A small business is a living entity, and like a baby it demands constant care and attention.
It consumes everything you feed it and hungrily demands more.
What follows is a small list of things you should prepare to sacrifice if you decide to start a small business of your own.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but it should give you at least an inkling of what to expect when you take the plunge.
1. Your job security.
Same with a regular job. You get a paycheck twice a month. You can see a doctor if you need to. You can go on vacation and put your feet up, because you’re part of a smooth-running machine that’ll survive your temporary absence.
Not so with a small business. When I started my first small business, I’d go months without getting a paycheck. I once put off visiting a doctor until I was coughing blood. Vacations of any duration were out of the question.
2. Your social life.
That’s going to be you. You won’t be with your friends even when you’re with them. Your Tinder date will feel like a third wheel. You’ll obsessively discuss your challenges until your spouse finds you obnoxious. Your mom will frequently ask, “What’s wrong, dear?”
3. Your grandma’s respect.
My grandma suggested that I was making a mistake and that I owed it to my wife and baby to get a degree and a proper job. I understood her concern, and it was great motivation to work even harder, but being doubted by others when you’re already doubting yourself makes things twice as tough.
4. Your well-being.
Getting your small business off the ground is a Herculean task. Growing it just adds fuel to the fire, the flames of which will take a toll mentally and physically.
5. Your recreation time.
Small business owners can’t afford to binge anything except their small business. Even after you’re established, you’ll have to schedule playtime as carefully as an operation.
6. Your control.
But I’m talking about more than just financial control. I mean control of things like dignity and your comfort zone, too. You’re going to be in an intense state of “fake it until you make it” for a significant amount of time.
It’s not an easy state of existence, but you’ll never get to the next level as a business owner without pushing yourself to venture into unknown territory.
The light at the end of the tunnel.
We could talk positives as well. We could discuss the pride you feel as you watch your business take its first tentative steps. Or, the bursts of energy and enthusiasm that accompany every positive development, giving you hope when you need it most.
We could analyze the unparalleled thrill of building something truly valuable from the ground up.
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