5 Sacrifices You Must Make As An Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship is one of the toughest challenges anyone can undertake. Anything worthwhile usually requires great sacrifice and entrepreneurship is definitely one of those things.

When I started my journey as an entrepreneur, I wasn’t aware of the sacrifices I would soon have to make. However, the sacrifices were well worth it because I found my purpose in life thanks to it.

In this article, I’m going to share 5 sacrifices you must make as an entrepreneur:

1. Paychecks

For some reason, people assume all entrepreneurs are wealthy and living the life. However, most people only see the stories of successful entrepreneurs but don’t get a glimpse into their journey.

Entrepreneurs have it tough. You start out by working harder than any ‘typical job’ and often times you don’t get compensated at all for it. As an entrepreneur, your business comes first.

If you want to be successful as an entrepreneur, you may have to sacrifice a paycheck for months at a time. Even worst, there is no guarantee that you will ever get paid and entrepreneurs must be willing to sacrifice a paycheck with hopes of building something big.

2. Social Life 

Many studies over the years have proven that the people you surround yourself with have the largest impact on who you become and how much money you make. As an entrepreneur, we all have people around us who aren’t necessarily the greatest influences in our lives.

If you want to be successful as an entrepreneur, you have to sacrifice going out with your friends every night or being with people who don’t have a similar mindset as you.

Entrepreneurs definitely deserve to party hard, but everything must be rationed. If you want to be more than mediocre, you have to make decisions others aren’t willing to make.

3. Sleep

Do you enjoy sleeping 8-10 hours every night? Well, I do too but as soon as I became an entrepreneur my sleeping schedule became messy.

I was lucky to be sleeping 8 hours especially since I was balancing school and my businesses when I first started. Nowadays, I get a bit closer to 8 hours but my sleeping schedule is still erratic.

You have to maintain your health, but starting a business requires a lot of WORK. I am literally glued to my computer all day long and probably spend 12-16 hours a day on it.

4. Comfort

If you love to be comfortable, entrepreneurship is going to be tough. Being an entrepreneur is like jumping on a never-ending roller coaster that is filled with surprises at every corner.

You must be willing to put yourself into uncomfortable situations to come out with extraordinary solutions. As an entrepreneur, you’re going to have to do a little bit of everything.

Whether it’s sales, product development, marketing, customer service, or something else, you’re always going to be doing something new. Often times, it’s extremely uncomfortable to be doing something you haven’t done before but it’s a sacrifice you must make to be successful.

5. Yourself 

A lesson I learned a bit later on in my entrepreneurial journey was that my business comes first, even before me. Instead of making the best decision for myself, I quickly realized that I had to make the best decisions for my business.

If you have a big ego or have a hard time putting other things in front of yourself, entrepreneurship may not be for you. You have to be willing to make the best decision for your business even if it’s not always favorable to your personal needs.

Conclusion

In this article, I shared 5 sacrifices you must make as an entrepreneur. If you truly wish to build a successful business, you have to make these sacrifices at some point.