Being an entrepreneur looks all glamorous from the outside, but, more often than not, it comes at a hefty cost. Almost every entrepreneur will share the non-financial costs that they have to pay for pursuing their ambitions. It takes a toll on personal relationships and sometimes even on their health.
Many youngsters want to be an entrepreneur because they want freedom, autonomy, and financial success. They begin their journey of entrepreneurship with a happy illusion that they will be able to work whenever they would want to and focus only on things that they are good at. However, soon they discover the harsh realities of entrepreneurship. They soon realize that as an entrepreneur they will have to work twice as hard and twice as long then they would have done if they had been working for someone else.
However, most youngsters don’t know this and on occasions, they don’t even see this coming. There is a heavy toll that they have to pay to take that road to entrepreneurship if they wish to achieve success in life taking that route. The amount of toll is uncertain but it is guaranteed that if you take that route you’ll have to pay it – mentally, personally, or financially. Therefore, if someone is unable to afford it, it is better not to take that path.
The cost of entrepreneurship
Autobiographies of many successful entrepreneurs suggest that most of them had to sacrifice big in their personal lives. It is improbable that you will read the story of any serial entrepreneur that does not mention his or her personal issues and the sacrifices they had to make for their career. There is no sense of reliability or stability for an entrepreneur which puts a strain on his/her personal relationships.
The freedom to choose the time whenever you want to work seems to pose a charming proposition to youngsters, but what they don’t know is that most entrepreneurs end up working more than 12 hours a day. They have to adjust their schedules as per the convenience of their clients, partners, suppliers, and investors. They have to miss all the family gatherings, weddings, and holidays because they have to work round the clock. There can also be a lot of travel time involved due to networking for business opportunities.
There are obvious financial costs involved as well in living a life of an entrepreneur. This is in contradiction to the perception of an entrepreneur because people tend to have this image of entrepreneurs making an obscene amount of money. However, upfront, they have to spend all of the money out of their pockets and there are no guarantees of returns. They can’t enjoy the stability that comes from a running stream of income as employees do by working for someone else. It might seem that entrepreneurs will have to pay the financial toll at the beginning of the entrepreneurial journey only as once the business settles they will be earning a lot more; however, that is not the case. There is always a chance that the more the business expands and grows, so do the risks associated with it.
The most important thing for any entrepreneur is that he/she does not allow the pressures to take over the entrepreneurial spirit. For that, the entrepreneur must focus on the well-being of himself/herself because without it there is a high probability of losing focus on the business. Many entrepreneurs fall into the trap of micromanaging in which they end up spending too much time supervising and correcting the day-to-day operations. Their time and energy are precious, hence it should be only spent on adding value to the venture. That certainly does not mean that operational tasks do not deserve attention but the entrepreneurs must design a work culture that allows for a high degree of trust and autonomy.
Many entrepreneurs neglect their personal and social needs and put themselves to the side which has a negative impact on their mental and physical health. They are willing to make this sacrifice for the success of their venture but it leaves a long-term impact on their psychological well-being. Even when they achieve business success, they are unable to enjoy life and success because of the bruises, injuries, and scars that they had to take for it.
Some entrepreneurs think that they can weather the storm by staying tough in the initial years and once they achieve the success they’ll be able to travel the world, take a vacation, and enjoy life. However, it rarely happens like that. Even after years of putting themselves through so much hard work and emotional stress, they are unable to break free from the habits that have made their business successful. The urgent issues never seem to fade away and that keeps the entrepreneurs following the same patterns and maintaining the same lifestyle.
Managing the work-life balance
A few entrepreneurs have discovered that there is a way to all the tolls without having to take substantial hits on your mind, body, and soul. Although it is not easy to imagine a life of an entrepreneur going swiftly without any major bumps, there are some measures that one can take to avoid the devastating pain that can come in the way of living a life of an entrepreneur.
First and foremost, there has to be a conscious effort on taking care of themselves, any fail to realize its importance and run into problems that they can’t handle. At times, they have to be a little selfish and think about prioritizing personal life and putting themselves before the business goal. More than being selfish, it is being realistic. The most important asset for an entrepreneurial venture is the entrepreneur himself/herself. Therefore, priority should be given to protecting the most valuable asset. It includes taking care of the mind, body, and soul. The more they take care of themselves, the more productive the output will be. This might mean taking regular breaks and vacations.
While they are not at the workplace, they need to trust the people that they have fired. It is all but natural that people will make mistakes but one must realize that it is all part of the learning process. Entrepreneurs cannot expect them to do all the things all the time on their own. Therefore, they have to learn the art of letting go because that is what will allow the team to develop.
Entrepreneurs do not need to be experts in everything but they often end up spending huge chunks of time in a variety of functions in an organization. They look after the finances, creative designs, IT structures, planning, recruitment, and a lot more, but they must realize that they can’t be an expert in all the fields. Therefore, they must stop doing everything all by themselves and take support from others who are experts in the relevant disciplines. They should just stick to the core of the business and leave the rest to the team that they have hired. Of course, they won’t be able to do the job exactly the way the entrepreneur wants it to be but spending mental and physical energy interfering in their work is not worth it. Unsuccessful entrepreneurs have this tendency to second-guess the actions and decisions of their employees which makes them spend a lot of mental energy doing irrelevant work, taking away focus from the core tasks.
Speaking of mistakes, bad mistakes made by the entrepreneur can increase the emotional, financial, and physical toll. Therefore, it is important to learn from the mistakes and not repeat those mistakes. No one can run a perfect business and with so much going around there will always be areas for improvement. Successful entrepreneurs learn from those mistakes and then move on to committing new mistakes.
Bottom line
The life of an entrepreneur can be frustrating at times. Especially when they are unable to achieve the goals that they have set for themselves. The path that they have chosen for themselves in this life is difficult; however, one should be ready to face all the obstacles and hurdles with a positive attitude. However, the rewards of living that life are also unparalleled. The satisfaction that one gets from taking a small business idea to building a business employing hundreds of employees gives a sense of fulfilment that cannot be achieved by settling for salary-based employment.
There is definitely more hard work and long hours in living the life of an entrepreneur. Lack of consistency and stability in life can be daunting at times. However, a 9-5 job can never provide the autonomy and freedom to pursue one’s ambitions. This is a choice that one has to make and live with it. One must understand the pros and cons of being an entrepreneur from a broader perspective. It is easy to get carried away by looking at the fancy lives of top entrepreneurs such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Oprah Winfrey. All young aspiring entrepreneurs must answer this important question: are you willing to sacrifice all to gain the joy of entrepreneurship?
