What Entrepreneurship Really Is. It Sucks!

Not your everyday Entrepreneurship story, because it sucks!

Everyone loves to hear a good story. A story that ends up with, “…and they lived happily ever after. The End!” But would you read a story that had a hopeless start and a weeping end?

What if I told you that as an entrepreneur, I have had a reversed occurrence of my day, yet you knew me as the jolly person whose day is always “awesome!” Would you believe that my mornings are lonely, cloudy and cold while my evenings are kinda hopeful?

Think about it, the Bible tells me that “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

While this is actually very true for a few entrepreneurs, mine is not to discourage those who desire to try the entrepreneurship waters. This is to shine the light unto you as you step into the pool. The waters may be warm and enticing, don’t let this fool you. It is a temporary condition. Entrepreneurship is not as rosy as many portray.

So, why are my mornings sad and disheartening? Because I spend the earliest hours of my morning reviewing my life. I look at what I have done, what I am doing and hope to do and then ask myself;

“Of what use is it?”

“Will it earn me a smooth income?”

“Would that income sustain my family in the event that my husband couldn't?”

Now you see why I am so sad in the morning? These are very difficult questions to answer especially when you have not done any work that would call for invoicing since rising up.

That calls for a review of what I am currently doing. This business that has earned me a name among my mates and yet I do not know if my life is true or a big fat lie. So I begin a new session of questioning;

“What am I doing wrong?”

“What if I picked something else, forgot the past work and made a clean start away from Business mentorship?”

“Would I succeed, or would I come to a similar halt?”

But somewhere in the midst of this monologue, I stumble upon a lost heart deep within me. It insists that I should concentrate on only one bit of my business. Maybe, if I just focused on writing I could do better. I could write lots of essays for my website so that my audience would get free mentorship.

A bulb flashes on over my head, I got an idea. It’s the second hour since I woke up and I have accomplished one major thing, “Complaining to God that I am so sad.”

I still have a lot to do before I head to my office, which by the way is in my sitting room. Work-from-home, right? Great!

But on goes my day and my kids are out of my way, so is my husband. My brain starts warming up towards the entrepreneur I am. The first text comes in. It’s Moosa, he has a great idea and he wants to run it through his mentor, your’s faithfully. (I really like this guy. He has the best of ideas.) So I read ut through and ask text him back with just one stupid question, “What do you think, Moosa?” (Don’t you hate mentors for this? They never give you a direct answer, but kinda make you regurgitate upon your question with a pinch of ‘Dare to do or Die with it’)

Trust me, I mean to be very strict and stupid at the same time. He gets it and off he goes to execute.

At this time I decide to check on a few blogs that I follow. Perhaps there will be some insight to inspire me. I bump upon this particular one that stirs me from within. The author must be a total nuts! “How to be the most wanted freelancer today”. I am not sure whether to click on the link or pause and sneer. The main image gets me snared onto it. I am hooked. I note down the major points and to my surprise, I have a feeling I should pursue writing as earlier thought. OH, WRITING!!!

Now I know why I am so enticed to write. This specific document has been shared 30 FREAKING TIMES! “Damn it!” I say to myself. How does this guy manage to get this overly practical post shared so many times? I wonder if I have one single post that has been read by anyone past my cat. (roughly speaking). Even after having penned down one book, that I sold over 100 copies in my county, I wonder how many people ever read it to the end!

Freelance writing for a living

One thing is for sure, I can write. (You are still reading)

What you must be wondering by now is, “If she can damn write, why is she not damn doing so for a living?”

Well, that makes two the number of people asking the damn question.

But again, I am an entrepreneur. A business mentor and a writer to be specific. What makes my morning sad and my evening so kinda jolly?

Good question. How about I cut the chase and we deal with the main issue here.

So, What’s my day like, as an entrepreneur?

From where I stand, it is clear that I am given into several services. One of them is advising a few rookies on how to get their businesses together. The other is writing, that is why you are reading this crap. The other is motivational speaking, derived from the fact that I hate to see fellows around me are wasting their lives in other people’s offices while they should be out here running great businesses. Those who are busy making loses for their employers; I like bashing those. (I’m not your everyday motivational speaker. I don’t go soft on crap).

This video may just tell you that. Now you understand why Jesus had to whip some fellows who tried turning the temple into a market, right?

With this kind of life, you would expect each avenue of my business to yield. Not just yield, but keep my ‘not-yet-purchased’ big black Toyota Rush well fueled and in tiptop condition! Proud cat, you say. (I heard that.)

But at the end of the day, I look at my records and the sight is like a bad accident in the market. Tomatoes, bananas, watermelons and a guard of porridge crashed in one spot! Get the picture?

I hope you remember that my evening is supposed to be kinda rosy, full of smiles and echoing the word ‘awesome’ that I have been flashing at everyone who dared to ask how I am. Why would I still be sad when an article like this comes my way- “Are you ready to become an entrepreneur?”. Of course I nod all the way. In fact I take time to share it with my Facebook circle of friends!

Then I get a few-more-wrinkles-on-my-face serious wondering, what hold’s me down from a happy morning? Why is my story not full of colors? Before you judge me, could it be your story too?

Hesitation —

I have an idea of what I want to do, but hardly execute. Instead, I gather lots of information about how to do it but never do anything about it because, well, I am not ready yet! Somehow, I feel that I may need a little more information to get me going. Damn it! Total misery.

Lack of clarity —

I have more than a few ideas. They all crowd up in my mind like spaghetti in a China bowl. I can’t disentangle them so I opt to keep stirring them with a fork. From time to time, I poke them with a chop stick and they slide from one side to the other. Nothing really is clear. Again, the dissimilarity in the ideas make the situation dark!

Speaking of the dark-

Fear of the dark —

As long as I cannot separate one idea from another, I am bound to get lost in my business. This means that I will not be able to enjoy the benefits. These ideas will torment each one of my mornings because I own them but I am not able to help anyone with them leave alone make money from them.

So what’s the way forward?

Did you read the heading right?

The Real Entrepreneurship Sh*t that you need to know

Being an entrepreneur does not mean that you will know everything you need to know always. But if you focus on pursuing one idea at least until it is set up, running and profiting you, then you are good to go. (Holly Crap! This is the most haunting statement I have written in this passage so far, because it is true and it is damn painful!)

Don’t read past this point if you have a light heart- seriously!

Drop the pride if you want to move. The answers you seek are available in someone else’s life. Just ask for help already!

In entrepreneurship, there are no Demigods, just mere humans. You will make mistakes, experience dead-brain seasons and worse still be not have the answers for months.

Just when you think you have cracked it, you will be broke and unable to execute an idea.

You will dig dirt every freaking day, seeking to solve people’s problems. Besides, where the people murmur that is where the money is. Well put by Jack Ma of Alibaba, “If you want to run a business, solve people’s problems.”

When you finally solve the problem, the pay will be delayed!

I warned you.

Just so you know, this kinda thing is what makes my evening hopeful; knowing that there are still a few damn things that I got right. Specifically every last bit of this passage.

I rest my case.

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