What No One Tells You About Entrepreneurship -By Ezinwanne Onwuka

Entrepreneurship is glorified in our society today. The common assumption about entrepreneurship is that it gives you unlimited flexible working hours and affords you an amazing lifestyle.

This assumption holds true for some of the successful entrepreneurs. The small percentage that has worked really hard, failed several times and finally succeeded in their business(es), so now they are showing off on social media. You see photos from their vacation trips, expensive latest car models and think that entrepreneurship is a bed of roses. I’m sorry, but that is not the case.

Entrepreneurship is not so pretty. No one will tell you how difficult it is to be an entrepreneur. Starting a business is actually a survival of the fittest.

Below, I have outlined what I consider to be some of the most difficult parts of being an entrepreneur, the underbelly of entrepreneurship. However, this is not to discourage would-be entrepreneurs, but to paint a realistic picture.

First, income can be sporadic & inconsistent. When you are an employee, you are sure of getting paid at the end of the month. But as an entrepreneur, your revenues & costs will vary every month and it takes some time to getting use to this new way of living. You quickly learn to think twice before spending money and the value of having an emergency fund. Entrepreneurship is not for risk averse individuals. It takes time to build a steady customer base and factor seasonal fluctuations.

Second, failure is inevitable. Don’t get lured into entrepreneurship by how people achieved early success in their business and are earning well so soon. Overnight success comes after lots of overnight failures. You will fail at some point. Not all your plans will succeed. Not all ideas will be gold.

Third, freedom is a myth. Most people desire to become entrepreneurs because of the freedom that comes with owning your own business. The media purport the idea that as an entrepreneur you can run your business from the comfort of your home. But this is not so. Behind all the success stories is always hard work. If you see an entrepreneur who is sitting on the beach, it’s because they hustled – or they are taking a quick break to snap a shot before they go running back to work. Rarely is there 8-5 hours for any entrepreneur in the beginning. For aspiring entrepreneurs, tighten your belt to spend more than 100 hours a week, at least for a year or two, till you get hold of your ground. Entrepreneurship isn’t a break from work, it’s work you create for yourself.

Fourth, success won’t happen overnight. Entrepreneurs don’t create a business plan and become millionaires in a day. It usually takes many years to build a business. It took Facebook 5 years to become profitable. It is not common for a business to skyrocket to revenue and profitability. It takes months, or even years, of preparation, marketing, networking and other activities to create a strong business profile that will ultimately lead to a highly-successful business.

Fifth, you are never done. No matter how much you do, how many things you accomplish, there’s always more to do. There’s always more you want to do. You are never really totally off. Your mind is always churning and planning and working on the next thing and thinking about the next thing that you want to accomplish. You’re never done. And that’s one of the tough truths that you have to get used to and find peace with when you’re an entrepreneur.

Lastly, you need a team. Contrary to popular belief, entrepreneurship is all about realizing that you can’t do it all by yourself; therefore, you have to build a larger network of people who are going to help you in your business. You are not an expert in everything, you need people to help you out with one or two things. It may just be project managers, accountants or marketing officers. You can’t do everything yourself so you have to outsource certain tasks to those who are good at what they do and could probably do it for a lot less than you can.
Finally…

To reiterate, this article is not to deter aspiring entrepreneurs. Undoubtedly, the entrepreneurial journey is full of slopes, but it is fruitful too. You need to recognize that your idea of entrepreneurship might not live up to the picture painted in the media. Just be ready to live out of your comfort zone.

Ezinwanne Onwuka, Cross River State.
ezinwanne.dominion@gmail.com
+2348164505628