I sometimes feel that popular media often gets too caught up with the notion of entrepreneurship and it has a tendency to gravitate towards major success stories of people making it big through business. These ‘entrepreneurial’ stories all have the same theme of having an amazing idea, hard work and then ‘BOOM’ success.
This inadvertently creates a societal expectation of what an entrepreneur is. It also gives off the false impression that all entrepreneurs are rich, successful and are living the easy life.
The truth of it could not be further from that.
An entrepreneur is an individual who has decided to start their own enterprise (hence – entrepreneur). They have decided to make the necessary investments and take on the risks associated with starting an enterprise.
That’s pretty much it really.
Forget what the media says about entrepreneurs being visionary leaders, high risk takers, charismatic personalities etc etc.
An entrepreneur is, at its most basic level, just a business owner.
And the realities of life as an entrepreneur, especially one just starting out is far removed from the glitz and glamour associated with the success stories.
So now that we have gotten that out of the way, let’s look at some hard truths of being an entrepreneur:
Even when you’re not working, you’re thinking about work
This is one that I struggle with especially. Despite being self-employed and owning my own business. It is VERY difficult to switch off the work brain, even if I have set a very specific time for work to be done during the day.
Even after the computer is turned off, the emails have all been answered and the work has been completed. I’m still thinking about the next piece of work, the unpaid invoices, the next marketing strategy and where my focus should be in the business.
Separating work life from the rest of your life can be challenging too if you work from home – since you’re walking past your workspace every hour of the day. It can be tempting to finish off that one little piece of work that you haven’t done even though you’re not supposed to be working at that time!
This really boils down to mental discipline – as an entrepreneur, you need to be very clear when work time ends and if you find yourself thinking about work when you shouldn’t, you should distract yourself with other hobbies.
Go for a run! Play video games! Knit sweaters for your cats!
Anything BUT work. Keep work out of your personal time because if you are thinking too much about work it can lead to…
Burnout – Its very real
The last thing you want as an entrepreneur is to feel burned out.
Yeah, it’s great being your own boss, working on your own time and setting your own goals. But what you don’t realise in the beginning is that there are more demands on you as an entrepreneur than there are as an employee.
Sure – it’s great not having a douchebag boss and annoying co-workers to make your life difficult. But as an entrepreneur, you now have to deal with clients, suppliers, bankers and other shareholders (some of whom can be total douchebags and super annoying as well) – all of which can leave you feeling VERY drained, which can lead to burnout.
Burnout can happen differently for different individuals:
For some, you just wake up one morning and refuse to look at anything work-related. You may even feel revulsion from thinking about work.
For some, you may fall back into self-destructive addictions as a means of numbing the pain you feel from being burned out at work.
Others may not even realise they are burned out and keep pushing on in the business, lashing out at their clients and suppliers, burning bridges and destroying relationships in the process.
Again, it is about mental awareness – knowing what your mental state is like and when is a good time to stop and take a break.
Remember, it is your business and you can, to a certain extent, take days off whenever you want. If you feel like it’s getting too much for you to handle, you can always tell your clients that you are taking a few days off to recuperate.
If you still feel that being an entrepreneur is too mentally taxing on you, remember that…
Employment really isn’t all that bad
You see, popular media and self-help books would have you believe that being an entrepreneur is the bestest thing in the world.
Reality check: It’s not.
In most cases, being an entrepreneur isn’t going to make you significantly more money than being employed. In fact, when you are first starting up, you will be working at below minimum wage (if minimum wage is a thing in your country) – in other words, don’t expect to be making more than your local fast food restaurant worker (whom I believe are underpaid for the stellar work they do).
In my case, I could definitely make more money working in an accounting firm than I would starting my own firm, at least in the short term. However, accounting jobs are difficult to come by (thanks COVID-19!) and so I have committed myself to growing this business to a point where it can start making me a decent ‘accountant’ – level income for myself (after expenses).
That being said, if you are starting out as an entrepreneur, finding a part time or casual job is not a bad idea to help you get some steady income to put food on the table. You’re not going to be making a lot of money in the first 6 to 12 months of business – so don’t knock employment as a source of income.
In fact, if you already have a full-time job AND are starting a business on the side – hang on to that job and don’t leave it UNTIL you are absolutely certain and confident that you can earn enough money from your business to support yourself and your family.
Remember that employment is and should always be an option:
You may find that your business is too much to handle.
You may find that it aligns with your long-term financial goals better.
You may find that you need more skills and experience before giving this entrepreneurship thing another shot.
By the end of the day, entrepreneurship and employment are a means to an end – don’t get so caught up in being an ‘entrepreneur’ that you lose sight of what your actual financial and lifestyle goals are.
If you have embarked on this journey of entrepreneurship, good on you! Good on you for being a risk-taker and braving the unknown. We need more people like you in this world to push the boundaries, to innovate and to create wealth and value in our communities.
But you need to remember that it is not an easy journey. There will be many hiccups, failures and hard lessons along the way. Never look down on people who choose to remain employed, even if you have already ‘made it’ as an entrepreneur. Be humble of your achievements.
You have a hard road ahead of you, so stay strong, stay smart and of course:
Stay positive.