By Butz Bartolome
We all have dreamed of becoming a successful one day. Some may prefer having a simple life, but we all know how times have become difficult. And to merely rely on our day job may not be sufficient enough to secure the future of the family. Therefore, the only way to be sure that we can save enough for the immediate needs of the family is to start our own business.
Not all people may have the resources to start a business, which is why they would need to seek a loan from a bank or from other people. Building a business is work itself. From figuring out where the best location the business should be situated, to the things that the business will need, the permits that need to be secured, the people to hire, and the list could just go on. All of these require time and effort to be able to start. Realizing all these, a weak person may just simply back out. Being an entrepreneur means having to sacrifice…. A LOT.
The fear of having to go through so many things have caused most startups to close business only after less than a year. This is mainly because they were not expecting the tons of responsibilities that go along with being an entrepreneur. To become successful in any endeavor and create wealth, one must make sacrifices.
The Sacrifices that Entrepreneurs Make
Our life, regardless if we are an entrepreneur or not must be a balance of relaxation and work. Although entrepreneurs may need to commit more of their time with their business, this should not mean that they should completely forget that they are human in the first place. However, as an entrepreneur, it comes with a stream of responsibilities that eventually need to make some sacrifices to make the business prosper.
- Leisure Time
Starting up a business requires a lot of time. You need to focus not only on one aspect of the business but the entirety of it. Although you may have other people to help you, still, being the owner of the business, you have the final word for every decision that has to be made. Thus, spending time with family and friends may be sacrificed.
Every minute is as important. And instead of wasting time either doing nothing or just hanging around with friends most of the time, entrepreneurs would find themselves the need to work more than 8 hours in a day, and sometimes work even on weekends.
So, if you were once a happy-go-lucky guy or one that has not been too productive for the past years, this could be a new world for you which could shock you in the first few months.
2. Money
Starting a business means having to spend your hard-earned money. Apart from that, if you are used to partying every weekend, or going out on a trip with your family and friends every once in a while, well that would mean having to cut on your spending spree. Every single cent should count therefore, the focus should be on trying to pool money to sustain the business.
3. Properties/Assets
Whether you admit it or not, there are tons of things in your home that have been accumulating cobwebs over the years. These things often turn out to be a clutter in your home. And probably you also have properties that have just been laying around for years. Instead of keeping all of them, why not do something that can help your business? Instead of asking for a loan from the bank, selling them is a great option. This way, all proceeds can become additional funds for your business.
4. Sleep
Almost like doctors who are always on call, entrepreneurs need to always keep their line open so that people either from work or clients can be able to reach them anytime. You can’t just turn off your mobile phone just as you wish since you will be receiving important phone calls every now and then. Sleep may now be something as valuable as a diamond.
5. Comfort Zone
So, maybe you were the typical person who would just be hanging out with old friends and limit the number of acquaintances. But being an entrepreneur, you need to always put your best foot forward. This is one way of how you can make a better version of yourself by challenging yourself to become a whole new you. As an entrepreneur, you need to talk to a lot of people, take new roles to run the business, make decisions that you’ve never made before, and take time in learning new things that will help your business. If you feel that the problems are coming in, it means that you are seeing a different level of life which you should be prepared for. Getting out of your comfort zone is inevitable.
6. Popularity
An entrepreneur should have a strong characteristic wherein he must be able to make decisions for the improvement of the company. And sometimes along with these tough decisions, employees do not readily embrace them, which could make an entrepreneur unpopular. But of course, as the leader of the company and for the benefit of the company and its employees, no matter how tough the decisions an entrepreneur may have made, employees have no other recourse but to abide by them.
7. Sanity
Having to face so many problems day-in and day-out, an entrepreneur may just burn out. It is something that a lot of hardworking people have to face. Too much stress can make you feel like losing your sanity. But, the employees of any company get their strength to continue to become productive from the kind of leadership that they see from the business owner. Therefore, no matter how much an entrepreneur may feel like giving up, keeping his sanity intact is crucial.
All the sacrifices that an entrepreneur makes may seem to be too much to handle, but just imagine how the giant brands have become who they are today. It took them a lot of sacrifices to be able to reach their level of success through which they have been able to build a sustainable business that they can pass on to their next generation.
All the effort and sacrifices that an entrepreneur makes will all be worth it in time.
“Sacrifice fun today for financial freedom tomorrow”
For feedback or question, you may email business.mentor@butzbartolome.com or visit https://www.butzbartolome.com