No Excuses! Starting a business can be scary, but don't let fear hold you back. These entrepreneurs had plenty of reasons not to go into business, but they did anyway--and you can, too.

Going with the notion that there are a lot of people who wishthey were running their own businesses but aren't, Office Depotcommissioned a survey in February 2004 to find out why startupsoften never start. As it turns out, most people have the sameexcuses for not beginning their own businesses.

According to market research and consulting firm HarrisInteractive, which did the recent workplace trend survey for OfficeDepot, a whopping 40 percent of American office workers haveconsidered starting a business, only to reject the idea. Theirexcuses? Thirty-seven percent of those polled haven't startedtheir own company because they lack the funding, 28 percent saidthey feared losing their job security, and 23 percent said they hadno viable business idea or plan.

We happen to think that when it comes to starting your ownbusiness, excuses are just that-excuses. Not that there aren'tvalid reasons for being cautious when starting a business, butexcuses can spiral out of control. People have a way of usingexcuses as a crutch, keeping their aspirations hobbled forlife.