Entrepreneurship. Yes You Can.

I frequently talk with people who have an itch to start a business, but don't do it because of statistics they read that 90% of start-ups fail, or that they're afraid of failing, or that it's too expensive to start up, or they have a fear of becoming bankrupt.

• So what if 90% of businesses fail? 90% of start ups DO fail within the first year. But this is where the art of entrepreneurship comes in. Entrepreneurship isn't about having your first company become an industry leader. It's about the excitement in failing and trying again with a new business, using the lessons you learned from your failed company. Part of the entrepreneurial spirit is to try and try again until you succeed. There are so many successful businessmen out there who had to start quite a few businesses until they got it right. Don't expect to become rich on the first try. There's a very low percentage of hitting a home run the first time around. Instead, keep trying until you get into that 10%.

• Afraid of failing? If you're afraid of failing, you shouldn't even be trying. Business is all about failure. It's about learning from your mistakes and using your new knowledge in new businesses. You need to get over your fear of failure (if you have one) and realize that you WILL fail sometime in your entrepreneurship career. It's part of the cycle. Instead of focusing on fears, you need to focus on a bright future. You need to believe that you can become successful.

• Too expensive? First of all, a very good idea will take you very far without a lot of money. No doubt. Second, the biggest cost in this age to start a business is TIME. If you're starting a web company, all you need is a couple bucks a month for hosting. If you're starting a pie company, all you need to do is start by making the pies in your own kitchen. You don't need thousands upon thousands of dollars for those. Making a successful business isn't about how much money you have anymore. It's about taking the TIME to make a successful business. Anyone can start a business with as low as $10, but it's really your commitment that makes or breaks your company. Don't worry about money that much. Don't let it decide whether you will succeed or fail. If you're smart enough to get as far as starting a business, I'm sure you'll find a way to get around any money problems you may have.

• Afraid of bankruptcy? A friend of mine told me that he's staying away from business because he didn't want to go bankrupt. He's like me and the rest of the college kids out there. In reality, we're all bankrupt. In fact, many college kids are going to finish school with a huge debt. If you don't have anything to lose, go after your dreams. Is it better to be bankrupt while worrying about being bankrupt, or is it better to start a business and at least have some hope of being successful one day? If that friend is reading this, I want to tell him not to let fear of bankruptcy stop him. There are guys out there who started a successful company while $150,000 in debt. If that's not proof that bankruptcy means nothing when it comes to entrepreneurship, I don't know what is.

NEVER look for reasons to not start a business. NEVER look for reasons to why you could fail. If you can't get over that and look the positive way, you're just not cut out for entrepreneurship. Because looking at the wrong things WILL bring you down. I learned this from experience. For a long time, I didn't start my own business because I was sure that I would fail. I took the 90% failure rate into account too heavily. Only a while ago I told myself to shift my focus to what I really believed in, what my visions were. I've now recently launched ragtees.com, a t-shirt business. If it fails, well that's alright. I'll start another one until I get where I want to be. What about you? Are you going to quit without even trying?