What Nobody Tells You About Starting a Business

Ready to give up your 9 to 5 job in order to become the boss of your own business? 

Did you get inspired by the likes of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Jack Ma who followed their gut and risked everything for their billion-dollar ideas?

Maybe so, but before you go off and ditch your reliable and steady source of income, let’s pause for a second. There are some major considerations you need to think about before you jump into entrepreneurship head-first. In fact, there are quite a few understated truths about starting your first business that nobody tells you about.

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What Nobody Wants to Tell You About Starting Your Own Business

1. You will incur debt.

Unless you have thousands of dollars lying around, you will have to take out a loan to grow your business, especially if you’re building it from the ground-up. No matter how ‘small’ your dream business might be, it will come at a price. 

Now that you know that debt is inevitable, you don’t really need to fear it. You just have to learn how to manage your debt properly so that it becomes a fruitful tool to the growth of your business, instead of a lifelong burden that will simply drive your finances to the ground.

2. You will have to put in the hours.

Disabuse your mind of the idea that being the boss means you’ll be ‘making money in your sleep.’ That might happen somewhere down the road, but before that, you first have to lose a lot of sleep working on your dream. A lot of times, it means late nights and early mornings, especially in the first few months of starting your business venture. In fact, you’ll essentially work more than you ever did with your typical 9 to 5 job.

3. Your ideas are trash…

…or at least you will think they are. 

Starting your own business will make you doubt yourself every step of the way. It’s a continuous cycle of self-doubt, determination, and bouts of confidence every now and then. But a great entrepreneur is someone who can turn trash into gold. 

At first, you might feel like your million-dollar-idea is exceptionally brilliant. But once you start pouring in those 100-hour workweeks, the doubts may start creeping in. 

To avoid this, you must research as best as you can about the industry you’ll be joining. You must also prepare your physical, mental, and emotional state if you want to see your business succeed.

4. You will make mistakes

Nobody is perfect and everyone makes mistakes, especially in the world of business. Where your mistakes can take a turn for the worst is if you’re accused of making one. Dealing with all your employees, partners, and clients in good faith will not always guarantee that you will be treated fairly. Getting accused of making a mistake and being sued over it can be the single biggest blow your growing business could encounter. With this inevitability in mind, having business insurance is always a good way to prepare for the worst and hope you never need to use it. 

5. Even your closest friends will doubt you.

Most mentors and seniors will prepare you for naysayers, but they often forget to mention that some of your biggest critics will be your closest friends. Some of them might have the purest of intentions, so don’t hate them for warning you that you might not be able to achieve what you want. 

As long as you know you can achieve whatever you set your heart and mind to achieve, what they say shouldn’t matter. It will be the best feeling in the world when you prove to them — noble intentions or otherwise — that it was wrong to doubt you in the first place.

6. There’s no way to accurately predict when you will turn a profit

You will encounter a lot of formulas that are supposed to help you predict when your startup will become profitable. You may use them, but always take the results with a grain of salt.

There will always be unforeseen circumstances and variables that will adjust this timeline, for better or for worse. Just stick with it and remember that it’s never a race to profit. Just focus on building a solid business with a sound business plan and maintaining great relationships with clients, partners, and employees. With a little luck and lots of hard work, profit will surely follow.

About Carson Derrow

My name is Carson Derrow I'm an entrepreneur, professional blogger, and marketer from Arkansas. I've been writing for startups and small businesses since 2012. I share the latest business news, tools, resources, and marketing tips to help startups and small businesses to grow their business.

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