Entrepreneurship is a growing trend and many people are seeking the freedoms and ownership provided to those that can hack it as entrepreneurs. If you are someone who is considering quitting your job for a startup, or you have already done it, let’s highlight the price you should be willing to pay to build a successful business.
Here are key pointers to prepare yourself for the long road of entrepreneurship. We had the chance to speak with Damian and Adis who share their insights on everything related to their journey. They currently run a company called Encore Jets, a private jet charter company that is planning on expanding to every major city, and while both are successful entrepreneurs here are some issues that they face:
- Adis says, “No Time”: If your aim in life is to sip on a nice cocktail as you sit on a beach chair, listening to the sound of the waves hitting the shore – then entrepreneurship is not your game. If you want to build a business, then be prepared to work longer and harder than anyone else around you. Entrepreneurship is a physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting process. If you want free time, take a vacation. Build a business only if you are willing to immerse yourself in your company and ready to work 80 hours a week.
- Damian says, “No Money”: The biggest misconception that people have about entrepreneurship, is that the entrepreneur can jump into a heap of gold coins like Uncle Scrooge in Duck Tales. Let me tell you the truth, an entrepreneur is a person who works the hardest and gets paid the least in their office. This, of course, remains true until the day the business hits the tipping point of the scale. But until that day comes, you’ve got to be willing to abandon the expectation of a stable, sizeable monthly income. If you want a steady income, then get a job. Don’t start a business.
- Both say, “No Stability”: If you desire an organized life with a clear routine, stay away from building a business. Entrepreneurship requires you to embrace chaos and live in uncertainty. Your life is not yours when you become an entrepreneur. It belongs to your mission.
- Both say, “No Ego”: We see a lot of people who quit their jobs from large corporations while they are at senior positions to start their business and the first shock they are faced with is the fact that now that they don’t have that designation and big corporate logo on their business card, nobody knows who they are anymore. Business is an equalizer. It humbles you, crumbles your ego, and gives you a taste of being a nobody. This holds true right until the point where you have genuinely added value to your stakeholders.
In conclusion, to build a successful business, you must be willing to work long hours and have no time, work without a reward and have no money, embrace chaos and let go of the desire for a fixed routine, bury your ego and add value to people’s lives, and let go of control and trust people. Only then can you build a successful business.
