7 Challenges on the road to Entrepreneurship
So you want to be an entrepreneur, huh? Whether you do or not, it’s ok keep on reading; there may be an entrepreneur deep down inside aching to get out. On the other hand if you have thought of it or are thinking about it right now; knowing the challenges you are about to face on the road to entrepreneurship, is like finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.
We all have to face these challenges from day one no matter who we are, until we succeed and even then some of these challenges seem to remain while other simply take up a different form.
Have you ever stopped and asked yourself the question “why do I want to be an entrepreneur?” Is it for the fancy cars (preferably Audi), the Yachts, private jets, having your name on a building, or is it to be known for your wealth like Bill Gates or cool gadgets like Steve Jobs. Whatever your reason is take a pen and paper write it down, while I go grab a glass of juice.
You have written down your reason and I have quenched my thirst. If you didn’t write anything its ok, if you have, wonderful; at the end of this article we will revisit it to see whether or not your reason can be improved or changed.
First challenge – Paperwork: Remember those 6-8 page papers you dreaded doing in college? double spaced at font size 12. Ok good, now forget about it and embrace them because until you can afford to hire expensive lawyers and a secretary you will be the one stuck writing and organizing 14 page contracts single spaced at font size 11, business plans, revenue models, and the list goes on.
Second challenge – Delegation: There is a famous saying which goes “No man is an island” Let’s face it no matter how skilled you are, no matter how many times you can rub your belly and pat your head, you simply can’t do it all by yourself. For me, the main thing I had to learn was trusting that the person who I assigned a task would be able to do it and do it well. As I did you will have to learn to let go of perfectionism and learn to empower others to do the job in their own creative way.
Third challenge – Projects: Many projects fail due to lack of planning or strictly no planning at all. Even if you do manage to muster up one of the best plans ever, you still have to ask yourself; “Do I have the capabilities to manage this project from start to finish ensuring it’s successful?” If the answer is No, I would suggest getting somebody who can do it well. It will be a hard task but it will save you a lot of headache and frustration as well as preserve your company’s reputation in the end.
Fourth challenge Procrastination: We all have been bitten by the procrastination bug from time to time. “Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?” The issue arises if you allow yourself to be bitten too often by the procrastination bug. There is no vaccine for procrastination flu; your new venture depends entirely on you completing even the most boring tasks.
Fifth challenge – Getting Organized: As your organization first employee you will need to have an idea as to how every link in your organization chain connects/links. You are the skipper of your ship it’s your job to ensure that whoever comes on board knows exactly how to link up and sync up because as they say “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”
Sixth challenge – Lack of Focus: You have so many brilliant ideas, that each one seems “shinier” than the next, so you start with one then realize oh!! “This next idea seems way more fun I’ll just do this one on the side while the other one picks up” I’ll share with you an analogy which I shared with one of my Entrepreneur friends who shall remain nameless.
“Imagine you are in the construction business and you received a contract to build (5) houses, you have planned everything right. You know (1) house requires x amount of block therefore you would need x amount for (5) house. You give the contract to one of the biggest block makers of which they inform you that they would not be able to supply you with all the blocks up front but will supply you as your project progresses. So you start all five houses and everything is going great. Half way through you get a phone call from the block makers who have been hit by an unforeseen circumstance (call it flood, hurricane tornado whatever you like) and they are unable to supply you for the next six months. Now you are stuck with (5) unfinished houses. What if you had started and focused on completing each house one at time. You would now have at least (2) house ready for sale”
Moral of this very long story, pick one venture stick to it and see it through from brainstorm to an established business.
Seventh challenge – Time Management: Time is money we all know that, if you can’t manage your time wisely you will lose money it’s that simple. You are frequently late, overcommitted and overpromising. You underestimate how long things will take and often scramble to catch up late into the night. Time is your most important asset the key element is learning to use it wisely to avoid losing money.
Your turn to share
Share with us the reason why you want to be an entrepreneur or reason why you are an entrepreneur. Also share with us some of the challenges you have faced while on the road to Entrepreneurship.