Confronting your irrational fears....

Hi Gordon,

You're right, many of us have a lot of irrational fears, which we don't know where they come from....

Michael Ross picked out a great quote in the last Entrepreneur's Hotsheet.... It says

FEAR - False Evidence Appearing Real

I've had to confront some of my irrational fears lately. Maybe because of my academic background, I don't have any problems spending money on books - I approach it with the attitude that knowledge is priceless.

However, I have had an irrational fear on spending money on advertising! To help me conquer this fear, I've gotten myself organized.... I created a spreadsheet specifically for my advertising. In it, I have included figures for each advertisement I place, such as the circulation of the publication, the response rate, and the cost of advertising my product. I also know all my costs associated with selling a product, so I know exactly how much is my profit. From all this, I can calculate how much profit (or loss) I expect to make when I advertise - of course, the response rate is the "estimate" at first, so I make a low estimate to be on the safe side....

Sometimes, if you're procrastinating, there is a hidden "fear" lurking behind your procrastination. If you can identify that fear, then you can do something about it.... Maybe you are afraid of losing money? Maybe you are afraid talking with people? Maybe it's something else?

In my case, I felt like when I advertised, I was throwing money away.... I got over that by realizing that there is a "cost" of success in business, that is, you need to spend some money in order to make more money back.

Many might see this as a bad analogy, but I see it a bit like being a professional gambler. As you may know, I'm morally opposed to gambling, but I can't help that I'm fascinated by it. (It's a contradiction, I know.) I'm particularly interested in those "professional" gamblers.... They do all they can to get the odds in their favor, then they play the odds. Because of the things they do to get the odds in their favor, they can win in the end.

I see advertising as a bit like that - do everything you can to get the odds in your favor. Any one specific ad could lose you money, but if you get the odds in your favor, you'll win in the end. Keeping track of everything (as I'm starting to do now with my spreadsheet) will let you know, with a particular product, advertisement, and medium, whether the odds are in your favor or not!

- Dien Rice