Want To Be An Entrepreneur? Here Are 5 Things To Expect

When I was growing up I didn’t really know what an “entrepreneur” was. In my neighborhood there were younger people who hustled and the older people who owned lawn services. It wasn’t until I got to middle school that I asked my teacher what an entrepreneur was and he said “someone who doesn’t work.” Immediately I could tell it wasn’t looked at positively. Yet something inside of me wanted to pursue it anyway, to others’ dismay. Along my journey as an entrepreneur (or as I call it, “playing chess”) these are the 5 things you can expect and prepare for.

1. People Will Question Your Decision — The fact that you’re doing something that leads you on a different road to success makes people uncomfortable. At times you may not have the results that people think you should have in a certain time frame. The most uncomfortable thing is to take this road when family just “wants the best” for you, this isn’t necessarily bad. I encourage you with this — if this path you’ve chosen is the oxygen to you, use your discomfort and pain from those questioning you as your fuel.

2. There Will Be Sacrifices — One thing I realized early on in life was that everything comes with sacrifice. Entrepreneurship is no different. When you get in the frame of mind to advance in this field you will begin to realize that reaching your goal is more valuable that playing Xbox, hooping with your friends, or trying to do the whole “Netflix and chill” thing. I’m not saying that this way is for everyone, in fact if you can balance all of these things, more power to you! But the time you spend doing these things won’t outweigh these activities on the value scale. For some, it will be sleep, for others it may be time lost with family. Just be prepared to sacrifice one thing for another.

3. Background Experience Is Key — I started out selling pencils, candy, and Pokemon cards in school. I understood it gave me respect for value, but it did not provide me with sustainable skills to advance long-term. So I had a few sales job over the years so that I could get experience dealing with brands, understanding product development, and most importantly customer relationship. Let me tell you this, getting a “no” from a kid as a kid, I moved to sell to the next kid. Getting a “no” as an adult makes you want to provide the most value to that person, with balance of course. Working for a company based in the field you desire to create in makes a huge difference in strategic success.

4. You Will Hit A Wall Without Collaboration — I often hear nowadays about solo entrepreneurs building a brand. This couldn't be further from the truth! Now I do get that a lot of the ground work can be done with one person, but this will not elevate you to a large brand. Without a team it would be nearly impossible for one person to do all that's needed to scale and drive a company. You need others to succeed because where you are weak, they are strong. You will need mentors or partners to assist you and that is only done by staying active.

5. You Will Question Yourself — This is a very normal human trait especially here in the West. There are brands and people everywhere telling you what is and what isn’t. The thing is that only you know what you truly want to do and how bad you want it. What questioning yourself does is make you look internally and matches what you’re doing against your compass. You get to determine if it does not align and it won’t add up. This is the value of knowing yourself and your goals in and out better than any one else. If you question yourself in a balanced way, just know that you’re still in touch in a healthy way and have the ability to impact people in a positive way! The day you stop questioning yourself is the day you stop growing.

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