10 Things No One Will Ever Tell An Entrepreneur

There is an unusual excitement that comes when people talk about entrepreneurship. The feelings of being your own boss, setting your own time, making a lot of money and living happily ever after is so overwhelming. While many of these are achievable, many do not actually achieve all, and this is because they never knew what they were getting into.

Before you tender your resignation letter or outrightly convince yourself that you don’t want to work for anyone again, here are 10 important things no one will ever tell you about being an entrepreneur that you must know.

10 Things No One Will Tell You About Being An Entrepreneur

Before you make that big decision of your career, please endeavor to go through this list first.

1. Returns On Your Investment Will Take A While

You must know that a business usually takes time to generate any tangible revenue. Sometimes it could take you between 9 months to 2 years before you start making a profit. Being an entrepreneur requires patience. You need to have a good business model that is targeted at solving real problems and adding value to peoples lives. As your business keeps adding value to peoples lives, your patronage will increase, your customer base grows and you get returns on your investment.

2. You Can’t Do It All By Yourself

You might be skilled at a particular discipline, but you can’t be your own accountant, financial officer, human resource manager, marketer and many more at the same time. Delegation is a very important aspect of every successful business. If you want to see good results any time soon, divide tasks among the best hands you can find, though this may come at a cost.

3. Every Target And Milestone Takes Time To Manifest

It is important to know that every of your set target will take longer than you think to manifest. You need to be patience and co-ordinated before you start to realize that the plans you set months or even a year ago have not still manifested.

Every successful business boils down to customers trust. Convincing customers to trust your business can take longer than you expected, and hitting your set target will take a while as well as hitting your set business target. Knowing that every plan you write down will take time to materialize will help you prepare better for what lies ahead as an entrepreneur.

4. You Must Be Smart

Every business has a competition somewhere. As such, you must be smart in your business dealing. No one will give you anything on a platter of gold, you have to work and hustle for it. In the business line, you will get rejected a lot, get disrespected a lot, and do must of the work on your own because no one will be there for you.

This task is even tougher when you are starting up. Your business might be a one-man business or with a co-founder, but you need to set goals on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. No matter how difficult it might be, strive to hit your set targets. This is the secret of every successful entrepreneur.

5. You Will Miss Your Paycheck

Working for months without any income will make you wish you still have a steady paycheck. As a matter of fact, you will have to set aside your staff salaries and other expenses that your business might incur. After all these expenses, at the end of the month, you might have nothing left to yourself. However, this might be at the start of your business, but over time, things will improve.

6. Self-Doubt Will Set In A Lot

They will be times when you ask yourself some certain questions. Questions like did I start too early? Am I selling the right product? Why are people not patronizing my business? Self-doubt will set into your mind, and if not properly managed, your business might hit the rocks. To ensure you don’t give up half-way, get yourself a mentor. These people will help you pull through every form of self-doubts.

7. Things Will Get Tough Along The Way

When things don’t go according to plan, frustration starts to set in. You could get angry, worried and the fear of the unknown will begin to set in. Your employees, customers, and even family will also begin to frustrate you.

At this phase, self-awareness is critical and it’s important you stay close to already successful people to calm your mind. The very moment things start to turn, your sales go higher, you acquire more customers faster, and investors begin to fall in love with your business model, your frustration will slowly disappear, and you will be a happy entrepreneur.

8. Your Final Business Model Might Not Be Your First Business Model

Most businesses end up as something else years after they are launched. The first thing you put out there might not be appreciated by customers. The service you render might not appeal to the people. But as you set on your journey as an entrepreneur, you get to notice the day to day hidden problems people experience and tailor your business towards meeting peoples need. Sensitivity is very vital and will determine if your business survives after starting out as something nobody wants.

9. You Must Learn Time Management

As an entrepreneur, doing the right thing at the right time should be part and parcel of your life. If you do not manage your time well as a business owner, you are bound for failure. Attending to customers on time, paying your dues on time, and acquiring merchandise on time will get your business to where it ought to be on time.

10. You Probably Still Won’t Get Rich

It is suprising that after all being said and done, you might not still get rich as you would have wanted to be. If you are not solving a real problem, not caring about your customers need, not doing the right things on time, or if the industry you want to venture into is saturated, you might still not get rich. Before you venture into any business, ensure to carry out a feasibility study.