Member-only story
I Don’t Know
Maybe I don’t know something. But that just means I can choose to learn about it — or not.
When I was younger, I had this notion that I should start a business.
What kind of business? It varied along the way. For the most part, I think I wanted to make some sort of a coffee shop or internet café. A place where people could gather, have a beverage and a snack, enjoy some free internet, and be comfortable and content.
Not exactly an original idea. I put different spins on it, considered various ways to make it unique and stand-out, themes, and so on. But I just couldn’t settle on something I loved enough to act on.
I have watched more than one small business launch and grow. Likewise, I’ve watched more than one launch and crash. I used to say, rather regularly, that I knew more about how NOT to run a business than how TO run a business.
While super valuable information — it doesn’t get any balls rolling. Like many things in my life at that time, the answer to the question of starting a business was met by me with — I don’t know.
For me, this was indecision — which itself was borne of fear of failure. That failure, I ultimately feared, would then leave me abandoned and alone. That root fear of abandonment stayed my hand for almost two…
