The Life of An Entrepreneur
The ugly truth most don’t talk about as an entrepreneur. Many of these things I talk about in my last book Blueprint to Business. But this may be even a bit more “real.”
•You are fully dependent on yourself to pay your bills and put food on the table. You cannot rely on anyone else . It’s sad but true. However, if you are lucky like me, you have a few and I mean 3 or less people that you actually can count on. And those people know who they are.
•There’s no salary, no benefits, no weekends off, no sick days, no taking the day off when you don’t feel like it.
•Always feeling like you are begging friends and relatives for help or support. Some reluctantly do, making you feel even worse. So eventually you stop asking. Even though my 1st book is titled Ask More Get More.
•Social media does not support “small” businesses. In fact they’ve made increasingly more difficult to organically build and grow in the current climate. You have to work ten times harder than bigger companies. Even if you pay for it. Most don’t see your posts or many of your “friends” have opted out of your posts (most will never even see this).
•Once you force yourself to hire people (because you will have to) you pay them before you pay yourself. Huge mistake I’ve made over and over and over again.
•Small business loans aren’t for small businesses. Take a look at the numbers. Huge multi-billion dollar companies were the biggest beneficiaries of the recent government relief loans.
•People will think you’re rolling in cash because you make sales and “look successful” when in reality an $Indebtaire because you have to reinvest every single dollar for the while borrowing more to keep the small crew you have fed. And the unfortunate realities of the reinvested money many times actually loses money. Yeah sounds insane. But true.
•You feel like you’re letting down everyone in your life because there’s not enough money or YOU to go around.
•Some days feel really really lonely. Really lonely. The type of loneliness that only other entrepreneurs feel. The type of loneliness that makes everything feel hopeless.
•The weight of the worlds expectations on you feel beyond “heavy” sometimes. The people you know are quick to point how you’re falling short. Most times behind your back actively rooting for your failure.
•You work 365 days a year and 16 hours a day. I call it 25/8. Because 24/7 isn’t enough.
•You watch others allegedly doing big things around you and you and have to stay focused and not allow jealously, comparison and envy to creep in. Knowing most of the other big players are just smoke and mirrors. But they do a damn good job of appearing successful.
•You’re desperate for a vacation but the whole $Indebtaire thing and if you did take a vacation you would feel guilty anyway.
•Some days I’m sad when I’m supposed to be Wicked Happy…but oddly enough, I never want to quit (even though sometimes I say I do). Some days I lay in bed and wonder how I’m going to make it work. But I remind myself that it’s not about the money anymore and when I do push it usually works out (“works out” is very subjective).
•I’ve been rich and been poor and back around to both a few times in my life. Happiness is what matters.
•BUT I keep pushing day in and day out because I believe in what I’m doing with all of my heart. It’s a deep knowing. Because it calls me and because I believe I’m building the foundation for something beautiful. Something my daughter can be proud of. Something that will truly make an impact and leave a legacy. This is the stuff nobody wants to talk about or push through but in the end I know I will look back and know I’ve paved the way for my family and others with big goals and ideas!
And just to be even more candid, I’m not sharing this so you can pity me. But entrepreneurship is hard. Fifteen years of building not one business but multiple. And here is MORE truth. MOST of them fail, over and over and over and over again. I know it’ll be ok (at least I tell myself that) and I know I’m now on the right path.
There have been some businesses that we’ve launched that I knew almost from the beginning they wouldn’t work. It’s a weird feeling. As someone who is always trying to remain optimistic. But the journey I’m on now I know is the right path. It’s taken loss after loss after loss and wisdom to get here.
Lots of my “friends” may feel these same feelings and I hope this raw candidness inspired by real life helps others cope. And maybe inspire to keep pushing. I will never stop.
