Just like any large, personal project, dropping everything to pursue the life of a new entrepreneur comes with a range of challenges.
Even the heads of multi-national corporations have any number of obstacles that they need to overcome, but new entrepreneurs have a set of unique challenges that they’ll need to tackle.
If you’re just finishing off your plans for a business, here are some of the biggest challenges you’ll need to overcome…
Abandoning your Current Career
If you’re serious about starting a business and nurturing it towards long-term success, it’s going to be pretty much impossible to hold down a full-time career at the same time.
Sure, you might be able to manage the early days of your business over weekends and evenings, but if you really want your business to grow and expand, you’re going to need to quit your day job sooner or later.
Obviously, walking away from a predictable and long-term career opportunity is going to be very daunting, especially if you’ve got no experience running a business.
It would be lovely if there was some easy way to address this challenge, but unless you’re already a millionaire, this simply isn’t the case!
Just be sure to analyze this big leap from every angle, and don’t be afraid to delay your dreams if necessary.
Facing the Great Unknown
Any new entrepreneur has to face a huge amount of big, scary question marks when they’re first getting their business idea off the ground.
How long will your business be able to last as a profitable operation? What will that wealthy angel investor in London think about your pitch?How much is that shipment of commercial LED lighting going to eat into your profits? The answers to these questions will be pretty fluid and will vary greatly from one business to another.
Even if you’re sitting on a brilliant idea and have all the resources you’ll need, there are going to be some big, glaring unknowns in that initial period. These unknowns mean that the stability of your personal paycheque is going to go downhill, and your long-term business plans will need to be flexible as new, unpredictable developments emerge.
Dealing with this kind of volatility in a smart, strategic way is one of the toughest things you’ll have to do as a new entrepreneur.
Being a Visionary
As the founder of a new start-up, the people working for your business are going to look to you to come up with all the ideas.
When a competitor emerges with a superior product, it will be your job to plan out a prompt and effective response.
When your staff come up against a difficult obstacle, you’re the person who’s going to have to come up with an alternative.
This kind of work requires quick and creative thinking. Yes, it’s hard to rush creativity, but most entrepreneurs simply don’t have the luxury of taking their time with things!
With little experience, the pressure will be on, and you’ll need to take a proactive approach to being the visionary your company needs.
*This post has been written for the Morning Business Chat (not written by Wendy)
