Tag: what entrepreneurs should know

8 Things All Entrepreneurs Should Know About Being Their Own Boss

Entrepreneurship may have its dark sides, but the average entrepreneur is still happier than the average worker, and they would never give it up for a regular job. They are doing something they are passionate about and making real change through doing what they believe in. In this post, I shared with you 8 things all entrepreneurs should know about being their own boss.

If you want to start a business but don’t know where to start, you aren’t alone. In fact, given the new economic reality of our time, more people than ever before have found the “job” they thought was waiting for them doesn’t exist. Others have concluded that they would instead create work they love, constructed to fit with their own life goals. No matter what the motivation is to be your own boss, you can start today.

You can be your own boss. Just let that sink in for a minute and then imagine it. The benefits of being your own boss are amazing. You set your own hours, you don’t get hung up on committees and you decide your own dress code.

Whether you want to start working as a freelancer out of your home or create a brick-and-mortar store, starting your own business can be remarkably rewarding. It’s also arduous work that is laden with pitfalls if you aren’t careful.

Here are 8 things all entrepreneurs should know about being their own boss:

1. Take A Stand For Yourself

If you are dissatisfied with your current circumstances, admit that no one can fix them except for you. It doesn’t do any good to blame the economy, your boss, your spouse or your family. Change can only occur when you make a conscious decision to make it happen. As your own boss, you’re taking a stand for yourself all the time!

2. You Won’t Make Money Right Away

Almost all companies that were surveyed spent over half their digital marketing budgets just on finding the right audience. This illustrates how difficult it is to make money. In the beginning, you will be spending far more than you are bringing in.

For some people, they can’t handle this type of stress. They can’t handle digging into their savings funds and praying that sooner or later they will start to make some of it back. A lack of funds is one of the biggest stress factors for entrepreneurs. Before you dive into your own business, know that it may be some time before you get paid.

3. Work-Life Balance Is Impossible

In the building stages of business, seeking work-life balance is futile. Work will become your life. When you are at home with your family, at events or getting ready to go to sleep at night, you’ll be thinking about your business.

You’ll wake in the middle of the night worrying that you should have handled something better or jumped on an opportunity faster. There is no 9-to-5 to building a business, only a 24/7.

4. Emotions Will Overcome You

Leading a business is a roller coaster of emotions. When things go well, you will feel on top of the world. When things go wrong, you will feel like you want to be six feet under it. Entrepreneurs are naturally emotional figures and they will feel success and failure harder than anyone else working for that company.

During your business career, you will be faced some defining challenges. Your emotions will get the better of you and you will feel close to the edge of giving up. As an entrepreneur, these feelings are natural and you have to be comfortable going through these ups and downs.

5. Focus On Your Strengths & Work On Your Weaknesses

We all have strengths and this is where your success will come from. But, you also need to dedicate some time focusing on your weaknesses. When you start working on turning your weakness into strengths, you grow as a businessman and as a human being. If you become stagnant as an entrepreneur, you’ll be in big trouble!

6. You Won’t Be The Highest Paid

Media does a horrible job of really showcasing what entrepreneurship is all about. Many people think that just by starting your own business you’ll have fancy cars and a big house. Especially when you first start out as an entrepreneur, you’re not going to be the highest paid. In fact, very few entrepreneurs become successful enough to become part of the top 1%.

7. Nothing Will Happen As Planned

You can have the most excellent business plan in the world, but you’ll soon find that little goes to plan and your business plans will change all the time. The best people to lead companies are those who can adapt to new situations. If you are unable to deal with the unpredictability of entrepreneurship, it won’t take long before you are closing the doors on your company for the final time.

8. You Will Fail

Very few entrepreneurs get it right the first time. Most people will fail and fail spectacularly before they stumble upon something that works. Failure is not something to fear, it’s something to embrace because this is where you will learn from your mistakes.

The businesspeople who are sure to succeed are those who know how to react when they fail. They are not overly conservative, but they are not reckless either. They love to fail, and they will do it time and time again because they know it’s another step on the road to success.

