5 Obstacles That Stop People From Starting A Business

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Updated: June 9th, 2022

Many people dream of escaping their 9 to 5 jobs and becoming entrepreneurs, setting their own working hours and pursuing that business idea that will free them from the cubicle life. But most never take that first step.

In this article, we'll go over the most common 5 obstacles that prevent people from starting a business and how they can be overcome.

Let's dive in:

1. "I don’t have enough money"

Thinking that you never have enough money to start your business is very common.

The truth is: you need a lot less money than you think.

Take for example Brian’s experience, who started a projector ecommerce that today makes $12M/year and who started it by simply investing a small part of his income as a consultant:

ProjectorScreen.com was launched out of my basement as a one-person operation. I was performing consulting activities for other eCommerce store owners and doing SEO and other digital marketing to generate an income stream. I used the income from consulting to fund all of the development activities.

Brian Gluck, on starting ProjectorScreen.com ($1,700,000/month) full story ➜

More examples:

Tim built a business repurposing old smartphones ($40K per year) and started from his bedroom with $0.
These twins started a $240K/year sunglasses brand with $200.
These two friends went from freelancing to running a $90K/year business and invested less than $1,000 to make it.

2. “I don’t know where to start”

Not knowing how to build a website, being unfamiliar with the world of e-commerce,... these seem to be compelling reasons not to start a business project. However, although it may seem otherwise, they are not so important and shouldn’t stop you.

What is important is that you know the products, the market, the suppliers, or that you have experience in the industry. These are factors that make a difference. You can always hire someone to program your website.

This was exactly Brandon’s situation, who after 8 years of experience and +$10 million in sales, decided to create a new company:

After a call, I had a lightbulb moment. The problem was that I didn’t know how to get started. Another entrepreneur told me how he used a product development company to help him build his product from the ground up. This was really appealing to me, I could cut down on my learning curve. Looking back, I couldn’t imagine doing this work without their services.

Brandon Nolte, on starting Stello ($3,000/month) full story ➜

3. “What if I fail?”

The fear of failure, which is sometimes referred to as atychiphobia, is an irrational and persistent fear of failing. It can be experienced in many different ways: like being reluctant to try new things, suffering from excessive procrastination or feeling that something is never finished and needs more work.

Marge was told that she’ll never work again, but she overcame her fears and started an aromatherapy business that today makes $900K/year.

For years I let fear hold me back, fear of failure, fear of not being “enough”. I was blessed that in the years since Nature’s Gift started, I have been surrounded by people and circumstances that encouraged (or forced!) me to move through the fear.

Marge Clark, on starting Nature's Gift ($75,000/month) full story ➜

Tucker Max is a 4x New York Times Bestselling Author and the co-founder of a $15.6M/year professional publishing company. However, this is how he felt when he started:

When I started, years ago, I had all sorts of confidence issues that made me afraid. I feared I wouldn’t be good enough, smart enough, or skilled enough. I used this fear to push me to work hard, conquer my demons, and write the best book I had in me.

Tucker Max, on starting Scribe Media ($1,300,000/month) full story ➜

So, yes. To fail is an option whenever you start a project. But isn’t not trying anything the worst kind of failure?

If you fail, the best you can do is to learn from the experience and not repeat the same mistakes the next time.

4. “I’m not good at ____”

Starting a business can seem overwhelming before starting. But it isn’t worse than a college assignment or a project from work.

And believe that most founders have felt the same. The important thing is to take the first step.

Take Jessica, for example:

It clicked that I could actually make money off of doing something I was passionate about but I didn’t really know where to start.

Jessica Serna, on starting My Curly Adventures ($4,000/month) full story ➜

What was her first step? Joined a group of bloggers who supported and helped her.

Today she has quit her 9 to 5 job and makes $48K/year.

See these stories to find more inspiration:

Ron found courage after reading one of Warren Buffet’s books. The cleaning company he started now makes $25M/year.
Matthew struggled at the beginning because “he didn’t know what he didn’t know.” But that didn’t stop him and now his agency makes $720K/year.

5. “I need a paycheck every month”

Did you know that 1 in 3 Americans have a side hustle? That’s probably because it’s the best way to start a business.

To avoid ending up broke because of a failed business start with a side hustle and grow from there. Get more invested in the business as it grows.

A great example of this is Andrew, who designed a specific plan and set goals he had to achieve before leaving his full-time job.

Once I decided I was going to leave P&G, I made a spreadsheet called “Operation: Leave Corporate America” (OLCA for short). It included a list of all the things I needed to have completed before I felt comfortable quitting my full-time job.
It included: having a website, getting 10 clients, saving for 12 months for a bare-minimum lifestyle in NYC and generating $5,000 as reason-to-believe I can make money.

Andrew Tarvin, on starting Humor That Works ($12,500/month) full story ➜

Today Andrew's business generates $125K/year.

More examples:

If you're ready to leave these obstacles behind but haven't found the right business idea for you, check out our side hustles database or explore our business ideas database, both packed with useful information such as potential revenue, and skills required to get started.

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meet the author

Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.

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