Harsh Realities Upcoming Entrepreneurs Should Know !!!

Entrepreneurship may appear to be glamorous and alluring. The reasons are many, media bodies showcasing 10 figures mergers and acquisition of business deals, word of mouth from individuals about overnight startup success, being your own bosses, etc.

But in reality, choosing entrepreneurship as a career path is less glamorous but rather more challenges and difficulties. Entrepreneurship is an exceptionally difficult journey to undertake and it’s the reason why entrepreneurship is not everyone’s cup of tea.

However, entrepreneurs who are passionate, determined and have the right attitude succeed in the journey. This is not going to be a negative article, it has been written with the goal that you face the battle of entrepreneurship and the realities like a valiant warrior. Anyone can do a successful startup if he/she has passion and vision.

These are few realities out of dozens which I, as a startup co-founder, strongly believe that you will face in your entrepreneurial journey.

Dealing with criticisms and individuals’ opinions:

Reality of being an entrepreneur is that there will be many people who will be giving you their criticisms and opinions whether you asked them or not. You should be prepared for the fact that people may not understand what you are going through and if they find that after few years of struggle, you don’t have enough to show, they may begin to demotivate you and call you an unemployed person on your back. To move en route, you should keep things simple and not listen to ones that are attempting to tear you down.

Failing again and again:

As an entrepreneur you won’t be failing once or twice but multiple number of times in your journey. Things may not go in your favour, ideas and strategies may not work, customers may be dissatisfied, etc.. You should prepare yourself to strongly face multiple failures on a daily basis, as they say, failure is the pillar of success.

Struggling to survive:

If you pursue entrepreneurship just for money, then you are completely wrong. Insufficient funds is one of the greatest difficulties faced by entrepreneurs. To get the business on wheels you will definitely need lot of money in the initial days as investment. At some point you will find it very difficult to survive and in extreme cases, you will be much poorer and earn less than normal wages.

Balancing work-life:

Entrepreneurship is not a 9 to 5 job but a 24/7 job. Your work-life balance will be messed up and suffer a lot. In the initial days, business will become your life and consume a large amount of time which you should spend with your family and friends. It doesn’t matter whether you are on a vacation or at home, your work won’t allow you to sleep and rest.

Building a strong team:

The task for building a team and hiring employees is the most challenging part in a startup. Finding people smarter than you across a wide range of skill takes lot of time than you would ever imagine. Initially, you may be very excited about your startup, but it’s difficult to get large group of people equally excited. Just because you as a founder is excited, does not mean that others will be excited. As an entrepreneur you should try your best to ensure that you employees are happy and content.

Nothing goes the way you plan:

You may have the greatest business plan in the world, but you’ll soon find that nothing goes the way you plan. A business doesn’t get successful in a day; it takes lot of time even years of struggle. Things are going to take longer than you initially imagine, be it taking permission from the government bodies or manufacturing products faster in your factory, etc.

Heavy Competition:

The bigger your business gets; the more enemies it will attract. It’s more probable that competitors will try to bring you down. Competitors may dislike you, but it’s alright, it implies that you are doing something really good. Haters will hate but you should not let your determination down and lose your focus.

Worth:

As they say, hardwork never goes unrewarded. Entrepreneurship may have its dark side, but we must look at the brighter side. Entrepreneurs are happy for what they do and are really passionate for their dreams. Be it small or big, entrepreneurs are the bosses of their own dreams, captains of their own fate, masters of their own souls and kings of their own goals.

If you strongly believe in yourself and in your idea, fight like a warrior and get started today !!!