Becoming your own boss sounds like the ideal job, right?
While it does have a lot of perks, the world of entrepreneurship is often romanticized in some minds. But other people see it as a nightmare where the business owner has no personal life.
While it’s not exactly rose-colored, it’s not the all-consuming life-sucking career some people say it is, either. The reality of this high-intensity career is a lot more balanced.
Many myths abound about the job of an entrepreneur. We’ve taken the biggest ones and broken them down into facts to help you really see what this career path is like.
1. Myth Number One: Entrepreneurs Never Stop Working
This myth is harder to break because it’s based partly on reality. As you’re building your business, you will work a lot.
In the beginning, you’re going to want to put in long days. Your passion for what you’re doing will drive you!
The problem and solution lie in the fact that you get to set your own hours. This is an issue if you let yourself work 24/7 and exclude a personal life and quality rest. It’s also a problem if you relax so much that you neglect your business.
The key is to have a healthy, balanced work/personal life. This means a lot of boundary setting for yourself and others and strong time management skills. If you can get both of these established early, you won’t be working horror-story worthy hours for long.
2. Myth Number Two: Your Finances Are Always a Roller Coaster
Being in business for yourself means relying on consumers to provide for your family. It’s a risk every entrepreneur takes at some point.
Depending on the products and services you provide, there will be ebbs and flows in your income. You can avoid the roller coaster ride by learning how to predict and prepare for these ups and downs.
Avoiding the Financial Roller Coaster
To do this, you must get hands-on with your accounting. You can hire an office manager or accountant to do the data entry, but you need to learn how to read the reports.
You have to have your finger on the pulse of your business at all times. This means learning your options when you predict a lull.
It’s setting aside money during the busy seasons to get through the slow periods.
It’s looking at clients who are slow to pay invoices to see how to collect payments sooner.
In a nutshell, it’s being proactive about your finances instead of letting them take control. Avoiding the roller coaster ride doesn’t mean not getting on at all. It means preparing for the loops and turns and enjoying every exhilarating twist.
3. Myth Number 3: You Can’t Be an Entrepreneur Without a Unique Idea
The truth is that by this time in the world, most useful ideas have already been invented. New entrepreneurs capitalize on grabbing something already in existence and coming up with their own take on it.
Any business you can think of is most likely part of one of the top ten major global industries. These include tourism, fast food, real estate, and apparel.
Inside all of these industries is plenty of room for you to find something you love and then create a niche that makes you stand out.
Making the Industry You’re in Your Own
McDonald’s, for example, is a world-famous fast-food restaurant. Although it’s the largest chain in the industry, it was not the first. White Castle, still in existence today, was the founding fast-food restaurant back in 1921.
Thirty years later, McDonald’s opened its doors and quickly dominated the industry. In the meantime, other fast food chains had already entered the scene, but none of them took over the way the Golden Arches did.
That’s what entrepreneurs do. They’re not reinventing the wheel by coming up with an entirely new industry. Even something as innovative as the private spaceflight taking civilians to the moon is still part of the tourism industry.
To be an entrepreneur and own your own business, you don’t have to come up with a unique idea. You can take an idea that’s already there and make it uniquely yours.
Conclusion
It doesn’t require giving up your entire personal life to be an entrepreneur. What it does take is grit, drive, and a strong desire to learn the business.
With your passion and dedication, you can take your dream and turn it into a reality. There’s no better time to get started than today!