I have some thoughts about why this is.

For starters, I believe that some people just don’t like to venture beyond their comfort zone. They’re happy going to work, punching the time clock, putting up with the office politics, and doing what’s expected. And at the end of the day, they’re happy to go home and leave work behind. They like this routine and feel comfortable and safe.

Another reason why people tremble when they hear “start a new business” or “become self-employed” is because they lack confidence. For whatever reason, they feel they’re just not capable of handling the responsibilities of being self-employed. They fear failure… and that failure prevents them from seeing all the opportunity that’s right under their noses.

A third reason is that they feel they lack the financial resources to start a business. Or, they feel they don’t have all the skills and training (and formal education) that they believe is essential.

Well, let’s take a look at these three objections to starting a new business.

First, while people are comfortable in their job, jobs these days don’t seem to impart confidence to those who hold jobs. With 10.2 percent of the workforce unemployed, there’s not much to be truly comfortable or feel safe about.

I’ve had some tough times in my 30 years of experience as a business owner. But I never woke up in the morning worried that I’d be left out in the cold. Even when a major client dumped me, I could regroup and find others to replace them. When I look back at my early days in Corporate America, I think I was often more worried then than I’ve been.

Second, I know people who have been scared to death the first day they started a new job. And they continued to worry once they started the new job. Invariably, they reach a point – everyone does – where they have the confidence they need to do whatever needs to be done. As humans, we can learn just about anything. And confidence is something that you gain by growing a little every day.

Third, starting a new business – becoming self-employed – doesn’t necessarily mean that you need a lot of money. There has never been a time in the history of civilization when someone could start a business with little or no money. In some cases, it takes only than 20 bucks for business cards.

I’ve pointed out, for example, how easy it is for someone to start a retail business using eBay. It requires very little startup capital. Realistically, while you may not need money for the business itself, you will need money for you. When you start a new job tomorrow, you get a paycheck in two weeks. That doesn’t happen with being self-employed (but it could). If you’re not working, where’s the risk? If you’re underemployed, you already have a base.

What’s the difference between a college degree and on-the-job training? A high school diploma, college degree, or technical training is no assurance that you’ll succeed as a business owner.

Many years ago I knew two brothers. One barely made it through high school. The other finished college and went on to obtain a law degree. After 20 years, the brother with the law degree still works for the brother with the high school diploma.

It’s just a matter of how you look at and define “employed by someone else” versus “employed by self.”

Here’s how I explain it:

Let’s say Acme Company employs John Doe. But, for the moment, let’s not think about John Doe as a person with a job and a paycheck. Think of him as John Doe, president of the John Doe Company – an entrepreneur.

As president of the John Doe Company, John knows exactly what he needs to do in order to keep his client – the Acme Company – happy. He needs to produce quality work, deliver on time, keep communication channels open, bring in new ideas, add to profitability, and so on.

If he does all this, the Acme Company will continue doing business with the John Doe Company. However, if the John Doe Company doesn’t live up to its expectations, Acme will look for a new vendor (perhaps the Bill Smith Company) and stop doing business with the John Doe Company.

Now, the only real difference between this John Doe Company and any other is that in this case the John Doe Company has only one customer. (What’s the difference, if any, between a monthly paycheck and a monthly fee or retainer? Nothing!)

But let’s say John could do whatever he does for another company at the same time he’s providing those services to the Acme Company. The John Doe Company would then have two customers. John is still doing the same work, but now he’s doing it for two companies.

I know this is a strange comparison or analogy. Some people get it instantly. Others need to think about it a bit.

When the light comes on, you’ll see that you are now and always have been in your own business… and that there’s not really much difference between working for someone else and working for oneself. And this holds true whether you worked as an executive, mechanic, secretary, sales clerk, bookkeeper, truck driver, or whatever. Your success has always depended on you and you alone!

So the bottom line is that if you have 10 or 15 or 20 years of experience working as an employee for someone else and you’ve kept your boss (the Acme Company) happy, you most likely have the potential to to start a business of your own.

P.S. People will say to me, “Yes, but being in your own business is risky.” To that I point to 14 million people who were feeling pretty secure until the bottom fell out.

“What do you do?” was the question that came at me at just such an event yesterday from a middle-aged gentleman in a gray pinstripe suit.

I handed him my business card and gave him my elevator speech about ThinkSelfEmployed.com. I talked about my desire to help people who are unemployed start their own businesses.

He gave me his elevator speech and then came at me with both barrels.

“You know, Gil, 90% of all businesses fail in their first 5 years.”

Throughout the years, I’ve heard all kinds of statistics about business failures. Quite honestly, I don’t know how anyone could gather such statistics.

Someone starts a small business in his or her basement. They work at it quietly for a while and then pull the plug. How does anyone know they failed if no one knows they started?