Conclusion

Entrepreneurship may have its dark sides, but the average entrepreneur is still happier than the average worker, and they would never give it up for a regular job. They are doing something they are passionate about and making real change through doing what they believe in. In this post, I shared with you 8 things all entrepreneurs should know about being their own boss.

What Every Entrepreneur Must Know Before Taking The Leap of Faith

In this article, I share lessons every entrepreneur must know before they take a leap of faith. Before starting a business, there are numerous things you should consider.

 

When I decided to take a leap into entrepreneurship, I had no idea what to expect. Turns out, becoming an entrepreneur wasn’t anything I thought it would have been. From 4 years of twists and turns as an entrepreneur, I’ve learned quite a lot.

 

 

In this article, I’m going to share what every entrepreneur must know before taking the leap of faith:

 

 

Balancing work and life is very tough

 

I became an entrepreneur at the age of 17. While my friends were out partying and enjoying their teenage years, I was meeting with clients and working through the night to make my business successful.

 

 

I often did wish that I could go out and do all the fun things my friends were doing, but I couldn’t always be there. Turns out entrepreneurship isn’t a job, it’s a lifestyle. Everyone believes they’ll have enough time for both, but reality sets in after just a few months.

 

 

If you want to be truly successful as an entrepreneur, it’s going to be very tough balancing life and work simultaneously. If you had a lot of free time before, expect that to be cut down dramatically if you plan to start a business.

 

 

Fancy cars and fame don’t come with the title 

 

I learned about entrepreneurship when I became extremely frustrated with the various odd jobs I had taken. They made me miserable and I knew there had to be a better way to make some cash.

 

 

I came across this idea of entrepreneurship and read stories of people who were rich and famous. They had fancy cars, tons of cash and were looked up to by people of all ages. I thought by starting my own business, I would be entitled to the same thing.

 

 

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The perks of entrepreneurship only come to you after you work your ass off and achieve results. Success is attainable, but don’t think it just comes with the title.

 

 

Action trumps everything

 

It’s one thing to talk about your ideas, but it’s something else to put them into action. You’re a wantrepreneur until you implement your thoughts.

 

 

When I became an entrepreneur, I was able to find success so quickly simply because I took action. I wasn’t scared of making mistakes or failing. I hit tons of barriers and made mistakes, but I learned quickly because I took action.

 

 

Test, test, test

 

When I first started my business, I was very foolish with the way I launched products. Instead of testing things or asking potential customers about it, I pushed out what I thought was right. This was a very poor approach.

 

 

Don’t waste a ton of money and resources until you’ve tested everything. Test the market, the product and the need before you go all in. Many principles such as the lean startup and my course share these tactics in much more depth. Instead of doing what you think is best, collect feedback and use those metrics to make decisions.

 

 

4 hour workweeks aren’t enough

 

I hadn’t heard about Tim Ferris until last year, but I was really disappointed to see how many entrepreneurs believed they only had to work 4 hours a week to be successful. If you’re just starting a business, expecting to work a few hours a week is simply insane.

 

 

If you really want to be a successful entrepreneur and build something worth millions or billions of dollars, you’re going to have work way more than 4 hours a week. A 4 hour workweek is possible when you’ve made a lot of money and can substitute your effort by hiring others.

 

 

It’s not about how much money your business makes

 

When I started out as an entrepreneur, the only metrics I focused on revolved around the amount of money the business was making. I ran my multimedia agency for a few years only to realize I was just a businessman. I was disgusted by that thought and decided I wanted to become an entrepreneur.

 

 

I put my business up for sale and focused on creating startups that had a purpose deeper than money. I’ve always said that money is the prize, but not the purpose. If you’re ONLY focused on making money, it’ll never come to you.

 

 

Money is an illusive object. Instead of chasing it, focus on a deeper purpose and the money will find you. What drives you and makes you want to become an entrepreneur? My ‘why’ was that I had the opportunity to be happy, do something I loved and create change in the world with my startups.

 

 

Conclusion

 

These are just a handful of lessons entrepreneurs should know before they take the leap of faith. Starting a business is very rewarding, but you have to be well-prepared for the journey ahead.

 

 

photo credit: Frankenspotter Photography via photopin cc