Why is it so Hard to build a start-up?

Why did my start-up not grow as planned?

Why can’t I get my company to go viral?

Why are my efforts not paying off?

All these questions come to you when you have put your heart and soul into your start-up and things don’t work out the way you want them to. These questions underline one important point that might slip out of your mind.

It is not easy to build a start-up.

We exist in a generation where the media glamorizes entrepreneurship and makes it seem like a cake walk. This makes the new entrepreneurs underestimate what exactly it takes to build a start-up. Speaking from experience, building a start-up is insanely difficult.

So why is it difficult to build a start-up? And most importantly, help your start-up grow?

• You are creating something from scratch

Whether it is already done or a new idea no one has ever seen, a start-up begins from just an idea that has to be turned into reality.

And this is something most entrepreneurs fail to overcome.

Think of it this way, imagine you have a million disassembled pieces of a puzzle and you have no picture to help you to put it all together. The only thing that holds you together is an image of the complete puzzle in your head.

So where do you even start from? How do you explain it to your investors, your customers or anyone else?

Completing the puzzle will take lots of hard work, time and will be tough. You will make mistakes and there might be times where you feel like ending it. But, don’t stop. In the process, keep reminding yourself that it’s okay to make mistakes until you learn something from it and it may be difficult, but if you have all the pieces it can be completed.

You have to explain it to your team, investors and your customers. And those who see it and believe in it, will help you build it.

• Your dreams are too big

There is nothing wrong with dreaming big, but not realizing what it is going to take to achieve your dream is a concern.

Every entrepreneur has an ambition of building a billion dollar company. Those who are insanely ambitions have already started in turning their dreams into reality. This dream can be turned into reality when entrepreneurs realize that it requires a lot of effort, innovation, creativity, knowledge and your dedication to that dream. And sometimes, budding entrepreneurs may fall short of committing themselves to their goals, and their goals then remain unachieved because these basic requirements aren't met.

The point being, most people don’t realize that a start-up needs a lot from them, more than they could've ever anticipated.

 "A start-up will demand from you before it can give. If you are not ready to meet the demands and make the sacrifices it will be difficult to build it."

Knowing what you need to do will make your mind strong to face the challenges.

• You are indecisive

At this point, you have already come to know that is not a cake walk.

There is no room for indecisiveness. It cannot be something you want one day and not want the other day. It will never work. Your start-up is your baby. You can’t choose the days on which you want to raise or not.

It’s a full time job, and even if you can’t manage to always be there, you need someone in place in order for it to grow.

Not knowing how you can make the life of your client or customer better is extraordinarily alarming.

Also, being indecisive about what you want will make your journey even tougher. You need to mould your company into something you dreamt of with your full dedication.

• Things are beyond your control

Some start-ups have all the required skills with them. They are run by the brightest, with lots of funding, with young minds in the company and they still manage to fail, usually due to elements outside of their control.

There are some things we can control like your efforts and strategies. And then there are things that impact our business is the economy, competition and technology shifts that are sometimes beyond our control.

Here’s a real life example of Zimbabwe where the start-ups had no idea about the fall in the economy and running a business in such economy is insanely difficult.

In such scenarios, it's best to focus on what we can control and spend less time worrying about what’s beyond our control.

Just give it your best

In Conclusion

A fragile mind leads to a fragile start-up. The only way to succeed is by caring about your start-up more than anyone else.

Quit the whining and focus on building your baby.

“For it is in giving that we receive.” – Francis of Assisi

If you don’t focus …

If you don’t learn how to create value …

You are likely to end up with a failing start-up.

You need to learn to build a long-lasting, impactful and hyper growth start-up and take the necessary actions.