Ink      Money.com
Overcome the Fear of Failure and the Mockers of Your
Educated Business Risks

With no risk, there is no gain, (unless you get a gift). The investment risk in business is not for the faint in heart. We will have to overcome our own fears. And worse than our fears and doubts, are the many unhelpful doubts of others who feel it is their soul duty to question all our ideas and decisions. Even though my job paid good money, I was not satisfied with that. I wanted to invest in my own real business. I also thought investing in a house was better than the trailer we lived in at the time. I put the two together and I invested in a run down house. And I mean run down! Just to give you a taste, it had two feet of garbage in the basement that filled 5 large dumpsters full to the brim. The fridge had leaked for so long that it wore a hole right through the floor into the basement!

I knew a little carpentry. I thought that I would work on the house with the short 6 hours I had for my weekend because I worked 12 plus hours a day, 5 to 6 days a week. The thing was, the house we were living in at the time had sold and my family of 5 were getting thrown out onto the street. I looked at renting but the city was booming. Getting a place to rent would be like finding a silver dollar as change at the bank.  This in a way, forced my hand at risk in my own business. But also it was an opportunity where I could make some money.

The bank would loan us only x amount of dollars. But it would be enough to purchase the one and only under-valued house in the whole city.  We bought that house at the disapproval of some wonderful family members. The words still ring in my ears, “Nakia, you are crazy.”  Soon after I quite my job grading and worked as a dry-waller for 8 to 10 hour a day instead of the 12 hrs grading roads. The house would take the rest of the time. Then I got another unasked-for wonderful loving encouragement,  “Nakia, you are now insane.”

The goal for the house was to make a simple yet reasonable $20,000 from the sweet labour that I planned to put into it along with the investment of another 20,000 dollars in materials. Within six months the housing prices rose quickly. I saw the chance to make an extra buck. So I more or less took the risk and  quit the drywall job all together and worked on the house full time. Then I got more unwanted encouragements. For two months I work on the house while the prices continued to rise. Then I put the house up for sale at a good price. I figured it would sell quickly. Because of the “encouragements,” I needed to prove that I had done my homework and worked hard. I had looked at the prices in the city and my price would be a deal for someone else. I figured I could sell it for more, but it was sold within 12 hrs. So who is complaining?

We walked away with $88,000 over what we had paid for the house. So after the 20,000 dollar credit line was paid off, the real-estate fee, lawyer fees, and moving expenses paid, we were left with 64,000 dollars more in the bank. The encouragements changed to, “You won the lottery,” and, “You are going to do that again, right?” 

When we step out and risk even a little more then most people, we are more than likely not to get the encouragement we would like until after the fact. And even then many times it is the silence we get.

Consider that you will not often get a pat on the back, but it will often feel like a kick in the head for your hard work. You need to be happy with your choice from what you learned, from the experience, whether that be a profit or a loss.

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