Photo by Bich Tran from Pexels
By Kevin Elliott
kevin@wewafilms.com
You’ve heard it a million times, usually from your Mom.
“Life is hard.”
“Life isn’t fair.”
“No one owes you anything.”
She’s right, of course. But starting a business brings those truths home in sometimes brutal fashion. I’m convinced that one of the hardest tasks in the world is starting and growing a business.
But is it supposed to be easy?
Not So Special After All
That brilliant idea you had, the one you thought no one had thought of before, is old news and dozens (or hundreds) of others already thought of it. And probably do it better.
That talent all your teachers told you would take you far? Maybe, but you’re not as unique as you thought, at least not in the business world. There are SO many talented people out there.
What about customers? Your friends and family actually convinced you that customers would COME FIND YOU and make you take their money. Turns out you can’t even get prospects to pay attention. And when you do, they want a discount.
It is shockingly hard to build a business.
Do You Want It To Be Easy?
I know this post sounds like a bummer, but it’s not meant to. I want you (and me) to take hope in how hard entrepreneurship is. Because the fact is people do succeed in business all the time, in spite of the difficulty (Read this article from a millionaire entrepreneur friend of mine about his struggles). In fact, research shows that success has less to do with talent than it does with plain ‘ol grit.
You can succeed in business. And when that happens, do you really want it to have been a cake walk?
Special things only come when they are not easy to come by. It’s what special means.
Other than childbirth, entrepreneurship is the ultimate creative act. You literally make something out of nothing. And just like childbirth, there is no success or satisfaction without pain. That said, is there anything more thrilling?
Life is Short. Do Something Hard.
I have had high-paying corporate jobs and I have run businesses that barely scraped by. There is no comparison. I am most proud of my scrappy little businesses and the work it took to keep them afloat. You will be too.
I want to encourage you to keep at it. Just keep telling yourself it’s supposed to be hard.
It’s supposed to be hard.
It’s supposed to be hard.
Kevin
kevin@wewafilms.com
(850) 819-4463
P.S. – Here are a few other entrepreneurship articles to encourage you.