Think you want to be an entrepreneur? Lolly Daskal, writing for Inc.com, reveals what it’s really like to go it alone.
Daskal reveals eight facts about entrepreneurship that you really need to know:
1) You might fail. Almost 90% of startups fail within a few years. You might dream of being the next Amazon.com, but your chances are slim.
2) You need patience. “Passion alone won’t cut it,” warns Daskal. If you are going to be successful you will need to be very, very patient.
3) It’s going to be hard work. If you’re looking at entrepreneurship as a route to less work and more play, think again. You will need to spend years working very hard to build your business, advises Daskal. In fact, you will have to work longer and harder than you have ever worked for anyone else.
4) You will feel lonely. Entrepreneurship can be lonely and stressful. Leaving your day job means leaving behind colleagues, shared responsibility and day-to-day human interactions. You are going to feel isolated.
5) You need to be a good manager. You need more than a good idea to make entrepreneurship work. You also need to be good at managing people – especially yourself.
6) You probably won’t get rich. Of the many rewards that starting your own business brings, getting rich is rarely one of them. If your end goal is wealth, starting your own business is not the best way to get there.
7) You will feel hopeless. However confident and positive you feel at this moment, you will reach a point when you feel totally uncertain about yourself and your business.
When you face this crisis point you’ll need to muster some serious strength to pick yourself up and overcome these doubts.
8) You must always be true to yourself. Daskal dismisses the “fake it till you make it” mantra. Instead, she insists on the importance of integrity and always being yourself – warts and all.