Many of us dream about being our own boss, but the thought of actually doing it can be daunting. A new survey suggests many of us share the same concerns about starting our own business. One woman knows that fear all too well, but she overcame it and says you can too.
“Every client I try to know their name,” said Whitney Herman, the owner of Shift Cycle. “Everyone who walks in the business I want to be their friends. I want them to feel like this is their home because I feel like it's my home."
It’s been two years since Herman officially became a small business owner by opening Shift Cycle, a boutique indoor cycling studio offering 45-minute indoor cycling classes.
The new mom couldn't find a place where she could work out and bring her newborn daughter along.
“Pretty much everywhere that I wanted to go, none of them offered childcare,” Herman said.
So, she decided to create a place of her own.
Turns out many of us see ourselves as entrepreneurs as well. The UPS Store talked with people as part of its Inside Small Business Survey and found 66 percent of them dream of opening a small business. But fears may be holding many back, something Herman understands.
“Terrifying,” Herman said. “I mean it's still scary.”
Forty-five percent of people are concerned about financial security, and 39 percent are concerned about the financial commitment required to open the business.
“I think the funding and financing for most people is the hardest part about starting a business,” Herman said. She struggled to get a loan because many lenders require two years of business experience.
“I mean there were times where we were like, ‘I don't think we're going to do it,’” Herman said. “We would get so close and then we had a bank be like, ‘Oh sorry, we can't do it.’”
She was able to get funding through a non-profit, but still struggled with a fear 37 percent of people in the study share; fear of failure.
“I have no MBA,” Herman said. “I have no degree in anything business related. I've never really managed people. I don't really know anything about finance, so I was kind of going it's completely blind.”
Luckily her husband knew more about those things. And what she lacked in those areas, she made up in passion and desire to learn along the way. If you have a dream of starting a business, Herman says you can do the same thing.
“You just have to believe in your product,” Herman said. “And you have to believe in yourself that you're strong enough and motivated enough to just kind of fight. And you know you get where you want to go because no one's going to do it but you.”
