What They Don't Tell You About Being an Entrepreneur
Recently I've seen so many articles and headlines promoting the glorious life of a self-employed entrepreneur. "How To make six figures while travelling the world", "Work Less, Keep More", "Startups are King". I'm thinking they must all be sales pitches. Anyone who had started or owned a business, knows there so much more to it than loads of cash and time off. It's stressful! You lose sleep at night thinking about deadlines and tax filings and customer satisfaction. You lay awake at 2am wondering about how happy your employees are and how to tap into what they call "employee engagement" so you can hold on to the talent. Its not just a walk in the park.
Every time I see one of these headlines, it makes me shake my head. I work with entrepreneurs every single day. I don't know of a single one who has "gotten rich quick" through the method of entrepreneurship. I'm not saying it's not possible, but it takes a heck of a lot of time, effort, risk and dedication before those rewards start rolling in. The passion and drive you have to feel, to take things up another level again and again is extraordinary. Sometimes it's all-consuming. It's about focus and hard work, not about taking an online course and making a million in your first year. I mean, if anyone's really done it please send me the details.
The beauty of the hard work and sometimes, the sheer struggle, is the appreciation you have for what touce built. Nothing worth having comes easy, they say, and I believe it wholeheartedly. Easy is not always the path to take - if you're of the persuasion who always takes the path less-travelled, I think you've got one-up on the rest. Anyone starting a business with the intent on working few hours and basking in the prestige of business ownership, I hate to say, has some hard lessons coming their way. I have been self-employed for many years now, and I hustle more today then I ever did. That's why we're growing. More ideas, more people, more services, more clients - that all means more work. Don't get me wrong here, delegation is key. You can't grow a team while you meticulously micro-manage every aspect of everyone's day. I mean, business owners have so much more going on in their heads then I ever realized when I got started.
Starting out, you're focused on the small goals. Meeting deadlines, making customers happy, good daily sales numbers. Then, as the business grows, you are faced with challenges - be it financing, staffing, growing pains, inconsistencies in sales numbers or otherwise - that make you question everything. I think that's healthy. Always ask yourself if you've made the right move for you. Never assume you're cut out for everything. Don't be afraid wo re-work an idea or start over. The most important traits of successful entrepreneurs are dedication, flexibility, openness, and the ability to be collaborative.
Take your time and refine your plans - don't believe the get-rich-quick ads. If they were for real, those people would not need advertising. It's worth it, but you've got to put in the time, and realize it never stops.
