The Dark Side of the Entrepreneurial Journey
Youngsters want to change world. Elders want to enjoy their works. The entrepreneur sells anything needed by both to win their desires.
―Toba Beta
Entrepreneurs truly are cut from a different cloth. They're ambitious, driven, and have grand visions of changing lives for the better.
Without them we wouldn't have the many incredible things we have today – modern communications, technology, and services. Our quality of life just wouldn’t be the same!
But for better or worse, few people actually make it as an entrepreneur (there were even a few times where I myself didn’t know if I was going to make it).
You see, while entrepreneurs have amazing ideas and are ready to jump in and create things, they tend to fight an uphill battle. Society doesn't train you to go out on your own and build something from nothing, so you have to figure it out for yourself.
And anyone who’s tried to do that themselves knows it’s not easy - meaning it can be a monster challenge to get ahead in your business, or even get it off the ground in the first place.
That's why I'm discussing how your approach to the entrepreneurial journey can have the most profound effect on your results.
We’ll chat about:
- The major qualities that make entrepreneurs stand out from the crowd (AKA the “light” side of entrepreneurship)….
- How those same qualities can be your biggest road blocks….
- ...and the secret to overcoming these obstacles to stay away from the “dark side”!
Let’s dive in with the “light” side, first.
The “Light” Side of Entrepreneurship
Can you think of a better way to contribute to our society than being an entrepreneur?
Entrepreneurs boost our economy, provide job opportunities for others, give back to communities, and invent new products and services that make our lives better.
Truly, entrepreneurs are the unsung heroes of human progress!
Of course, there a few entrepreneurs that get their due recognition - those like Henry Ford, Richard Branson and Elon Musk. They've made it to the very top and everyone reveres them.
But what about every other entrepreneur with a successful business?
Maybe….someone just like you?
Someone who….broke away from the pack? Who dreamt bigger than those who just get a J.O.B. and slave away for the rest of their lives without purpose? Who wasn’t going to settle for anything short of following your passion?
And honestly, that passion is one of the most powerful contributions entrepreneurs make to society.
How many times have you heard an inspirational speech from a successful leader who forged his own path and created an envious life for himself? From Bill Gates and Steve Jobs to gurus like Timothy Ferris and Jeff Bezos….we hear stories of these people who put their heart and soul into their ideas and came out on top.
Not only are they lucky enough to enjoy the fruits of their labor, but we use them as examples of how we should live our lives. They inspire us to do better each day.
Just as by being an entrepreneur yourself, you are an inspiration to others.
You show the rest of society how persistence, drive, and ambition can get you what you want in life (and keep you from being stuck in that cubicle all day!).
However, as you may know all too well, the path isn't always smooth. That’s why we need to talk about….
The Dark Side of Entrepreneurship
Just as you have all of these ideas and ambitions to create an incredible business and make the world a better place, your best traits can be your biggest obstacles.
I’m going to say that one more time because it’s important and people often don’t realize it: your best traits can be your biggest obstacles.
Here are some some of those trait & obstacle combos.
Common Entrepreneurial Trait & Obstacle #1: (Too) Many Ideas
First of all, entrepreneurs have many ideas. And often, they are all good ideas!
But what do you think happens when an enthusiastic person gets a new idea in the middle of working on something else? They shift gears and start focusing on the new idea (while abandoning their previous idea).
I'm sure you can imagine how this affects productivity (and you may have even experienced this yourself).
The biggest obstacle for entrepreneurs is an inability to see an idea through to the end. They get so excited that they jump around, starting anywhere from three to ten projects and never finishing a single one. Obviously, this can become a big problem.
In fact, many entrepreneurs have traits of ADD. Mainly, the inability to focus on one thing for too long. And scattered thinking that brings more and more ideas their way every day.
Guess what happens if you don't finish a project? You don't make money. No matter how passionate you are.
The Fix: Try to stick with a single project at the time. Or, if you want to balance several exciting projects at once, get them done right with my Survival Guide to Juggling Several Projects at once.
Common Entrepreneurial Trait & Obstacle #2: Fiercely Independent
Anyone who even considers being an entrepreneur is likely fiercely independent and believe they can tackle new challenges 100% on their own.
Partially, this is because entrepreneurship is still considered an off-beat way of life. We train our children to be risk-averse, and merely be “good enough” for a normal J.O.B. So, you have to be independent enough to rise up and meet the challenge.
But the problem is that this means many new hopefuls tackle their dreams alone so they don't have to listen to the naysayers.
And it's incredibly difficult to run a business without any help from others (I’ve found this out the hard way).
When you come across a roadblock, you have no one to guide you past it. You don't have the support to get that breakthrough or prevent you from taking the wrong path.
And worse, when you have to tackle a task that isn't your specialty, you have to go it alone. Eating up a lot of your time and making you a jack of all trades, master of none.
The Fix: You’ve probably heard this before, but never underestimate the power of having a good mentor or coach. Beyond that, do what you can to work in the zone, eliminate the rest.
Common Entrepreneurial Trait & Obstacle #3: Workaholic Tendencies
People who are afraid to work hard just aren’t going to make it as an entrepreneur. It takes a lot of time, energy, and dedication to get going!
But those sort of workaholic tendencies that might be essential to help get your business up and running in the first place are also the ones that can hurt you the most down the road.
They just aren’t sustainable and are almost guaranteed to lead to burn out.
The Fix: Make it a point to take care of yourself and work smarter, not harder. You can do this by Training Your Focus Muscle, and Forgetting About Time Management.
Finally, starting a business can be complicated by a number of outside forces – physical and mental exhaustion, family complications, and new trends in your industry. How can you possibly handle all of that on your own?
The good news is there is a light at the end of the tunnel. A way for your to overcome all of these obstacles, and create the business of your dreams.
However, you first have to understand what The Entrepreneur's journey really looks like.
The True Journey
To develop a successful business, you will take a number of steps.
First, you'll need to develop a strong, targeted product or service. Then you'll have to focus on completing it, so you can start making money.
This means you can't get distracted or move on to a new project. Otherwise you risk floundering with no money for a long time, and getting frustrated with your business.
Once you've finished that step, you have to get it in front of your target audience.
To do so, you need to develop a marketing strategy, implement effective systems, create compelling copy, and test until everything is optimized. All requiring very different sets of skills, and lots of time (if you go it alone.)
Can you imagine how stressful that can be? Especially if you don't know the first thing about developing a marketing funnel, marketing copy or an email campaign.
You'd have to take the time to research each subject, perhaps buy a few products helping you out, and stretch yourself very thin. Not a good formula for starting a business.
The most successful Entrepreneurs focus on what they do best, and delegate the rest. By prioritizing, they get a lot more done and start earning money faster than they would on their own.
Once you've created a successful product and have marketed it to your audience, you still have to keep building your business. Your audience will want to see more of you, or else you risk losing them.
That means planning speaking engagements, and responding to correspondence from your fans and other business owners... essentially, wearing more hats.
Suddenly you're no longer focusing on what you love, but are trying to juggle everything so your business can stay afloat. Without any guidance about where to go or what to do.
I'm sure this all sounds like a huge hassle. Nothing like the life of freedom you've been dreaming of.
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