It’s always funny when people say they want to be their own boss. What they really mean is that they want to not have to punch the clock and answer to anyone else. In my humble opinion, there is a huge misconception when it comes to being a business owner. What does it mean, truly?
There are those who want to appear to be Entrepreneurs. We all know the ones. They post their “hustle”. Some products they are re-selling or multi-level scenario they are promoting. I may catch some heat for this, but I don’t view them the same way that I would an “entrepreneur”.
These people are distributors of an existing product, period. They may set their own hours, but they didn’t develop the product, create the marketing platform, recruit talent or employees and pay them a wage to complete specific tasks.
Other “entrepreneurs” may include those who post on social media that they are hustling on a Thursday morning but then post themselves partying on Thursday afternoon. Let’s be honest, a real business owner doesn’t have time to party, not even on the weekends. When everyone else is living it up, they are at home at their desk figuring out their bookkeeping, working on their marketing, figuring out how to best deliver their product or service and usually they are building the whole thing from scratch with zero support. They don’t have to punch the clock and answer to a “boss” but they have to put food on their table and a roof over their head under their own steam, with no safety net. Some may have investors to answer to, or family and friends who have put in time or savings, or perhaps they are employed in the business to build it quickly and economically. A true entrepreneur has SO MANY more people to answer to than one “boss”.
When we are contacted by someone who wants to run their own business, and they ask us to help get them started, we are very clear in determining if they have the ability, the “stick to it” mentality and if they have the stomach for not having a safety net, because it’s not for everyone. In fact, it’s not for about 80% of the population.
You may be able to pretend you are hustling for a little while, and fool people on social media, but in the long term, the true story will come out. When it comes to starting a business, you are entering a territory with little to no mercy. It’s raw, it’s scary and it requires full concentration and dedication. Not three days a week, and weekends “sometimes”. You’re married to it. Day and night.
9 Questions to Ask Yourself About Entrepreneurial Life?
Some real questions arise like (these are just a few of them, obviously this is not a comprehensive list):
Are you really a risk taker?
Do you have more than an idea?
Have you created your business plan? (Usually, the last thing people think about, but the first thing they should do)
Have you worked backwards from your first profitable month to your start date to figure out how long it will take to get there and how much capital you will require?
Have you asked a consultant for assistance in setting you up properly?
Did you have an open discussion with yourself about your skills…plus your strengths, weaknesses, the opportunities, and any threats?
Using past experiences, did you evaluate your ability to adapt when you hit a roadblock? (because you will hit one, it’s part of the journey)
Do you have a capital management plan in place for the first 24 months?
Are you realistic about the fact that you likely won’t sleep much, will be overwhelmed and may not make any money for the first 6 months?
If at least 3 of these questions caused your heart rate to spike, then guess what, you’re human. This doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel, but it does mean you need assistance to make sure this is done right. Let’s be real, the last thing you need is to put on a big show over social media but not take the necessary steps to ensure your success is real, and not imaginary.
If you need assistance setting up your company for success, The UnBankers are just a call or click away.