Start Your Own Business, why I wasn’t sure about taking the leap

If you’ve read my bio or previous blogs, you know that I have never thought of owning my own business. It’s something that I was against. I thought it was too much work.

Then I changed my mind. There was nothing stopping me, and as a designer, I don’t really need a lot of money to start. It took me about 3 months to decide and then actually launch my site. 

The biggest regrets always start with no…

I try to live my life without regret. When I was young, I tried to do everything without thinking about it. I just closed my eyes, and just did it. It’s how I joined theater (even though I hated speaking in front of people), how I joined the Student Council (even though I had no idea what it really entailed), and how I  spent every summer of high school in an engineering program.

I lived my adolescent life thinking why not? I can do anything and everything I want to. Then I started college. That’s when I learned to say no. For some reason, I learned to say ‘It’s not possible’. All my regrets started with no. I didn’t realize until later that it was because I was afraid.

What saying yes will do for you

Since I realized that my automatic response became no, I started to change my mindset and say yes.

Should I join the IMCP program? Yes, at least go to orientation. I wanted to learn Korean for so long, should I take this class even though I don’t have the money, yes!  I might not be able to finish FEWD, try it anyway. Pilates Reformer looks cool, should I do it, yes!

All the things I said yes to became things that I fell in love with. I made a lot of friends and learned a lot of things I would never have learned.

If you can’t take the leap, ask the ‘yes man’

If you are still too afraid to do something, then find someone who will say yes for you. You can also find a friend who might want to do it with you. I wanted to take dance classes a few years back, and I asked my friend to go with me, and she said yes. I would never have done that alone.

Also when I found out about freelance academy (an online course I mentioned in a previous blog), I was very interested. I told myself it’s too expensive, and that I didn’t have the time.

In my heart I knew I wanted to do it, so I called my sister. She’s the type that will jump into any new business venture without thinking about the consequences. I knew she would say yes, do it!

Leap before you think

The main thing about trying something new or starting your own business is that you have to get used to being uncomfortable. Everyone is afraid of doing something new, but the only difference is you either stay afraid or you just take a deep breath and do it anyway.

You will never know until you try, and as I said before, the biggest regrets are always the paths you say no to.

Is there anything you want to do, but are too afraid to try? If so, comment below or contact me. Maybe I can become your ‘yes man’.

– Paigon | Natasha Lane Design Co.