By Patrick Clements
Entrepreneurship is a popular career path today—and for good reason. There’s an undeniable sense of gratification in taking the road less traveled and creating your success through your own ideas and hard work. And, of course, there’s always the (slim) chance you might get rich and famous in the process.
But as even Richard Branson and Bill Gates would attest, the path to success is paved with uncomfortable challenges and tough lessons. From my experience of starting a business and connecting with and mentoring budding business owners, I’ve discovered there are six lessons every entrepreneur eventually learns.
1. You can’t do everything on your own
If you feel uncomfortable asking for help, you’re not alone. Most entrepreneurs are self-starters used to doing everything solo—and usually doing things their own way. This independence is often one of the catalysts behind launching our own ventures in the first place. But it can also become a handicap.
While you might be a highly efficient and capable individual, there’s only so much one person can handle. And the longer you avoid asking for help, the larger your burden will become. As your business grows, you’ll be pulled in a thousand new directions and responsible for making critical decisions. If you’re mired in day-to-day minutiae, your company will never get off the ground.
What this lesson will teach you: Hire wisely, delegate often, and invest in tools to help you work smarter.
2. Having a great idea isn’t enough
Everybody has good ideas, but it takes more than daydreams to launch and grow a successful company. Execution is what separates a concept from just being a great great idea to a living, breathing, viable business.
If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to be willing to put in the work and execute on your innovation. And, to be frank, this part can suck. There will be many late nights and numerous frustrations, and you might even question whether your idea is even worth it in the first place. You need to understand that if it was easy then everyone would do it. Having the right mental fortitude and passion are essential to lifting any idea off the ground.
What this lesson will teach you: Your idea is just the beginning. If you want to bring it to life, you have to roll up your sleeves and get to work. No excuses.
3. Revenue isn’t the only measure of success
Many business founders (myself included) started out believing their bottom line was the single most important measure of success—that if they could just hit a specific number, everything would be rosy. We are taught that financial success is the only form of success.
Eventually, through time and experience, you realize financial success is a red herring. Sure, making enough money is critical to sustaining your business. But there are other equally vital measures of success—like how much of a difference you’re making in the lives of others. This would be your employees, your customers, your partners, and even your investors. (The same holds true in your personal life. If you’re relying on money for happiness, you’ll always be disappointed.) If you are providing the opportunity for individuals to grow professionally, socially, communally, then that is equally as important as financial success.
Today I measure my success through the success of my customers. If they’re doing well, if our product is helping them achieve their goals, then I know we’re doing things right.
What this lesson will teach you: Revenue is important, but financial success is far from enough.
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4. Strongly consider who you want to partner with in business
If I had a dollar for every nightmare tale I’ve heard about someone going into business with their spouse, partner, or high school friend, I’d be sipping mai tais on my private island right now. OK, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but it’s true: going into business with someone you are personally close with can be a risk.
I’m not saying it never works, but it does expose your personal relationship to strain. Starting a business is physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting, and deep personal ties can add a layer of friction to every decision. People have different ideas and sometimes disagreements can get nasty.
Additionally, you need a partner who complements you in all the right ways, from a business perspective. Ideally, this is also someone who has expertise in areas where you’re less experienced or talented.
What this lesson will teach you: Just because you like (or love) someone doesn’t mean you should go into business together. You just need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario and try to plan accordingly to eliminate future misunderstandings.
5. Entrepreneurship is rarely ever easy or glamorous
If social media is to be believed, being an entrepreneur is all private jets, stretch limos, penthouse apartments, and infinity pools. Let me be very clear: only a teeny, tiny fraction of business owners ever reach this level of wealth. And often, when they do, it’s through a healthy combination of hard work, keen strategy, and plain ol’ good fortune. You are probably closer to just being able to make a decent living, hopefully doing what you love doing.
If the only reason you want to start a business is to get rich, you’d be better off playing the lottery. This path is hard, and it’s a whole lot harder if you don’t even enjoy what you do.
What this lesson will teach you: Starting a company is hard work, and not always a simple means to get rich quick.
6. Being a business owner means doing less of your craft
Of all the lessons you’ll learn, this might be the most unexpected. Starting a business to do what you love will eventually mean doing a lot less of that thing you love. Confused? Let’s take a look at an example.
Let’s say you decide to start a business as a pet groomer because you love working with animals. Over time, your business grows, and you’re able to hire several groomers. Eventually, you open a second location. Then you open a third location. Then, a fourth. Within a few years, you expand your business outside your city. A few years later, you’ve expanded outside your region. Somewhere along the line, you become so busy running your company that you’ve stopped working with animals directly. How would that make you feel?
As a business owner, you have to be ready to let go of being the “doer.” You will no longer work “in” the business, but “on” the business. And if you’re not willing to do that, you’ll have to give up a great deal of control over your business to someone who can become the lead decision-maker. Because, depending on the size and growth of your organization, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to do both for long.
What this lesson will teach you: You can run your business, or you can be an individual contributor, but you cannot be both.
It can be a rocky road . . .
Don’t get me wrong. Starting your own business can be an immensely fulfilling experience that allows you to change your industry and make a significant difference in the lives of the people you employ and the customers you serve. I never would want to discourage anyone from starting their own business; in fact, I respect those that take the risk and take a swing at life.
But while there are plenty of benefits to this career path, it’s also a rocky road. Luckily, surviving these pitfalls and setbacks will arm you with the knowledge and experience you need to make tough decisions and grow your company.
RELATED: Starting a Business? Get Inspired by These 7 Entrepreneurial Legends
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