The 3 worst parts of being an entrepreneur that nobody talks about (and how to deal)
Posted by Josh Taylor / January 13, 2014
People love to talk about the challenges of entrepreneurship. But there are three challenges that no one talks about. They’re faceless enemies, and if you don’t get a grip on them in good time you could be in a bad place. This article points out these three silent killers, and then helps you work through them:
Life Ambiguity is Stressful, Even for the Best of Us
When you sign up for a start-up, especially an early-stage one, there’s no way to know what will happen. Even if you have a fabulous idea and you’ve raised a ton of money, it still might fail and you’ll be out of a job (remember Pets.com?). There also may be new ambiguity in your personal life: I’ve moved four times in order to do what’s best for the business.
No matter how strong or independent you consider yourself to be, it is hard for anyone to live in this state of constant ambiguity. And if you’re a founder, you are responsible for the job security, health insurance plans, and overall well-being of the team that you lead. It’s easy for this unknown future to freak you out a little bit.
My advice here is simple: Take it all one day at a time. Breathe. Talk to someone you know who has gone through the start-up crunch before (in my case, it’s my father). Take a break. These basic relaxation techniques are easy to scoff at, especially if you’re someone with a strong work ethic, but they’re invaluable to your sanity.
Full story at The Daily Muse.
Photo credit: Fotolia
There is no doubt the stress levels will be high, however stress can also be taken as a positive check out http://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend.html and this is also where de-risking is vital to ensure as many of the unknowns are still factored in check out
http://www.innovationmanagement.se/2014/01/14/the-value-of-de-risking-lies-in-the-process/