A fellow entrepreneur confided in me earlier this week that, while she was determined to remain optimistic, she was experiencing doubts about her two year old startup.  If you can relate, this post will ask you the same simple question I asked her that should instantly dispell your fear and doubts, or at least make you realize you have stronger emotions that far outweigh them. But first, let me assure you that uncertainty is the only certainty in a startup and with uncertainty comes fear and doubt.  So what you are feeling is not only normal, its a mandatory part of the startup experience.  Startups are often referred to as roller coaster rides because they are full of high-highs and low-lows.  So if you want to know if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur one of the most important questions to ask yourself is do you have the high tolerance, and stomach, for risk?  (no, that’s not the question that will help you overcome fear and doubt, keep reading).

So what’s the one question that will instantly make you overcome your fear and doubt and help you deal with the uncertainty of your startup dream?  The answer actually comes from an unlikely character, the lead singer of Kiss, Gene Simmons, in a now famous NRP interview he did in 2002 with Fresh Air’s Terry Gross that you can listen to here. The reason the interview is famous is because Gene is extremely obnoxious throughout the entire thing.  At the end, Terry asks him if the persona he presented on the show was not the real Gene Simmons, but just one he effected as a member of Kiss as no one could possible be “that deeply into themselves.”  Gene’s response was “I think everybody should be [deeply into themselves]….life is too short to have anything but delusional notions about yourself, which is, you should really like yourself more than you deserve to because….” and this is where the big question comes in “….what’s the alternative?”

When my friend the entrepreneur confider her doubt in me, I instantly thought of that interview with Gene Simmons and asked her “what’s the alternative, to give up on your dream and get a job?”  If you are truly and entrepreneur, that one question should repel you to such a degree that you will instantly overcome your fear and doubt and continue on with your mission, as giving up and getting a “real job” is just about the worst possible ending for any true entrepreneur.

If you think I’m nuts introducing Gene Simmons into a conversation about startups, let’s look at Union Square Ventures’ partner and AVC author Fred Wilson’s opinion on what are the “unique and defining characteristics of entrepreneurs” from his post on the subject in February of this year:

“And I also believe that there are “unique and defining characteristics of entrepreneurs.” Here are some of the ones I observe most frequently:

1) A stubborn belief in one’s self

2) A confidence bordering on arrogance

3) A desire to accept risk and ambiguity, and the ability to live with them”

So as fear and doubt creep up as you go about your day-to-day, simply ask yourself “what’s the alternative?” and you will quickly put down those demons and continue on with your mission.  God speed!

Update: My wise friend Nate Westheimer, whom I interviewed here a few week ago, added a thought to this post worth sharing and expanding on, so here it is:

“My issue is that it’s smart sometimes to “give up.” Sometimes we’re wrong, you know? In fact, we’re wrong a lot. So the question I’d ask someone who’s two years in and stagnating is: what radical thing will you try with your business before you close up shop?

I couldn’t agree more with Nate. My post assumes that you have a solid product and market, because if you don’t you should definitely fess up and bag it to find a bigger, better idea to pursue. In the case of the entrepreneur in this post, I believe the product is solid.  Her challenge is that she made some early decisions that cost her too much precious time.  But a few of us are helping her get her back on track to see if the product is as solid in the market as we think it is.

Thanks to Nate for chiming in and reminding us to think big and radical and also of Kenny Rogers’ advice that you need to “know when to hold’em, know when to walk away and know when to run!”