It’s the dream of many to be an entrepreneur…to follow their own passion, to do what they like to, so that work doesn’t seem work anymore, to be in a line where they are their own bosses and can make it big and create their own legacy and write their own destinies.But let’s face it, being an entrepreneur is not easy.
Unlike others, who embark on known roads that’s tread by others and strewn with just potholes and barriers to overcome, an entrepreneur’s journey is all about paving a new path for oneself on unknown territory, carved out through cliffs and abysses, day and night, sunshine and rain, come what may. So it’s the mettle that you are made of, that becomes more crucial than the barriers on the road themselves.
Entrepreneurship Challenges – What do the Stats say?
If you go by the stats, 80% of all start-ups face failure within the first 3-5 years of their operation, with the damage even more in case of online ventures. However, there is nothing as fulfilling, as exciting and as profit making inentrepreneurship. If you ask an entrepreneur about the biggest challenge they face, usually the answer would be ‘It’s not easy to start a business, but what’s more difficult and trickier is to build your business after it has been started.”
The Biggest Challenge of an entrepreneur:
According to a survey the most common challenges that came out were – First, the challenge of hiring the right people, Second, accessing capital, and thirdly and most importantly, dealing with your own self. Yes, almost all entrepreneurs stated that dealing with your own self and keeping yourself going in an occupation that is surrounded by uncertainties is undoubtedly the biggest and most crucial challenge that an entrepreneur faces.
In the words of one- “You must have heard the proverb – When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. You see, for an entrepreneur, the going will always be tough. The real challenge is to remain tough yourself so that you get going. And it’s not easy at all. You are terrified by the fear of failure, fossilized with the lack of motivation and wrecked by the feeling of self-doubt.”
Entrepreneurs are the biggest challenge to themselves – The top 3 reasons:
Self-doubt:
One of the biggest challenges for any entrepreneur is to deal with self-doubt. The job of an entrepreneur is shrouded with uncertainties and despite your best efforts, no one can really predict with any certainty whether you will succeed or not. To top it all, you will see your peers in nice comfortable 9-5 jobs earning their dough regularly. All this wrecks you with self doubt and this happens to every entrepreneur. The only thing one needs is an iron will to get yourself through this phase since the freedom and rewards of being an entrepreneur are way greater than any mundane 9-5 jobs.
Stress:
What if my business doesn’t succeed? How will I pay my employees next time? Why did my top engineer quit and join my competitor? Issues are endless, worries are never ending. For an entrepreneur, stress is constant. The only thing you can do is to accept it (that reduces it to a huge extent) and work out your own stress relieving mechanisms so that your health and family life are not affected. Believe in hard work or believe in destiny and accept that everything is not in your control and you’ll be fine
Lack of motivation:
Either because you are now your ownboss and there’s no one to supervise you, or because you have faced failure recently, the motivation or enthusiasm of an entrepreneur goes down. And phases such as these are one of the most difficult and trying times in an entrepreneur’s life where feelings of quitting are common. A never say die attitude coupled with consistent focus towards your aim keeps you from getting diverted from your path. The most important aspect, thus is to realize the fact that one, himself / herself is the biggest challenge in his / her entrepreneurial journey. So instead of getting bogged by it, one just needs to accept it, maintain focus, learn from mistakes and keep that lamp of his / her entrepreneurial spirit burning bright!
