There are millions of people around the world who dream of quitting their boring, nine-to-five job and starting their own business where they can be the boss. However, only a small number of people ever turn their dream into a reality. Some are afraid of failure, while others are not sure what business to get into. There is also the problem of startup money, which many people are not able to raise. If you want to become an entrepreneur like Carl Freer, the founder of Tiger Telematics, you must take the first step. It can be scary, but if you don’t try, you will be stuck in your current job forever. Here are some things to keep in mind that will help you to make the transition from an employee to an entrepreneur.
1. Be prepared to put in long hours
You might be working at a job where you put in 40 hours each week. When five pm rolls around, you simply punch your time card and head home for the day. This is not how it works in the life of an entrepreneur. When you are first trying to get a business off the ground, you basically need to dedicate your life to it. The business world we live in today is extremely competitive. The reality is that the vast majority of new businesses fail in less than one year. This means that you have a very limited amount of time to let people know who you are and why they should use your company instead of your competitors. You will need to work long and hard to keep yourself ahead of the game. If you are not willing to put in the time necessary to succeed, you should not even bother getting started.
2. Have the ability to multitask
When you are starting a new business, it is critical that you are able to multitask. This is especially true if you are doing things completely by yourself. The ability to wear multiple hats in the early days of a startup is essential for your success. There will be things that will go wrong. When this happens, you will need to know how to steer the ship and get things back on track. The survival of your business will depend on your ability to do this. Perhaps you have opened a new office for your business and the cleaning company is unable to come right before you have a big client meeting. If this happens, you will have to turn on the vacuum and do the cleaning yourself, even though you might feel it is beneath you.Â
3. Social isolation
If you have spent your entire life working in large offices, surrounded by lots of people you can talk to, becoming an entrepreneur might be a difficult change for you. Since your business will be small at first, there will not be many other employees. There will be long stretches of time where you are completely alone. While some people will be able to handle this social isolation with no problem at all, others will find it very difficult to cope with the loneliness. This is just one of the prices you will have to pay to get your own business off the ground. However, as your business grows, you can hire more employees, so it will be worth it in the end.
When I retire I think I am going to start a very small childcare or something when I move back to Oregon, or have a flower shop…. Anything that does not resemble technology. 😉
I have a small cafe business. At first, it was really tasky because I put in lots of hard work and worked long hours. Sacrifice was like popular for me then. LOL But, it was worth it later on when I saw results.
One of the most important things I learned to do was simply to get started and not wait for everything to be perfect or for every t to be crossed and i dotted. In my case, it was starting a non-profit organization and getting grants for it. One of my college professors gave me this priceless piece of advice: don’t wait to have the grants to get started. Start any way you can and the grants will come. He was right. And later I found out the same applies to starting a consulting business or an ad agency, both of which I successfully launched.
Just get started.
That depends on the business. Some businesses require you to mingle with many different people in a day.
I agree with every single point here. I would also add in – have a years worth of income set aside before you quit your job. I’ve found it difficult to replace my job income with freelance work.
Showing up in an office five days a week is a relatively easy way to make money when you compare it to constantly hustling for business.
Great points! I know someone who has been thinking of going into a business of her own, but is scared and wants to save up enough money before she takes the plunge.
Having your own business means you have to really keep a closer eye on it and put in loooong hours, especially during the first year or so when you’re still getting your name out there, but it’s worth it if what you’re doing is something you are actually passionate about.