The Hardest Aspects About Being an Entrepreneur

For the last few decades, entrepreneurship has really come to the forefront. It's no longer the odd genius who finds a way to disrupt an entire industry, whether intentionally or not. Everybody wants to become an entrepreneur and literally thousands have joined this brave new world. But among the occasional accolades, there is a price to pay.

Many founders have opened up about the difficulties of starting an enterprise from scratch. This hard-earned knowledge may help future pioneers, but no one can escape them all.

Below are some of the most challenging aspects of being an entrepreneur, but since space is limited, the list just scratches the surface.

1.??????Being a Jack of all trades

In the beginning, the founder wears all the hats. Most people have specialized knowledge in one or two disciplines which usually forms the foundation of their venture.

However, when you start your own venture, you're not just a computer scientist, physician or financial whizz. You're the face of the venture, the marketer, the salesperson, the accountant, and everything in between.

Having to attend to everything can get an entrepreneur overwhelmed and hopelessly side-tracked, having to spend time learning something you're not really interested in. In the process, the really important stuff gets neglected, like raising money, signing new clients and sorting out the supply chain.

This is one of those entrepreneurial problems that can't really be totally mitigated save for surrounding yourself with competent help. The goal is to balance your cash burn and while managing your time and knowing that when successful, this too shall pass.

2.??????The myth of being able to schedule your own time

Entrepreneurship as a career choice is often sold on the promise that, as an entrepreneur, you have the freedom to schedule your own time. That is not entirely true.

Work-life balance is extremely difficult for entrepreneurs, especially in the beginning. As the one responsible for the business, it can be very challenging to balance that with being a parent, a partner, a spouse, a family member, and a friend.

This is especially true in the beginning when the business is small, an entrepreneur has to attend to just about everything. So, when a client complains, or a delivery goes missing, it's the founder that has to stay late or come in early to solve the problem.?The buck stops with you is take home messaging.

Most entrepreneurs are forced to work long hours to sign up customers, keep the money coming in, and the business doors open. Work-life balance can be very challenging for someone starting their own venture, and frankly one of the hardest things about being an entrepreneur.

3.??????The self-doubt gremlin

There is a particular reason why self-doubt is such an insidious intruder in the lives of entrepreneurs. Apart from the fact that it's normal to feel self-doubt from time to time for anybody, entrepreneurs find themselves in a situation that makes fertile ground for self-doubt.

Entrepreneurs spend a lot of time on their own, and realizing their goals lies far in the future. The combination of these two factors can strengthen feelings of self-doubt, leading to a loss of drive and inaction, and the realization of their goals seems to recede and feel unattainable.

It's then that they start questioning themselves, wondering how they could ever have thought this business idea worth pursuing.

The biggest challenge entrepreneurs face is not from competitors or market forces - it's an internal struggle. Entrepreneurs should be prepared for this and find a way to deal with it.?At the end of the day, we all feel like imposters at times and entrepreneurism seems to accentuate the feeling.?I like to think of myself as being in a perpetual state of “beta” this way, when the imposter bug bites, I just shake it off to my “beta-state.”

4.??????Taking risks

Entrepreneurs take many risks to get their ventures off the ground and keep them operating. In the first place, you may have left the security of a steady paying job, adding financial risk with a loan or investment.

You may be risking your reputation with innovative products or services that no one has used before, not to speak of the risks involved in hiring employees, and undertaking expensive marketing campaigns. In addition, funding is not straightforward. Landing a substantial investment is not without risks.

Taking financial risks to invest in your business idea is one of the hardest things about being an entrepreneur. The risk that a venture's cash flow will not be sufficient to meet its financial obligations is the biggest concern for most entrepreneurs.?I have had many 3am?talks with the ceiling fan about this very issue and for me, the knowledge that others were relying on me to pay them so they could support their families weighed heavily.

5.??????Building the right team

This is challenging not only for entrepreneurs, but for businesses as a whole. It's common knowledge that all industries are suffering from an acute talent shortage. It is very difficult to find people that will fit into an existing team. Hiring mistakes are common, and can be a very costly exercise for a young business.

As the venture grows, it becomes more imperative to find the right people for each job. Companies that have solved this problem, take their time to find the right people, and focus on the person rather than the job or position that needs to be filled. Others agree on a three-month probation period before transitioning to a full-time appointment.

While employees are the lifeblood of every undertaking, it remains extremely challenging to find motivated people with the right attitude and willingness to be trained.?The one thing I have learned (sadly a few times) is that when you discover you have made a hiring mistake, off-board them immediately.

6.??????Facing uncertainty

By the very definition of entrepreneurship, founders start something new that no one has seen, experienced, or used before. They have no idea what challenges they will face or how things will pan out.

