The Real Reason You Haven't Started Your Business Yet (It's Not What You Think)

I learned a long time ago that so many people have big dreams and talk a good game, but they don't do anything with it.

When I was 16, I had a bunch of friends over to my parents' house. One of the group was heading away with a local marching band to Myrtle Beach. The rest of us said, "You know what? This could be amazing. Why don't we all just go and crash in his hotel room? If we pool our money together, we should be able to pay for gas and have enough to eat."

When everybody left, I genuinely thought this was the plan—that the next day we were going to go.

So I ran to the bank, took out the little bit of money I had, packed a bag, and stood on the front steps of my house the next morning, waiting for someone to come.

Nobody showed up.

Even worse than that, not a single person even called to say something came up and they couldn't make it.

It was in that moment I realized the problem most people have: They're totally consumed with the idea, the fantasy of what their life could be, but they never take action to make it real.

The Fantasy Addiction That's Killing Your Dreams

This isn't just about trips. It's about starting businesses, changing careers, getting promotions—whatever it is, people get so consumed with the idea that they're fueled and nourished by just fantasizing about things.

I am not like that. I want to actually get out there and experience it. And I'm okay with the idea that not everything is going to work out the way I thought.

This is the fundamental difference between dreamers and doers. Dreamers treat their aspirations like entertainment. Doers treat them like plans that require execution.

The real reason you haven't started your business yet isn't because you lack:

• The perfect idea
• Enough money
• The right connections
• More knowledge
• Better timing

The real reason is that you're addicted to the fantasy of success without the reality of action.

This fantasy addiction often manifests as analysis paralysis—where endless planning becomes a substitute for doing.

The Action Divide That Determines Everything

If you really want to make a change, if you want to start a business or do anything, the only thing you need to do is take a first step.

Every single person who's ever succeeded, at some point in their life—doesn't matter where they came from or what privilege they had—took an action.

Everyone who never took action? There are zero of them on the side of success. They're all somewhere in mediocrity. They might be happy, they might be living a content life, but they never went after that dream, so they never achieved it.

If you treat your life and the ideas and dreams you have like they're the lottery—like somebody's going to call your number or knock on your door with a novelty check—it's just not going to happen.

That's not how success works.

Starting Is Smaller Than You Think

What most people don't understand is that starting doesn't have to be as big or scary as you think it is.

Nobody starts with a perfect idea. Nobody starts with all the knowledge or perfect skills. All they do is take some action—some little action—to make it real.

Sometimes it's as simple as:

• Telling somebody about your idea
• Posting it on LinkedIn and saying "I'm thinking of doing this"
• Printing a single t-shirt with a logo you've been working on
• Writing one blog post about your expertise
• Having one conversation with a potential customer

I've known people who started their business by just going out and printing a single t-shirt with the logo they'd been noodling with. Just having that t-shirt and putting it on every morning when they worked on their idea made it feel real.

This connects directly to building entrepreneurial confidence—the belief that you can handle whatever comes next, even when you don't know what that is.

Why Small Actions Create Big Changes

There are so many little things you can do to take the ideas and dreams you have right now and start making your way toward them.

It's not always going to work out. You're going to have setbacks. You might have to pivot. But you have to do something.

The magic happens when you cross the line from thinking to doing. Even the smallest action:

• Makes your idea feel real to you
• Signals to your brain that this matters
• Creates momentum for the next action
• Generates feedback from the real world
• Builds evidence that you can act despite uncertainty

Many people stay stuck because they're scared to start, but fear of imperfect action keeps them from discovering that action itself builds courage.

My Version of Taking Action

For me, I'm staking the next five to ten years of my life on this exact premise because I'm frustrated watching people who are so capable and deserving do absolutely nothing with it.

My version of saying it publicly is this: I just started a brand new business called First Step Entrepreneur.

I believe people don't need business coaching or consulting. You don't need a business plan. You don't need fundraising advice.

What you really need is the confidence to take the ideas you have and start talking about them, sharing them, asking people for their support.

That's what First Step Entrepreneur is all about—a cohort where like-minded people can come together, start building things together, and develop the muscle memory and proof that they're someone who can take action.

Once you have that, you can apply it to anything. It doesn't matter if you don't have an idea right now. One day you will, and you'll know what to do with it. One day you'll want a promotion, and you'll know the best way to get it is to do something.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Information

Here's my honest advice (and it's terrible advice for someone who needs their channel to grow): Stop watching videos, at least today.

Go do something. Turn this off. Take a first little step toward starting your business or achieving your dream. Then tomorrow, do a little bit more.

The videos will always be there. There's always a time when you'll need more information or inspiration, but at some point, you have to stop consuming and start producing.

This might seem counterintuitive, but excessive information consumption is often a sophisticated form of impostor syndrome—where we feel like we need to know everything before we deserve to act.

The Test That Reveals Who You Really Are

You know what? It may hurt my channel if you don't watch more of my videos, but I also know that if you actually take action, you'll tell somebody that I helped you out. They'll come to me, join my program, and it'll work out.

So just go do it. Today's the day. What else are you waiting for?

Take one small step. Make one small action. Declare what you want to do and see what happens.

See if you are the type of person who can actually begin to achieve your dreams.

The Choice Is Yours

Right now, you have a choice. You can:

1. Continue consuming content and fantasizing about what your business could be
2. Take one small action that moves you from dreamer to doer

The people standing on their front steps with packed bags—those are the people who build businesses. The people who stay inside planning the perfect trip are the people who never go anywhere.

Which one are you going to be?

Your Next Step

Stop reading. Stop planning. Stop researching.

Pick one small action you can take today toward your business idea:

• Write one social media post about your intentions
• Have one conversation with someone who might need your help
• Create one simple version of your product or service
• Register that domain name you've been thinking about
• Send one email to someone in your target market

Do it now. Not later. Not when you feel ready. Now.

Because the real reason you haven't started your business yet isn't external—it's that you've been choosing fantasy over action.

Today, choose differently.

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Ready to move from fantasy to action with structure and support? The First Step Entrepreneur program provides the accountability and community to ensure you actually take the steps that matter.

Want to understand what comes after you take that first step? Learn about the 4 stages where most entrepreneurs fail and how to navigate each one successfully.