By Jeff Lefleur

Owning a business is hard. I should know. Since I was 12, I’ve had a variety of business ventures from delivering papers to installing kitchen countertops, owning student rentals properties, investing into a Canada Bread franchise, operating a property management company and now Franchise Grade.

Each venture has its differences – different customers, different go-to-market strategies, different business partners.

But there is always one constant:

Uncertainty

This is hard for a lot of people to handle and is the #1 reason someone doesn’t start their own business. They are uncertain it will work out.

It reminds me of a quote from Shakespeare:

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 2.

The quote implies someone with great responsibilities, in this case a business owner, worries constantly. It also means that a person in charge or in a leadership role needs to take on many responsibilities and it’s a tough job. Digging deeper though and the true cause of that worry or uneasy feeling is uncertainty. It’s the doubt, hesitation and insecurity when making decisions that creates the worry. Every decision is yours to make and yours to potentially screw up. The stress of uncertainty is hard to avoid.

Your family depends on you. Your employees depend on you. Their lives, all their lives are affected by the success or failure of your business. You’ll take risks; you’ll remortgage your house or get a credit line. You may miss a few payments and not get paid by certain clients. You’ll spend money based on future projections with the hope of getting a return on the investment but receive no guarantee in the end.

You don’t know the future but as a business owner you need to predict the future. None of us are fortune tellers and uncertainty creeps around every corner.

So, what do you do?

Nothing. Live with it. Learn from it.

You can’t be scared of making decisions. No matter what decision you make, there will be some uncertainty and doubt that creeps into your mind. As a business owner, that’s your life.

I never look back and second guess. I may have been completely wrong in my decision but I trust my abilities. I analyzed the options; I performed a cost-benefit analysis. I bounced ideas off someone, maybe talked to a professional, key staff member, other business owners or my family.

I trust that at that moment in time, I made a decision I believed was the right one based on all the information I could gather.

I learn from the results of a decision, but after the fact, never think shoulda…woulda…coulda. That is the worst possible thought of a growing business. This paralyzes you for the next hard decision.

Making the leap into owning your own business is not about eliminating uncertainty and doubt. It’s about coming to terms that it will always be there. It’s about believing in yourself enough to use doubt as a tool to learn, accept and ultimately help grow your business.

Where does a business fit into your plan?

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