31 Tips for Conquering Startup Fears What's really holding you back from starting your own business? These 31 tips will help you face your fears and finally get the guts to become your own boss.

Most startup articles focus on the mechanics of launching a business. But the inner journey to starting a business is just as important as writing a business plan and getting financing. I learned this the hard way.

With a business plan and hard-earned savings in hand, I didn't have the guts to leave my job. After quitting my job and taking it back twice, I developed techniques to help myself build courage and break through my fears. These techniques worked--and when I quit for the third time, I was finally able to let go of my job and start Profit Strategies in Lake Worth, Florida, in 1998.

What started out as a marketing consulting firm eventually evolved into an entrepreneurial advocacy business. After accepting a contract with a Small Business Development Center, I taught more than 500 entrepreneurs the techniques I used to help myself. In 2003, I wrote Employee to Entrepreneur: The Employee's Guide to Entrepreneurial Success, coined the term "Emotional Endurance," and developed Emotional Endurance training programs. Today, I present Emotional Endurance techniques at conferences in the United States and abroad, host The Entrepreneur Hour Radio Show (Mondays at noon EST, www.wbzt.com ), moderate an online discussion group on business networking site Ryze.com, and head up a series of online interactive seminars titled " Getting the Guts ".