What Nobody Tells You About Being
an Entrepreneur
Working for
yourself is the American dream, but too often it leads to disappointment.
Discover why--and learn how to make entrepreneurship work for you.
At this very moment, a
significant number of people are dreaming about leaving their
jobsand going into business for themselves.
These fantasies are fed by all
the times we've been told to believe in
ourselves, to
embrace the American dream of going our own way and doing it for ourselves.
There's no doubt that leaving behind
a routine job and becoming your own boss is exciting, and many of those who set
off on that path find personal and professional fulfillment there.
But in any endeavor, reality
is better preparation than fantasy. And when it comes to entrepreneurship, the
reality is complicated.
Here are some of the things
you don't hear about it--but should:
There's a dark side.
The sad truth is up to 90
percent of new businesses--including entrepreneurial startups--fail within a
few years. It's inspiring to hear about an Amazon or a Zappos, but the risk of
not making it is real.
Passion alone won't cut it.
We've heard it a thousand
times: Passion will prevail. And that's true, but only up to a point. In the
long haul, success has a lot more to do with less exciting character traits:
patience and endurance.
It takes years of hard work to
build a business.
Many believe that entrepreneurship
means shorter hours and more free time. In reality, entrepreneurship means
building your business carefully and faithfully day by day over a period of
years. If there's a true secret to success, it's hard work, period. Or, more
accurately, very hard work. Being in business for yourself is definitely
rewarding, but you have to be ready to work harder than you've ever worked for
anyone else.
Isolation is a fact of
entrepreneurial life.
The thought of flying solo is
exciting--but it can also be stressful and even lonely. When you work for an
established business, you have a trusted network of colleagues to tap into for
feedback, a safety net of shared responsibility, and the chance to connect with
familiar people during the workday. Isolation is a significant factor in the
lives of most entrepreneurs.
To lead others, you must
manage yourself.
In the popular imagination,
entrepreneurship is just about having an idea. But successful businesses--even
those with just a single employee--have great leadership. And the best leaders
know, above all, how to manage themselves.
You probably won't get rich.
Another misconception is that
entrepreneurship is a good path for becoming filthy rich. The rewards are
many--but if what you're ultimately looking for is wealth, creating a business
is probably not the best way to go about it.
A crisis of confidence is
probably in your future.
Entrepreneurs are generally
confident people who hold deep convictions. But for most of them, at some
point, the responsibility and high stakes combine to create a devastating
loss of certainty in themselves and their work. When you feel hopeless--and you
will--you have to be able to work hard to overcome any self-doubt, any feeling of doom, or any situation that
feels overwhelming.
Don't fake it, ever.
I leave this to the last
because I feel it's the most important. "Fake it till you make it" is
a popular mantra, but I believe in the integrity of being what you are in the
moment. The secret of success is to be yourself--flaws and all.
Entrepreneurship isn't for
everyone, and that's OK.
But those with the heart of an
entrepreneur will always go through life making more opportunities than they
find. They will overcome more challenges than they ever thought they'd be
capable of and--above all--they never confuse a defeat with a final defeat.
BY LOLLY DASKAL
http://www.inc.com/lolly-daskal/what-no-one-is-telling-you-about-being-an-entrepreneur.html?cid=em01014week28c
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