So you’ve decided to leave behind the familiar in place for an adventurous journey that awaits the new entrepreneur. Embarking on a new career trajectory brings with it, an overwhelming amount of mixed emotions. Excitement, relief, fear, anxiety, doubt, random spurts of passion and conviction – you name it.

It is not a simple task to venture into a personal services business. But nothing in life that is worthwhile comes easily. For someone that has spent the majority of their working life in the sales sector, starting up your own business can seem like one of the most challenging things you could ever set yourself up to do. But this doesn’t mean you won’t be able to do it.

For a person working in sales, their work purpose is to benefit an organization implementing thoughtful sales strategy to drive key performance indicators (KPIs) – which in turn will drive profit. KPIs are numbers to look at as indicators of sales performance such as average dollars per transaction, units per sale, etc. Luckily, many of the skills honed through the sales sector can be directly incorporated into your entrepreneurial journey.

A sales background will give you great tools to use towards starting up your new business – but there are a few other things to keep in mind to maximize your potential. Understand the role of fear and how it may be hindering your success. Here are a few things that will help you break free from fear:

Embrace Uncertainty

Have you noticed fear and doubt tend to creep in when we find ourselves in circumstances that are out of our habitual routines? Change is a good thing. The only way to accomplish new things, and to improve – is through changing up your routine. However, our minds are wired to be cautious of change. Anytime you step out of routine and find yourself caught in unfamiliarity, fear, and doubt will creep in. They are defense mechanisms to protect you from the potential harm of the unknown.

Embrace uncertainty. When starting a new business, it is impossible to know which circumstances or obstacles you will end up facing. You don’t need to know. Just be adaptable. Don’t fear change. The change will eventually become a habit for you if you step out of your routine enough.

Positive Thinking

Understand how powerful your mind is. You have the power to control your thoughts. Train your mind only to think positively. Negative thoughts will lead to fear and doubt. Eliminate the negative completely. As an entrepreneur, it is inevitable you will find yourself in many risky situations that will bring challenge or failure. The key to overcoming an obstacle is thinking positively.

Create An Informed Strategy Through Your Fears And Motivations

Take some time to self-reflect. Figure out what exactly scares you, what motivates you, and what you intend to achieve a couple of years down the road. Self-awareness is key. You want to know where you are going, which direction or directions you could take, where to stop for gas, and where you will meet a dead-end on your roadmap to success.

Once you’ve figured it all out, write it down. Fear is a passion-killer. Fear has the power to scare you out of your goal. If you allow it to consume you, you can easily lose sight of the bigger picture. With a clear outline in front of you, you have a visual guide to renew your sense of motivation whenever you are doubtful. Having all your fears written down will also allow you to realize how irrational they are.

Get out there and make it happen.

Remember “doubt only wins if you let it”