you do everything right, the magic could happen. But if you don’t work hard enough, nothing will happen for sure. Luck works only when you work.

So, when starting a new endeavor, do not wonder if you are lucky enough for this. Instead, ask yourself — How willing am I to make it?

Luck doesn’t fall from the tree. It is achieved through actions.

Businesses have a higher risk factor than jobs

There is no doubt most jobs provide financial security to an extent. They promise to pay your bills in exchange for your time. And, it feels secure to get paid a fixed amount every month.

However, you can’t deny the uncertainty. Ask yourself — Is your day job totally reliable? Is it recession or pandemic-proof?

The last year was horrible and we shouldn’t forget it this soon. One of the many lessons it taught is that jobs are not completely reliable, too. Millions of people had gone jobless in a matter of weeks.

Your job does provide an assured amount every month, but that job still doesn’t guarantee to cover you for a lifetime either. Even with jobs, you are not 100% covered.

Business, on other hand, doesn't promise a secured earning but it doesn’t cage you by putting a limit on your earnings, either.

Make your decision wisely.

Take away

If you want to give up on your dreams, find some solid reasons to do that. A few misconceptions you grew up believing in aren’t enough.

Gain knowledge, be powerful, confident, and do not believe everything upfront. The ways shown by others often mislead. Have faith in yourself. And, to check the level of water, dip one of your legs yourself. Your dreams are worth a little risk.

While I can’t promise if you start a business you will be a billionaire someday, But it doesn’t particularly mean that you can’t, either. You can and you might.

Thanks for reading until the end.

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