This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
6 challenges of being an entrepreneur (A guide for new entrepreneurs)
There are many challenges you face as a new entrepreneur. And, even if you are an aspiring entrepreneur, it is good to know the challenges you are going to face so you can mentally prepare yourself.
This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
There are many challenges you face as a new entrepreneur. And, even if you are an aspiring entrepreneur, it is good to know the challenges you are going to face so you can mentally prepare yourself.
1. It’s lonely
The road of entrepreneurship is a lonely one. No one is there to hold your hand through the hard work. No one is there late at night when you are putting your business plan together. This reality is one that many new and aspiring entrepreneurs avoid realizing, which is why so many new businesses fail. Why? Because they didn’t realize that they will have to stay and work late by themselves when their employees leave or when their friends are out having a good time. Avoiding this entrepreneurial mistake will save you in the long run.
2. Long hours and hard work
Whether you are starting your first or your fifth business, there is always a significant amount of work involved. If you are starting a business because you think it will be easier than the regular nine to five, then you are wrong. Starting a business brings 50+ hour work weeks, and many times working on the weekend and missing those regular social gatherings you used to go to. Don’t get me wrong, being social is great, but just know that there will be some sacrifice you need to make to start a business with little or no money.
3. You will sometimes fail
Failure is scary. Even for the greatest entrepreneurs, failure scares them. However, if you don’t think there will be hard times, then you are going to be in shock my friend. Entrepreneurship is risky. Although many can be successful with starting their own business, you never see the days when rent was almost missed, or when that new content marketing idea didn’t build the hype it was supposed to.
You can try and mitigate failure by being strategic and planning, but there will be moments when you will have to wing it, and it may not go the way you wanted. The important thing to remember here though is that you need to keep going. Keep building the company and developing your business idea. The perseverance is where you see people come from failures and reach great heights. There are tones of business idea resources out there to help you too.
4. No steady paycheck and hours
No one is going to be cutting you a check every two weeks if you choose the full-time entrepreneurship route. You will have to reap all your earnings from the profits you make. In the beginning, this can be very scary as many new businesses don’t turn a profit for at least their first six months to a year. It is important to keep this in mind if you are still working for someone before you take your venture full time. Save up enough so you have a runway for the business to sustain being unprofitable. This is especially important if you want to launch a business with little or no money.
Along with a no steady paycheck comes an unreliable schedule. Sometimes you may have the choice to take Friday night off. Other times, you may be swamped with client requests that you don’t have time to go out all weekend. As an entrepreneur, you don’t always get to choose your work hours. Your boss now is the client, and if they need something done and you want their money, you are going to have to get it done even if that means sacrificing some time from chilling at the beach.
5. Always on call
As the founder, you have to be ready to deal with everything, especially in the beginning. You may even be doing everything yourself in the beginning which drives this challenge even more. If something breaks on your website or your store, you are the one that has to go and fix it. If a vendor or customer has a question, you’ll need to be able to provide the answer.
6. Your money and time is at risk
Every business idea you launch will cost a bit a money, no matter the business model. And to execute on that idea you are going to be taking a lot of your time. As a new or aspiring entrepreneur, this can be a challenge. It’s risky. The idea may not work out and your money and time you’ve invested is now gone. That is why it is so important to spend time on the business idea phase so you don’t end up wasting a lot of time and money executing it.
If you think this dampened your mood and thoughts about entrepreneurship, then that is a good thing. I am not trying to make you scared or depressed about this journey, I just want you to be prepared that it is going to be tough, but you can get through it if you know what is coming. If you find this useful, be sure to check more business idea related blogs at Business Idea Insight.