Fear of not making it

[sunj]

Hello guys,

I want to run a business, a car wash business to be exact, but I have this fear like what if people don't come (or not enough people come) and I won't be able to pay my bills and the loan on the business, and the lender will seize my assets.

That's one of my main fears of running a business. It's the same if I started my software business. What if people don't buy my software? I know marketing can be done to sell products, but something like a car wash, it's hard to market unless you make it unique or have some sort of a drawing (1 in 10000) chances win to win $1,000! Some sort of gimmick like that.

I know it's a risk that some days/weeks/months will be slower than others, but I would definitely wouldn't want my year to end up in the negatives.

I'm going to be doing research on it for several months. My city is fairly large and there are many car washes around and room for a lot more. So I'm going to survey some of the locations and such and create a plan and a list of must have's for a successful business.

So has anyone felt about running a business like this? I'm sure other people have this fear too.

[simonsta]

Sunj this is an issue a lot of people deal with when on the brink of starting a business, you are right there.

I don't have a silver bullet to offer, but maybe some thoughts.

* If you think you will fail then there is a strong chance you will. Look at Steve's articles - the law of attraction - intention manifestation.

* Much better if you believe you will succeed, no matter what.

* If you have to worry, worry about what the consequences of NOT going for it, ie. your personal fulfilment, happiness, health, etc

* If you really have to, worry about what might happen if you are too successful and how you will cope with that!

* Have a contingency plan if the first few weeks/months don't go as you would like - can you go back to what you are doing? If you're good at your current job then your boss will surely have you back?

Hope those help.

[newmark]

If you can find a location with little competition. And if you give a good service you should be able to do well.
Choosing the right location is one of the main ways to succeed.

[Ponce]

A six cars wash bay with your apartment or house build right above it should do the trick..........that is to say if you already own a home and you sell it.

By living right above it you can take care of business and keep an eye on your coins machines........

[sunj]

Originally Posted by Ponce

A six cars wash bay with your apartment or house build right above it should do the trick..........that is to say if you already own a home and you sell it.

By living right above it you can take care of business and keep an eye on your coins machines........

No, that won't do. I wouldn't want people annoying me. Plus that would seem crazy, who lives on top of their car wash?

[ennah]

Sunj, it's great that you know what you want. This is a good start to being a great business owner. It is natural and a good asset to have these questions, worries and thoughts about the risks. One way to eliviate the pressures of this is knowledge. Instead of living in your own thoughts and fears, try working on those areas a bit every day. Knowledge is power. Also, if you are just starting to look for the right business, a great business broker with years of experience can be golden. My suggestion on this is, make sure he/she is a CBI (Certified Business Intermediary) licensed. Car washes can be very profitable but also tricky. I recommend an existing one. Your business broker should be able to match you with the ideal business as well as with the right business loan.

[CStrunk]

Originally Posted by sunj

I know marketing can be done to sell products, but something like a car wash, it's hard to market unless you make it unique or have some sort of a drawing (1 in 10000) chances win to win $1,000! Some sort of gimmick like that.

Completely wrong. Marketing is everything - accentuating what makes your car wash more convenient than the next, or what makes your individual services worthwhile for the consumer, and your brand management. It's some pretty cool stuff and I think it would be valuable information for you to read up on. Wikipedia has a very small article on it.

[newmark]

Originally Posted by sunj

No, that won't do. I wouldn't want people annoying me. Plus that would seem crazy, who lives on top of their car wash?

Who would live above a car wash? Someone who really wanted to make it work.

[akneese]

You have to take the chance or you will never no th out come. G o out and advertise to draw the costomers in Good luck on your business venure.

[FXTraderWill]

Just my opinion,

while I agree that having a fear-based belief system makes it much less likely you will succeed, however when someone has a lot of fears some of them may be very valid. The only way to overcome them is to have a business plan so solid that you have a contingency plan for everything. A positive mentality is necessary for it, but so is a skeptical and realistic one. If you realistically assess the difficulty of accomplishing your goal and discover that ahead of you lies an extreme challenge, and you then do your best to think through everything and come up with a plan that you expect to work - a plan that takes into consideration all the likely causes of failure and setbacks, a plan based on realistic and non-optimistic assumptions about the world... you will set yourself up to succeed.

If you fear running a car wash would be not profitable that is likely because you don't have a solid plan for how you can capture a meaningful percentage of the demand for car cleaning in your area. What will your car wash offer that others don't? What real world evidence have you seen to show you that a car wash will succeed where you intend to open one.

Just like a software business. If you go into it knowing that the ideas you have for your initial software are great ideas, because they fill a void that you are quite sure is real based on your observations, you may still feel some fear but the fear won't keep you in inaction because your conviction in the utility of what you intend to create is stronger than the fear.

Failure is a likely possibility if you don't possess an outstanding plan. If you focus on making the plan rock solid, fear won't be an issue.

[smartile]

sunj,

I've never run a carwash business and never intend to.

I looked at your question from a completely different perspective: the Law of Attraction.

Fear is the result of a thought in your own mind. It's not a real 'out there' experience. It's internal. Eliminate your fear by eliminating your thought.

If you're fearful pay attention to where your focus is. It's no coincidence that your fear will attract what you don't want.

To learn more see, Why You Attract What You Don't Want.

[1000feet]

I was reading something recently about the many successful people who claim that their "secret" is to do what their afraid of. Looking at my own situation I know that the biggest opportunities available now do scare me a bit for various reasons. So it's not always a bad thing - it might be a sign that this is something worth putting your effort into.