Most of the information you read about starting and running a small business is usually glamorous. People write how exciting it is to be independent, how you control your own hours, and so on and so forth. But oftentimes you don’t get to hear about the downsides of running and starting a small business. Here are some things to be aware of that are less glamorous, yet very real aspects of running your own show.
Your business’s livelihood depends very much on you. When you’re an entrepreneur your whole company depends on you and your success. Making a profit, attracting new customers, and paying taxes all fall on you, and if not done successfully, your business is very likely to fail.
Your level of stress will increase significantly. Are you getting paid this week? Well, that all depends if you’ve made any money. Forget about a steady paycheck, especially if you’re just starting out. If you’re dedicated to make your business a success you’ll most likely be cutting down your salary to compensate.
Bookkeeping, sales, invoicing, hiring and firing, and business spending will all be done by you at first. You will get stressed out more often than not trying to keep everything under control. At one point in time you’ll think to yourself why you ever decided to quit your day job.
Forget the 9 to 5 routine! At first you’ll be lucky if you have any time off. Getting your business off the ground will take time, lots of time. You’ll end up working most nights and weekends just to keep your business afloat. And if you’re planning on taking a vacation, you can forget about it for the first couple of years. You’ll be stressing out about everything you won’t even have the time to think about taking a few days off.
There is a high chance of failure. Most businesses fail within the first five years of operation. And yes, your business is part of the statistic. Starting out you have a much, much higher chance of failing than succeeding. A fear of failure will reinforce the above two statements: increased stress and long work hours. Instead of pursuing entrepreneurship, the fear of failure keeps many people in their cubicles working 9 to 5.
But wait, there’s light at the end of the tunnel! I’m not trying to discourage anyone from starting and running their own business, I’m just highlighting some non-glamorous situations that every entrepreneur will face. There are as many, if not more, positive aspects of being an entrepreneur, as there are negative. Just because there are downsides, doesn’t mean it should discourage you from achieving your goals and dreams. It just helps to be realistic.
Ouch! But, oh so true. Maybe the idealistic view many people hold contributes to the 50%+ failure rate. But, if you take a “glass half full” look at small businesses, currently, about 6 million new businesses are started each year, so that means about 3 million are still in business after 5 years. (Just wanted to add to the light at the end of the tunnel.)