The Harsh Realities of being an Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship completely changes one’s personal as well as professional life. You get to create your own pathway to being highly successful. However, there is little doubt in the fact that being an entrepreneur is not an easy task. Though it is a great feeling to be your own boss, at the same time it is a challenging task which demands a lot from you. Here are few disadvantages you will likely face being an entrepreneur.

You will have a lot of Stress & Responsibilities

As an employee, you can be assured of getting a fixed pay cheque at the end of the month. However, as an entrepreneur, you need to struggle for making your share of profit in the company. There is a lot of financial responsibility and a burden which comes along with it. The uncertainty surrounding all this can be quite overwhelming for many people. At the end of the story, you need to pay your bills.

Especially in the first few years of starting off, it is well understood that it’s going to be a rough road out there in this entrepreneurial journey. Initially, you will not make much money. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be rich someday. However, if you are passionate about what you are doing, then making a lot of money takes a back burner for achieving the mission which you wanted to accomplish in the very first place.

Relentless Hours of Work

One of the major drawbacks of being an entrepreneur are the long, strenuous and relentless hours of work you have to put in for building your business. Unlike an employee, there are no fixed or definite hours expected out of you. Instead, it’s your company and it’s you, who has made all efforts, devoted time and investment to make your business successful. You will have to burn the midnight oil for carrying out critical tasks and to keep moving the startup vehicle which you are driving.

Attitude of Friends & Family

Unless you prove yourself to be a highly successful entrepreneur, it is likely that even close friends and at times family members also don’t understand your situation. They don’t perceive what you go through and the umpteen challenges which come your way in your journey. Entrepreneurs have to really struggle initially to keep their foothold while building their business from zero.

People become skeptical and criticize you from the sidelines during your struggling days. The bottom line is that you have to keep your spirits soaring high despite facing the attitude of people around you, who don’t think that you can make it big someday. Don’t let their opinions fill your mind with doubt as self-doubt can be catastrophic.

You Need to be a Jack of all Trades Initially

One of the big disadvantages of running a company is that while starting out, you will be responsible for conducting the operations in your company. In fact, you will have to wear multiple hats before you employ experienced and talented people who demand a fat pay cheque. Being a multitasker and being responsible for a variety of activities can also take a toll on your elevated stress levels. Understanding the business from all perspectives will be quite important in the long run. Later on, when things start picking up, the scenario will change gradually and the situation will be more satisfying.

Finding co-founders & Building a Team

Your team members are the lifeline of your business. The success of your business depends up to a great extent on the fact that how effective your team is in terms of their performance. Finding cofounders is itself a gigantic mission who shares your values, ideas and ambitions in life.  Finding such people who are smarter than you and interested in investing their time in accomplishing your mission can be quite challenging.

They might be more satisfied with having an attractive salary and absolutely different ideas from you. They might not even be interested in pursuing genuinely what you are doing. Your first few employees and building up a great team will be crucial to your success as they also need to be just as enthusiastic and passionate about the startup as you.

Entrepreneurship doesn’t Guarantee Success

Entrepreneurship doesn’t guarantee 100% success. In fact, as per statistics, 9 out of 10 startups ultimately are forced to pull down their shutters. There can be a variety of unforeseen circumstances and reasons behind it. The risk of failure is quite high for any startup. As an entrepreneur, you will need to have the capability to handle risks and to stay committed in the face of setbacks and disappointments. You will have to be someone who is self-determined and bounces back from failures and stay optimistic. You are responsible for every big and small decision you make for the company.

In startups, problems seem to get created quite frequently and sometimes out of thin air. New issues keep on getting formed every now and then. These are common stumbling blocks that aim to prevent the success you desire but you don’t need to worry about these. With the passage of time, you will become better at handling such situations and they will be ultimately seen as simple puzzles that need to be solved.