Being an entrepreneur is the dream of many, but not all of them fulfill it. Even if one does manage to start up their own business, they usually give up when things get tough.
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Entrepreneurship comes with a host of advantages and disadvantages. These may be on a larger scale than those of an employee or even a manager. You may be your own boss, but this only means that you are the one responsible for everything.
Managing a business does give one a lot of control over what they want to produce. If an entrepreneur is successful, he can get rich very quickly. However, one should always keep in mind that there is the ever-present possibility of failure. When a business fails, it is the entrepreneur who stands to lose the most.
New entrepreneurs have spent a lot of time, money, and effort on their ventures. They should thus educate themselves about the challenges they are about to face. Once they know what to expect, they can prepare themselves for it.
1. Managing A Team
An entrepreneur not only has to manage the teams under him but actually build them in the first place. He would have to find people who are experienced or well-versed in certain positions. There is also the matter of wages and salaries; you need to compromise a little either way. You can either get an excellent employee at a many-digit salary, or a mediocre one with a passable pay.
Other considerations are the employees’ schedule, their ability to fit in with your workplace’s culture, etc. One of the biggest decisions of all, maybe, is finding and appointing your second in command. You’re human and may be out of town or sick on some days. In such cases, having someone who can temporarily take your place is absolutely essential. Of course, this presents its own problems.
Getting around the challenge of managing a team requires a lot of research. An entrepreneur should know his employees inside out, whether it’s through observation or surveys. They should hence know which area or task an employee would be most productive in.
2. Burning Their Bridges
An entrepreneur does not have the luxury of working two jobs at once. Some may be able to keep a business going while they’re studying, but a separate career is another story. Nurturing a business is a full-time job and requires focus in order to succeed.
Of course, some may argue that nights and weekends are enough to make a business stable. While this may be true, it doesn’t mean that the business will grow. So in order to give their full concentration, entrepreneurs eventually have to leave their day jobs.
Quitting a steady flow of income is a risky and often frightening decision to make. This is especially true for a new entrepreneur. Some may regret leaving their job. This becomes another source of stress.
While there is no direct answer to whether you should quit your job or not, a bit of insightful thinking is necessary. Sit down and think long and hard about the logic of quitting. Weigh the pros and cons of staying and leaving, and then make your decision.
3. Attracting Investments
Funding is one of the main headaches of an entrepreneur. A new one, especially, may be at a loss about where to get a proper amount of capital. However, the more experience one gain in his field, the more chances they have of attracting investments.
Before starting a new business, then, entrepreneurs should look at what financial resources they have. Then they should make a list of what resources they can expect in the future. They should not depend wholly on sales revenue and profits to invest back into the business.
New entrepreneurs can set aside some valuables such a jewelry, antiques, etc. They can then work in peace, knowing that if all else fails, they can liquefy something and pay their debts. Additionally, they could opt for a sleeping or active partner to help them out financially.
As an entrepreneur grows in experience, he can even use his failed businesses to attract investments for new ones. For example, he could take the connections and contacts made in the previous business. These can then support the new one.
For new entrepreneurs, the lesson here is to begin networking as soon and as much as possible. Go through all the funding options and have at least one reliable source. This way, even if the business fails, you may be able to salvage some advantage out of it.
4. Creative Thinking
An entrepreneur shouldn’t have any excuse for not being able to think on the spot. Many people tend to wrongly think that a non-literature background is an excuse to not have an imagination. This is extremely dangerous thinking for an entrepreneur. Since he had the vision to start a business, he should have the imagination to deal with its problems.
Not only does an entrepreneur have to give ideas, he also has to respond to problems. These could be related to employees, cash flows, customers, or with any company stakeholders. At all events, the decisions should allow the company to move forward as much as possible.
This requires one to think of solutions when under pressure. There also needs to be an element of creativity along with some logical sense. Many new entrepreneurs may feel a lot of stress when presented with an unforeseen situation. The good news, however, is that the more time goes by, the more they are able to handle problems and find a way out.
Wrap-Up…
When an entrepreneur is completely new to the game, their challenges tend to be different from those who have simply started a new business.
These challenges may seem impossible to overcome at first, but it is entirely possible.
The key is to keep working at it until you either succeed in your endeavors or have no choice but to call it quits. Even if the latter happens, a true entrepreneur should chalk up his failures as experience, and try again.