How could that private in-the-basement attempt at entrepreneurship be seen, measured, or counted by any government or independent reporting agency?

Sure, businesses fail. We’ve just witnessed and watched as some giants with years under their belts failed… giants that you and I thought were rocks corporate of stability.

Whatever that percentage of failures… 90, 80, 70, 60, 50 percent, if 70% of them fail that means 30% succeed. Imagine, 30% of the people who try to start a new business actually succeed!

Then my thought went into a different direction.

I wonder how many people who start a new job today will be at that same job and working for the same company in 5 years.

Some will make it, be promoted, and watch their salary and success grow.

Others will be fired or laid off or downsized. I’m sure that a sizable percentage will determine that “it’s just not working out.” These people will move on… of their own volition… to try something else at a different place of employment.

What’s the difference? Do these people consider themselves as failed? Because they’re not likely to be at the same job in 5 years, does that keep them from accepting the position in the first place and trying their best? And if they happen to be laid off, do they experience the same stigma as someone who failed while starting a new business?

I think not. Most pick themselves up and start all over again.

I suppose a lot of people go looking for a “magic bullet” that brings with it a guarantee. “Use this magic bullet and your success will be guaranteed.”

I don’t think it works that way.

It was dark by the time I returned to my desk. But I felt compelled to take the time then to send an email to my new friend in the gray pinstripe suit. My email expressed my appreciation and gratitude for a great conversation, and my hope that we’d meet again at future chamber events.

Then I concluded, “If I can help even a fraction of the members in my From Unemployed To Self-Employed program find success in a business of their own, that would be monumental. And who could ever argue with that?

The one thing that these all have in common is that they boast tremendous financial rewards.

I clicked through to an offering this morning for a work-at-home Internet business. Testimonials showed some people earning as much as $7,000 a month. Others were earning between $4,000 and $5,000. As you might expect, the people in the photos that accompanied the testimonials were smiling ear to ear.

The copy was compelling. It created a sense of urgency to get in on the ground floor now… before it’s too late.

Being extremely curious – and because it was so well written – I read the entire offering… down to and including the disclaimer. The 700-word disclaimer included these points:

• Any earnings or income statements, or earnings or income examples, are only estimates of what we think you could earn. There is no assurance you’ll do as well. If you rely upon our figures, you must accept the risk of not doing as well.
• There is no assurance you’ll do as well. If you rely upon our figures; you must accept the risk of not doing as well.
• Testimonials do not represent typical results.
• Photographs or images are depiction of individuals and payment methods.
• These income examples are representative of some of the most successful participants in the program.
• Some individuals purchasing the program may make little or NO MONEY AT ALL.

I could go on and on. But you get the picture. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Nothing takes the place of hard work.

This reaffirmed to me personally that From Unemployed To Self-Employed is on the right track… being able to help someone leverage their personal skills and abilities into a business of their own.

While From Unemployed To Self-Employed boldly proclaims that a member can be up and running in their own business in about 8 weeks, it also clearly states that in 8 weeks they’ll know if they have a viable business. They will have been able to find the business that’s best for them, create a business model, and test it.

It doesn’t promise that they’ll be rich, that all their troubles will be over, or that they’ll be out shopping for their new cruising yacht by the end of the month.

Once you taste success, you gain euphoria, excitement, pride, and confidence. In turn, that helps to motivate you for the next challenge… and the next… and the next.

Accumulating small successes adds up.

One (1) small success may not seem an impressive result. But when you add 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 (…well, you get the picture), that sum of all small successes really adds up.

So what counts as a success? When something works out as planned… when something works out to your satisfaction… when something leads you closer to your goal, that, to me, counts as a success.

If something is 51% to your liking, that is definitely more good than bad… and that can count as a success.

It’s up to you how you choose to define your successes. How you define it isn’t nearly as important as adding up all those little successes.

Just for fun, think back to one little success you’ve had within the last 24 hours. Just dwell on that success for a few minutes. Chances are, you’ll experience some level of euphoria, excitement, pride, and confidence. It will make you feel good.

Doesn’t it automatically give you strength to move on and tackle the next challenge or obstacle? In most cases, it gives you a genuine boost. So enjoy dwelling on the good feeling.

I thought about this for a long time… and then arrived at this simple conclusion. The reason you shouldn’t be afraid to fail is that everyone fails. It’s a special club that all business owners belong to.

They say about Thomas Edison that he failed 10,000 times while trying to invent the electric light bulb. Had he stopped after the first failure, the tenth, or the 1,258th time, we’d all still be in the dark.

The only way you can fail is when you stop trying… when you give up. I don’t know any business owner who got it right the first time. They’ll try one idea. It doesn’t work. So they try a different idea.

Those so-called failures are part of a learning curve. Each failure brings you closer to success. This doesn’t just pertain to you starting a new business. It pertains to every department of your life.