Let’s face it…entrepreneurship ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. One of my favorite quotes on entrepreneurship comes from just about every business owner I know…
“Shit’s hard af.”
Every Business Owner Ever
The Days are Long
Some days you work for 20 minutes, some days you work for 200 hours. There’s really no in between. You wake up and go to sleep thinking about what you have to do, how much money you’ve lost, when it’s all going to pay off, how much longer till retirement, how will you afford this $10K+ tax bill…and oh! When’s the last time you actually ate lunch?
The Responsibility is Heavy
As an entrepreneur, there’s this constant cloud that floats above you. On dark days it’s extremely cloudy, reminding you that you are responsible for so much: your family, your business, your clients. On brighter days, it shines a little warm light through letting you know that you can do it. You’ve come so far and those same people you’re worried about are rooting for you.
But, the Legacy Though….
When you ask an entrepreneur why they do what they do, you’ll more than likely get a response centered around leaving a legacy. That could mean so many different things for so many different people. I hate using that as my motivation. Because whether I succeed or fail, my legacy is going to be greater than, “she was a business owner.” I want to people to remember why I did all the things, that I motivated them to keep going, that I was transparent and real with my own journey, that I did something for my community that had a lasting impact. Yes, it’s all legacy. But my drive to create that goes beyond owning a business.
There’s Too Many Rules
This the one! To all the Entreprenazis out there, CUT IT OUT! We’re tired of hearing that we can sleep when we’re dead.
SLEEP ME NOW, PLEASE!!! I want a full 6 hours…that’s all…
The obsession with this 24/7 grind is unhealthy and it’s not what I set out to do when I left my 9-5 to work for myself. Yes, you have to put in the work…but you also have to put in the rest.
Turn to your neighbor and say, “rest.”
Entrepreneur Depression is Real
The psychological and physical effects that entrepreneurship has on many of us is devastating. It involves near-debilitating anxiety, imposter syndrome, eating too much or too little, exhaustion, failure to exercise, and failure to go to the doctor when something is wrong (mainly cause you can’t afford health insurance, but that’s another blog). The obsession with success can take you over the edge and before you even realize it, you’re in a funk for months and it’s incredibly hard to get out of.
In the latest Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, 34 percent of entrepreneurs–4 percentage points more than other workers–reported they were worried. And 45 percent of entrepreneurs said they were stressed, 3 percentage points more than other workers.
The Psychological Price of Entrepreneurship
But I Wouldn’t Have it Any Other Way
As much as I may truly hate being an entrepreneur at times, I don’t hate it nearly as much as being an employee.
Side note: this is not in any way, shape or form meant to disparage or shame 9-5 workers. You are the one’s holding our businesses together and we are ever so grateful for you!!!
Being an employee just wasn’t working for me. I spent 3 years after college trying to find my place. Not so friendly bosses.
