Self-doubt is normal
Try to handle it with Self-talk
Every week, I write an article to share my learning or discovery during my startup journey. Here is the link to my reasons for penning these articles for myself and for many others like me.
This week, I can say was one of the toughest weeks for my business. I was searching for some technical stuff needed for my product. I stumbled upon some search results that showed startups selling similar products. I did spent time in market research earlier, but I never found these players earlier. I do not understand how I missed to check these people. But this is the harsh truth of the moment, there are people selling the same product.
I started getting self-doubts now. For a day, I did not want to work and wanted to abandon my idea. The next day, I gathered myself and started reflecting on all the information I had so far. Lately, I have been reading a lot of business articles on startups. It had become clear to me that most of the startups are selling or developing similar products. Or they are selling something that is already there in the market. I could not see many startups working on disruptive products. This means that my product can also survive among other similar products.
Another disturbing thought that wanted me to abandon my idea is that I have not got much traction or leads so far. This is adding fuel to my doubts about the product idea. After some self-reflection, I decided to amplify my marketing efforts with paid marketing for one month. I will keep on analyzing the marketing data during this month.
Another troubling thought -I have read about some entrepreneurs falling madly in love with their product idea. These people could not agree to come in terms to leave their product idea even if it turns out to be a market misfit. I do not want to be one of those people. So, I decided to test my product idea for next 3 months i.e., by the end of this year. After that I will revisit my decision if I should continue or not. In case I do not get any customers, then it would mean I should quit it.
Another thing I told myself is to be persistent and consistent. After all these decisions on my business this week, the self-doubts should not torment me now. I need to keep on working on my sales and product development activities with complete determination.
So, this week, I happen to have this board meeting or rather an offsite, where I took important decisions about company’s roadmap for Q4. It’s just that the board members were me and my alter ego :-)
Quite a mind-boggling past week for me. Now look forward to the coming week with more clarity in my head. Wishing everyone too a week of clarity and consistency.
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