Entrepreneurship is hard, yet incredibly rewarding. It is one of the most challenging paths a person can go down, so if this is the path for you, it is important to have a realistic view of what this world is like. I had a little (and frustrating) epiphany this week that I wanted to share with you. I've packaged this epiphany with a little story about my journey so far. So here it is.
@mazzle is essentially unemployable.
I’m not saying that I am a terrible employee and useless in the workplace. I’ve actually been an excellent employee and have created highly effective teams. I’ve even helped my employers either save or make a lot of money. It’s just that being employed makes me miserable. I need to be working for myself to feel satisfied and happy.
This realisation lead me to discover the world of entrepreneurship. After being an employee for many years in various industries, I had finally discovered what I wanted to be... an entrepreneur.
So what do entrepreneurs do?
It’s quite simple really, they start businesses, grow them, expand them into diverse enterprises, and eventually sell them. Entrepreneurs often work across many different industries, something I am quite good at. They create new products and/ or services, employ a diverse range of people, sometimes even employing people who live in different countries. Entrpreneurship is fascinating, exciting, and, as I've discovered, utterly terrifying.
When an Entrepreneur is Really a Practicing Entrepreneur
I ceased being an employee and became self employed almost 2 years ago. I am currently the sole director of a medium sized gym. My gym employs 5 staff and has a decent membership base. Since purchasing my gym, I’d thought of myself an entrepreneur. I spend my days running my business, learning new and improving on existing marketing strategies, and researching other opportunities for increasing revenue into the business.
In the first year of operation, my business made a significant loss. I simply racked it up to my being new in the game and that things would only improve from there. I wasn’t entirely wrong however, at the end of my second year, we’re still losing money. I haven’t paid myself a cent in 2 years and this situation is starting to wear very thin.
Sure, we’re seeing growth in membership numbers, and in 6 months we’ll probably be making enough money for the business to pay for itself. In the meantime however, I still have to get very creative in order to keep my bills paid and food in the fridge.
In my line of work I meet many interesting people. And I've been very fortunate to have met some very successful people who are generous with their time and advice. It's through meeting these people that I have come to an important realisation:
You are an entrepreneur when the business you have created generates enough money for you to survive on.
Right now I am not that person. There's no reason to believe that I won't get there, but it will take time and a lot of effort.
Then there's the other, more important realisation. Why am I doing this? I could just as easily go and be an employee and actually make some money. The answer to this is what keeps me going. I love being self employed, and I love the community I have built in my gym. It's also been incredibly rewarding watching my employees build friendships with each other and actually smile when they walk into their workplace. And as I mentioned above, being an employee makes me miserable. All of this is more important than an income at the moment. But it is important to keep in mind that living without a stable income, is simply not sustainable.
So, when you think about being an entrepreneur, remember that you are only a Practicing Entrepreneur until you can actually live off the business that you have created.
On your journey to becoming an entrepreneur you will gain many battle scars. These are essentially your mistakes and hard lessons that you experience along the way. I'm still making these mistakes on a daily basis, some are avoidable however some are just going to happen. Learning from your mistakes takes on a whole new meaning when those mistakes can cost you tens of thousands of dollars.
So you might be wondering: What's the purpose of this post?
All I want you to take away from this post is this:
- Becoming an entrepreneur is not easy. There are many people out there today claiming that starting a business is cheap and easy. They are not telling the truth and just want to sell you some pathetic "training course".
- This is not a lifestyle for the faint of heart. If you can't cope with high pressure environments then do not step into this arena.
- You really need to have supportive friends and family. I am amazed every day that my wife has put up with me on this journey. She is one patient lady.
- One of my biggest mistakes was not asking for help when I needed it. If you are struggling, let someone know. You'll be amazed where help can come from when you ask for it.
Anyway, I hope this is of use to someone. What have your experiences been so far? I'd love to hear about them in the comments.
As always, up vote if you like this content, resteem, and follow @mazzle.
