Existential Fear Among Founders and the Self-Employed. Is It Real and Maybe Even Helpful?
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| Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay |
The topic of Webmaster Friday at the end of March was whether a self-employed person should have existential fear at all.
In this article, I will discuss my experiences with existential fear and the question of whether it might even be helpful.
Of course, I'm also looking forward to your feedback.
Is the Existential Fear of Founders and Self-Employed People Real?
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| Existential Fear Among Founders and the Self-Employed. Is It Real and Maybe Even Helpful? |
Those who start their own business run a certain risk. The chances of self-employment are offset by risks.
And so it is not surprising that at least some of the self-employed are concerned about whether it will work out financially. There may even be existential fear if you fail to become self-employed.
But the question is whether existential fear in Germany is even appropriate. After all, this phrase means that your very existence is at stake.
If you take it so closely that you don't have to be afraid of existence as a founder and self-employed person in Germany. After all, specialists are sought and basic social security is also available in an emergency, which is more than in many other countries.
However, it is not that easy in practice. For one thing, most people define the word “existence” a little differently. It's more about the current status quo, which one is afraid of losing. Those who fail with their self-employment and possibly even accumulate larger debts (e.g. investments in a business idea) can usually not simply continue their previous life.
In this respect, a certain existential fear is understandable. Older self-employed people and founders in particular who may already have a house and have already built something for themselves are not necessarily reassured by the prospect of not having to sleep on the street and at least receiving basic security.
In addition, in Germany, warnings, among other things, can lead to high financial demands. This can also have consequences for private life.
So it depends very much on your situation and what risks you take, especially financial ones.
My Experiences
I also felt a certain existential fear in the first period of my independence. In retrospect, this may have been a bit of an exaggeration as I didn't make any investments, nor were there any other particular risks. In addition, I was able to rely on a family that would have supported me if my independence had failed.
But I still felt a certain existential fear, which has mainly affected my previous lifestyle. When you have children, of course, something increases the pressure. If you are alone, failure will only hit you alone.
Over time, however, this fear has diminished and today I no longer feel existential fear.
Does Existential Fear Help?
For me, though, it wasn't such a bad thing that I felt a certain existential fear. It was never so big that it paralyzed or depressed me.
Instead, it drove me, even more, to build up to something, to work overtime, and stay tuned. So if the existential fear is not too great, it can certainly serve as motivation.
I have found myself that a combination of positive incentives and a certain amount of pressure is what motivates me the most. This carrot and stick approach might not work for everyone, but it was a good mix for me.
On the other hand, it becomes problematic when existential fear takes over and harms one's health. Burnout and depression can be triggered by an existential fear that is too great.
To prevent this, one should take a step back and analyze the entire situation:
- In the worst case, what can happen if I fail?
- What can I do instead of self-employment?
- What financial reserves do I have?
- How can I better cover the greatest risks?
- What is family support like?
If you ask yourself these and other questions and answer them honestly, you usually get a less dramatic picture. The worst case is usually not as bad as existential fear sometimes leads to it.
And if you discover greater risks during the analysis, it is important to contain and secure them.
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