How Starting a New Business Can Drive You Crazy
Starting a new business can be a shock to your system. We all think that we’re ready for this new adventure. We’ve read some books, talked to some experts and watched some YouTube videos; how difficult could it be? After all, if (insert name of a despised competitor here) can do it, it must be really simple.
The reality is that, unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, starting and running a successful business is a difficult proposition. Most of us are not ready for the reality of running a small business, which (in the beginning) often includes working extremely hard for very little money.
When this eureka moment smacks a new small business owner in the face, most of us turn tail and run back to the security of our old 9-to-5 jobs. Unfortunately, most new inspectors are not that well prepared for this realization.
All those books made it seem like this was gonna be so easy…
The fact is that starting anything from scratch is difficult. They don’t call it “building a business” because it’s easy; it doesn’t come pre-assembled. It takes hard work, sacrifice and dedication to get a new business off the ground. And this is when most of us bow out; at the hard work part.
Face it, any of us living in this day and age have it real easy compared to our ancestors. No chopping down trees to build a house. No hunting and foraging for every meal we eat. No sending smoke signals to get messages to people on the other side of town. Hell, most of us don’t even have to sweat when it gets too hot; we just turn down the AC and enjoy another cold beverage.
That is to say, most of us are not accustomed to hard work. We get to enjoy all the amazing advancements made by those that have come before us. (And by the way, a big shout out to Willis Carrier for inventing the modern electrical AC unit!)
But hard work is often what it takes to become successful. That’s why so few people achieve real success in the business world. It’s why approximately 24% of all small businesses fail within one year of start-up. It’s not for a lack of knowledge, it’s not for a lack of clients, it’s not even for a lack of trying.
Often, it’s simply that we don’t try hard enough.
Starting a business is a difficult proposition. Customers don’t simply fall into our laps. Years ago, when a business worked hard to get new clients, it was called “beating the bushes.” Everyone thinks that it is difficult to get new customers, because it is. Most new businesses struggle to get new clients, and the ones lucky enough to get some must work hard to keep them.
We can’t simply be as good as our competition, because, face it, they’ve already got that group of clients locked up. And clients are lazy too; they would rather stick with their current service provider, because it’s easier than switching.
when to say when
But, there is a little secret that successful business owners know:
If we give them a good-enough reason to switch, they will.
Knowing all this information ahead of time can be really helpful. We know going in that we will need to work hard; putting in long hours without being adequately compensated for our time. We know that we will be giving away our valuable products and services in an attempt to win over new customers. We already know the odds are stacked against us and our new business.
Maybe this knowledge can help give us a mental edge on our competition.
We already know it’s going to be hard, but we do it anyway.
That’s got to count for something, doesn’t it?
By preparing ourselves for the tough times that lay ahead, we can actually help our businesses get through them. We know it’s going to take hard work, but we’re ready. We know we’re going to have to market our businesses like it’s our full-time job, so we do. We know we’re going to have to make some sacrifices to build a successful career, so we make them. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll all pay off. So, we keep pushing, knowing it’ll all be worth it someday.
We have the power to be successful business owners. We just need to decide if we’re ready for the job.
If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.
Jim Rohn
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Thanks, Joe
