Aspiring entrepreneur? Here’s what you should consider.
In the case you are an aspiring entrepreneur, you might have a lot of doubts. Today we will discuss the beginning of the entrepreneurial journey.
There is a ton of great material with relevant advice, like this one here. Here, I want to share my experience after 4 years as an entrepreneur.
Before we start, let me say something: as entrepreneurs, we are following big dreams and aspirations. And yes, we need to have vision and ideals of this future we intend to create, to start with.
If you just think about the first move and don’t consider the obstacles after that, you won’t go too far.
Shall we?
1.Don’t overestimate what you already know
We as young people are, in most part of the cases, full of energy. We have this spark, maybe because we know the future is all ahead of us, or maybe because we haven’t — in most cases — suffered many disillusions.
It doesn’t mean life is easy, but we know there is always someone struggling more than us.
However, it doesn’t matter the reason, the fact is that we may think we have super powers. So, when you see a young entrepreneur that dropped college or school and created a great company, or other variations, it may lead you to common beliefs.
You might think that: a)you don’t need much knowledge to become an entrepreneur, b) anyone can start today and be successful, c) you will never have to study again. Sorry to tell you, but you if you think like that, are understanding it wrong.
What you need to understand is that you won’t stop learning. In fact, you can’t stop learning.
As an entrepreneur, you will have to continue studying every day of your life. The difference will be that you won’t have anyone asking you to study or giving you tests. Your projects and life will be your tests.
Ps.: And they are not as controllable as college tests (they don’t have a date to happen, nor a list of subjects that you study to pass).
Please, trust yourself!
One thing is true: you can’t wait until you know everything to start. That would be the opposite attitude and as harmful as the former.
And here I insert an observation.
If you don’t trust yourself or don’t believe you are capable of doing it, I invite you to watch this video on my “about” session (clearly, one of my favorite videos ever) and this TED talk:
2.You will need financial backing
You might have heard that being an entrepreneur means having adrenaline in your life and going through many ups and downs — don’t feel discouraged: you will get used to it.
One of the ups and downs in the entrepreneurial journey relates to money — yet, many people choose to pretend it isn’t.
If we are not careful, we might start a project expecting to receive money in the first month. Even though it could happen, it is not the rule.
The rule is: for some months, maybe years, until your business succeeds, you will need to have another source of income — in other words, financial backing.
By knowing this, you should plan ahead and be prepared not to have income from your business for some time.Moreover, be prepared to invest some money on it, with no date to receive it back.
No matter how great your idea or business is, if you don’t prepare financially, you won’t have the needed structure (time and energy) to invest in it.
Many alternatives are possible to face the financial challenge
I’ve seen entrepreneurs that work for some time and save money before starting their own companies. There are cases where investors will cover the starting expenses for the business to grow. Additionally, it is possible you will need your family’s help.
You might also start your project while working — this is a very common reality. If it is your case, the kind of pressure you will suffer might be slightly different. Some possibilities are:
-You will feel tired more often.
-You will have less time to social events, friends, and family.
-You will have to use weekends to work.
-You will ask yourself if it is the right choice over and over.
Never loose humbleness out of sight
For this reason, you should start understanding that: on the moment you abandon being humble, it will be the moment you fail.
(Always) Be humble to recognize that:
-You have a lot to learn (yet you will start).
-You will need help.
-You have limitations and need to deal with them;
-You need self-improvement;
-There will be moments where you will need to recharge energy.
On all the cases, there is something very important to understand: having patience is also very important.
This will be one of the topics of the next part of this article that I will share in the following weeks.
If you want to receive it as soon as it is published, you can subscribe to follow the next blog posts. And, finally, you have enjoyed reading the article, I invite you to share it with your friends
Best,
Camilla.
This text was originaly published on my blog. There you can read more about Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Social Impact: http://camillaborgescosta.com.br/
