Fear can be an extremely powerful force. How we react in the face of fear can change our lives and shape our futures. This is especially true in the business world – particularly for small business owners.
As entrepreneurs, one of the most daunting obstacles to achieving small business success is our own unique and very personal fears. We limit our potential or fail to try something new because of fear. We get locked into a mindset and hesitate to change even when we produce mediocre or poor results – all because of fear.
Unfortunately, fear of change is a vision buster. History has shown us time and time again that successful entrepreneurs are not afraid to take calculated risks, reach outside their comfort zone, or think outside the box.
Take, for example, the story of Instant Tax Service, which has grown from a one man operation to the 4th largest tax preparation company in the United States. In 1994, Fez Ogbazion was just a 19-year-old kid looking for a piece of the American dream. Fez wanted to dive into a potentially profitable business that still allowed him the flexibility to finish his degree at the University of Cincinnati.
Fez saw a need in his Ohio community for fast, local tax preparation services. He understood that people wanted exceptional service from professional tax preparers in their neighborhoods – not just in the suburbs. So on a leap of faith (and with the help of a few credit cards), Fez opened the doors to Instant Refund Tax Service. He prepared over 600 tax returns his first year.
Knowing complacency would never allow his business to grow, Fez developed his business significantly over the next 5 years into 26 retail locations. In 1999, a Fortune 500 company – sensing a major local competitor – offered to buy Instant Refund Tax Service.
Fez, ever the entrepreneur, accepted the deal and went on to re-invest the money from the sale into a bigger and better income tax business. That fresh start became Instant Tax Service, founded in 2000.
During its first year of operations, Instant Tax Service ran 60 locations. The company expanded into five new markets across the country in 2001, doubled its business in 2003, and started franchising in 2004.
Today, Instant Tax Service is one of the nation’s fastest growing franchises and currently operates over 1,200 locations nationwide. In fact, Instant Tax Service was recently named Entrepreneur magazine’s 2009 Top New Franchise, #1 Low Cost Franchise, and one of the Top 10 Fastest Growing Franchises in the country.
The key to Instant Tax Service’s success and Fez’s accomplishments are partly due to what Fez did in the face of fear – major competitors, a shaky financial start, and being a college student didn’t dissuade Fez from taking a risk. He learned to manage his fear and embrace his entrepreneurial spirit.
The dream of starting a business can be daunting, but the only way to make that dream a reality is by learning how to make that fear work for you.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 at 6:52 AM and is filed under Entrepreneurship, Site News and Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
