Being an Entrepreneur

Starting, running and developing a business is difficult. You have to wear so many hats, and in the early days, it can be a lonely existence.

Here's the thing.

People you think will help, won’t,

People who say they will help, won’t,

The bank will listen but probably won’t help.

All the above will help once you are up and running and will say things like “I always thought it was a good idea”. Thanks.

After the initial excitement, it gets real and the hard thing to do is to keep going.

Keep going is what you must do.

Routes to being an Entrepreneur

The Revolutionary Idea

You may have thought about a revolutionary idea, that everyone thinks is bonkers at the time and you are brave enough to start, but perhaps the hard truth is maybe you were too early. 10+ years later you see huge funding for the same revolutionary idea that takes off. Don’t be disheartened, it’s hard, I know, just realise you have the ideas within you.

You may be lucky, but perhaps think about the market here and now and work towards the future you can see.

The Trades Person

You may be the tradesperson who has been brave to set up on your own and know your trade inside out; but has less of an idea about some other areas of running a business, marketing, finance, sales etc.

You can’t be brilliant at everything but as time goes on you get pretty good at most things. As finances allow (usually do it sooner than you think) employ people who are better than you at certain things. Be confident, do it.

I Lost my Job

This can be a good one but scary, you have a lot to offer, but you are used to that regular salary, having a budget, not worrying too much about cash flow etc. and having a lot of structure in your life.

Being an entrepreneur doesn’t have that but if you can handle the unknown, it can bring so much more but it is tough.

The Family Business

A lot of people can see this as an easy option. It can be difficult dealing with a parent or relative who has always done things a certain way. As you develop and have new ideas they are not always, shall we say supportive. This is not the case for all but being able to spread your wings and develop the business is not always easy.

It’s important to learn what works, find out and understand as much as possible and then apply this knowledge to your new vision.

A final word

Being an entrepreneur is difficult, particularly at the start and those people who are happier being employed can often not understand this mindset. This is why you should not always listen to family and friends who may think you’re a dreamer. They might not understand until the business is established in a form like a business or organisation, they are employed in. “Yes, you were right!”

There are many other ways to get into running your own business and I am interested to hear your experiences. The most important thing is you start.