The 5 Things No One Tells You About Becoming An Entrepreneur and Running Your Own Business

08 Sep The 5 Things No One Tells You About Becoming An Entrepreneur and Running Your Own Business

Me working in my co-sharing office on PA For A Day

Running my business has been a fun and sometimes challenging experience. Everyday there is something new to learn and I get to stretch myself in ways I never thought possible. From navigating client requests to setting team schedules to cutting payroll, I am responsible for making sure everything stays on track.

Most people know that growing a start-up is hard-work. Anyone that has started a company will tell you it takes a lot of energy, time, organizing and passion to keep your it moving in the right direction. These are the obvious parts of running a business. Other lessons you have to learn for yourself as you build your dream day by day.

Here are 5 key lessons I’ve learned being an entrepreneur:

Cash Flow is King

Selling your product or service may be your primary focus, but managing cash flow will determine how long you are able to stay in business. To put it simply, you’ll need to learn how to speed up payments from people who buy stuff from you (clients/customers) and delay payments to people who you buy stuff from (vendors and suppliers). In the early stages of your business one late client payment can wreak havoc on your business bank account and impact your ability to keep the lights on. Some good ways to manage cash-flow is to require a partial or full payment from clients and to set up delayed payment terms with your vendors and suppliers. Its a juggling act and you are the ringmaster.

Everyone Will Ask You for Free or Discounted  Stuff

It really doesn’t matter what you’re selling or how expensive or inexpensive your product or service; you’ll will receive a new request to provide what you do for free or at a discount everyday. Some of these requests will be justifiable (i.e. a non-profit looking for a donation), but the vast majority won’t be (i.e. a friend of a friend of a friend). Over time, I’ve learned to quickly evaluate which request deserve consideration and which ones to politely decline.

You’ll Become an Very Comfortable With Saying, No

When you’re a start-up, you have very finite resources and everyday you’re making key decisions on where to spend your limited time and money. Overtime, you develop a comfort level with turning down requests that don’t make sense for your business. From requests to provide your product or service for free to requests on your time to calls from telemarketers, you’ll discover that no is a complete sentence.

You’ll Feel Lonely At Times

At the beginning its just you working to get your business off the ground. You’ll put in countless hours and spend many nights burning the midnight oil. There are times when you have some amazing things happen to your business and will be bursting to tell someone, but realize that it’s just you. Being an entrepreneur can be lonely at times. You’ll learn to seek out a network of supporters who can provide you guidance, and also keep you from feeling alienated. I joined the networking group BNI to find new client leads and also be connected with other business owners I could talk with regularly. Being a member of a group that meets weekly has provided me with the support and personal connection time I need.

You’ll Learn To Define Success In Your Own Terms

Overtime you’ll stop worrying about being compared to the newest billion dollar tech business or worrying why you didn’t get the call to be featured on Nightline. You’ll find yourself so engaged with building your business that you’ll feel silly comparing your success story to others. My company is far from being a Billion Dollar Baby like Facebook, but we’re doing just fine. In a world where 8 out of 10 companies fail within the first 18 months, I feel proud to be celebrating 2.5 years of success. Being a business isn’t a race its a marathon.

-à bientôt