Only a few years ago, entrepreneurs we thought of as geeks, nerds, or drifters, who couldn’t hold down a regular job like everybody else, but, these days, that belief has changed quite significantly. In fact, it’s changed so much that entrepreneurship is now romanticized within our culture, leading to more and more people ditching their jobs for dreams of wealth and freedom. Unfortunately, what many people don’t realize is that running a business is far from easy and that it’s a completely different experience to what you might think. Before you make any huge decisions, make sure you read through these ten entrepreneurship misconceptions.
Entrepreneurs Always Get Rich Quick
We all need money to survive, but, if wealth is your only reason for starting a business, then entrepreneurship isn’t the right move for you. Of course, there are lots of small business success stories, where entrepreneurs achieved financial freedom relatively quickly, but, with more startups failing than succeeding, those successes make up only a small percentage. You need to care about the business itself, or you won’t have the motivation to deal with tough times.
Entrepreneurs Are Natural Born Leaders
Although it can often seem like entrepreneurs are natural born leaders, this isn’t always the case. Of course, you will find networking and public speaking much easier if you’re confident and outgoing, but there are plenty of situations where more introverted individuals can thrive too. Entrepreneurs can come in any shape or size, so don’t think that you can’t have a go, simply because you don’t fit the usual mold. All you really need is dedication to stand a chance.
Entrepreneurs Need Funding To Succeed
The world of business may run on money, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you need a lot of it to start your own. In fact, if all you do is wait around to get funding, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever get off the ground. If you want your business to succeed, then you can’t rely on other people or their cash. Instead, you need to find ways to bootstrap your business. Of course, it won’t be easy, but it’s far from impossible, so keep working until it works.
Entrepreneurs Work Whenever They Want
In theory, being your own boss should mean being able to set the hours you want to work, but, if you’re going to get your business off the ground, then you shouldn’t expect to deviate too much from the norm. Whether you like it or not, most companies are open from nine in the morning until at least five in the afternoon, so you’re going to have to be working during these hours. In the beginning, you’ll also have to give up a lot of your free time, including evenings and weekends.
Entrepreneurs Have More Free Time
When your business is huge and successful, you can get away with leaving the work to your employees and spending a bit more time at home. Unfortunately, until you get to that point, you should expect to work harder and longer than you’ve ever done before. You’re going to have so much to do, that working evenings and weekends will become normal. You’ll also have to give up holidays and days out. This will be tough, but, if you make the sacrifice, it will pay off in the end.
Entrepreneurs Don’t Separate Their Business
One of the worst thing that you can do starting out is mixing your business and personal life. You need some boundaries, or it will come back to bite you in the end. Because of this, you should open a business bank account, create a company email address, and find out how to get a 1300 phone number. This will help you to eliminate many privacy issues, manage your money better, and offer a more professional and put together image for your customers.
Entrepreneurs Have To Take Risks
You’ve probably heard the stories about entrepreneurs who sold their house, took out huge loans, and faced bankruptcy before making it big, but that doesn’t mean that you need to or should do the same. The only reason such stories gain so much exposure is because they’re dramatic and exciting, but that doesn’t make them a good idea. You can just as easily start a business while comfortably continuing with your regular job and avoiding unnecessary debt.
Entrepreneurs Have To Do Everything
Most entrepreneurs go into business thinking that they have to complete every job and handle every responsibility themselves. Thankfully, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Trying to do everything yourself is only ever going to lead to stress and exhaustion, which, more often than not, results in failure. It’s much better to hire a team of hardworking and skilled individuals and start delegating certain tasks. This frees you up to deal with the work that’s most important.
Entrepreneurs Don’t Need A Plan
Whether you’re applying for funding or not, you should always have a business plan. This plan should include information on your product or service, your target marketing, any marketing strategies, your financial needs and projections, and more. This will serve as a guide, helping you to stay on track and avoid making any mistakes. If you’re not applying for funding, your plan won’t need as much detail, but it should still contain enough information to serve its purpose.
Entrepreneurs Never Get Stressed Out
When your boss won’t stop nagging you and work keeps piling up, the idea of working for yourself can seem pretty good. However, as you should have realized from the information above, being your own boss is far from a walk in the park. Of course, if you’re passionate about your business, then you’ll find it easier than those that aren’t, but this doesn’t mean that your life is going to be stress-free, so you shouldn’t expect it to be.
Unless you’re a business owner yourself, entrepreneurship can seem like Heaven, but it’s crucial that you don’t get fooled. There are lots of misconceptions surrounding being your own boss, so make sure that you get the facts before you take the plunge.
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