LinkedIn co-founder, Reid Hoffman , describes the uncertainty that entrepreneurs face, the best:

"I often say that starting a company is like throwing yourself off a cliff and assembling an airplane on the way down. That’s terrifying enough. But even more terrifying is the fact that you’ve convinced an entire community of people you care about to throw themselves off the cliff with you."

In his case, this included co-founders, employees, investors, family members, and the families of employees. For first-time entrepreneurs, it's usually family, friends, and partners.

The uncertainty that goes with starting a new venture is one of the hardest things for entrepreneurs to face however for me, is the most rewarding.?As Freud said, “One day, you will look back on the years of struggle as the most beautiful.”?This could not be more true.

7.??????Handling skepticism

Often the most difficult part of starting a new venture, especially if it offers something completely new, is the skepticism that people express about the venture. Ask any entrepreneur who came up with an original idea, and they'll tell you that many people have told them that their idea is crazy.

Especially young recent graduates who spent years studying and earning one or more degrees, face an onslaught of criticism from parents and others who want them to make the best use of their qualification by getting a good job and earning a dependable salary.

Why give up financial stability and an opportunity for career advancement for something that is not going to work? Why risk it, they say.

When they try to explain their vision to others, the response is invariably, "That's impossible" or "That's a crazy idea."

This is to be expected because people doubt what they can't see, hear, feel, taste, or smell. The only way to overcome this is to prove them wrong.?Frankly, you want to hear this response.?You want a Zero to One idea that most think crazy.

8.??????Feeling alone

Entrepreneurship can be a lonely undertaking. Sometimes friends and family simply don't understand the entrepreneur in their midst. They often can't relate and don't understand what it is that you do or what drives you.

To make matters worse, entrepreneurs are so busy that they don't have time to nurture friendships. Between work and family responsibilities, they don't have time to keep up friendships.

At most, they have human interaction at work, but for an entrepreneur that heads the venture, it is not really a place to form friendships. If you're the boss, you must keep a healthy distance between yourself and those that work for you.

Also, even if you are in an intimate relationship, you can't expect them to understand what you're going through. And even if the person would understand if you confided in them, would that be fair? Most entrepreneurs find that even in their intimate relationships, they are lonely because they prefer not to share everything with their partner.?Why freak them out,?Managing one of you is hard enough!

9.??????Facing rejection

Rejection is part and parcel of the entrepreneurial journey, and it doesn't just happen in the early stages of a business. Entrepreneurs rely on persuasion and partnerships with others every step of the way, negotiating with peer organizations, buyers, suppliers, wholesalers, investors, warehouses, manufacturers and others depending on the business.

Rejection can happen at any point and is a constant threat. The point is - it's impossible to avoid rejection. It happens, the question is when.

The impact of rejection can be psychologically draining for the entrepreneur and potentially devastating for the business as lethargy and depression set in. Bottom line is move past it.?Listen to and react to the constructive aspects, discard the haters, develop a thick skin and move on.

10.??Lack of support

A lack of support is a common challenge for many entrepreneurs when starting their venture. Lack of the right support goes hand in hand with the skepticism founders face when people around them don't share their vision. When family, friends, and colleagues don’t believe in your idea, or your ability to found a company, it can be very challenging.

A good support system of friends or family can make all the difference. Even if they don't understand what you are trying to achieve, just the fact that they believe in you as a person, makes all the difference.

11.??Decision-making

This is probably one of the most stressful challenges for entrepreneurs, especially new ones. Entrepreneurs face dozens of decisions every day, some are minor, but many are tough, business-impacting decisions that are really difficult to make.

For instance, staff-related issues, how to price your product or service, whether to let someone go, when to scale the business, what investment option to go for, whether or not to rent an office, when and what equipment to buy, supplier contracts, etc.. The list of daily decisions is literally endless, and decision fatigue is a real danger.

The hardest part for many founders is finding someone to trust and confide in to help them with business decisions.?Remember the adage, the best thing you can do is to make the right decision, the next best thing is to make the wrong decision, the worst thing to do is not to make any decision.

12.??Learning to say no

Entrepreneurs are constantly faced with new opportunities. While it's important to seize opportunities, it can be more distracting than productive.

The thing is, if you're running a new business and are hungry for opportunities to develop and expand, it can be very hard and feel counterproductive to say no. However, this is exactly what new and experienced entrepreneurs need to learn.

Chasing every opportunity leads to loss of direction and focus. You get involved in situations and start spending time on stuff that has nothing to do with why you started the business in the first place.

It may be very hard to turn down promising projects and requests, but saying yes to everything that comes around, may end up in everyone losing sight of the actual business goals.?

Despite the above, entrepreneurism is the most fun you can have on the ground and the benefits derived from the adventure, both personal and professional, are well worth the challenges. ?

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