We all have goals of some kind, be it personal, financial, relationships, lifestyle or of course business. But so few of us make any real attempt to achieve them. The reason being, we're masters of creating excuses.

I'm about to tackle the two most overly used "reasons" which people use for not starting their own business.

I'm sure you've heard these before and maybe you've even used them yourself a few times. Well, here's why I don't want to hear them again...

Not Enough Time

How often have I heard this one? Someone tells me about a great idea they have for a new business and before they take their next breath I hear: "but I'm too busy right now".

We're all busy people but somehow some people manage to find the time to achieve great things with their side business while holding down a full time job. But how?

Baby steps. Not giant leaps, but regular tiny steps. It's amazing what you can achieve with a simple plan and a spare half an hour here and there to chip away slowly at it.

If you have a plan and you spend zero time a week on it you'll get absolutely nowhere with it, ever. But, if you have a plan and spend only half an hour a week on it, imagine what you could achieve in one, two, five or ten years.

And for those people who can't even spare half an hour a week I'd be asking whether they ever watch TV, watch DVDs, use Facebook or do anything else which they could cut down on to free up a little time.

Not Enough Money

If you've ever listened to the old fashioned "how to start your own business" advice then you were probably told to make sure you've saved up enough money to last you six months, which is near impossible for most people.

You were then probably told to write an eighty page business plan before going to see your bank manager for finance. Some people will still tell you this and for some businesses it might be necessary but for many it's the last thing you want to be doing.

I've written before on how to start a business in your spare time and with very little money, probably with all you have in your pocket right now.

Not only would I say it can be done, but dipping your toe in the water and testing your idea first before spending any real time or money on it is the way it really should be done.

How much time and money does it take to start an eBay business for example? I've had a few of these myself in the past and trust me, it doesn't take much of either.

You certainly won't need an elaborate business plan, or a bank loan, or a years worth of savings to get you started.

What To Do Next

We've established that you don't need lots of free time and an overflowing bank account to get your business off the ground. So what's the next step?

Take your idea and create yourself a basic plan, a page or two at most. Then take small baby steps in your spare time to execute your plan. Spend as little money as possible, at least until you know your idea works.

If the idea works then great. If it doesn't then start again with a new idea and repeat.

I've done this myself a number of times now and the key things to overcome are fear of failure, being overwhelmed by the size of the overall plan and the temptation to quit.

If you can tackle these it's just a matter of time before you'll achieve success, without breaking your bank account with overspending or your back with overworking.

Remember: it's only your mindset which is really holding you back, not the limited time or money excuse, which we're all guilty of using from time to time.