{"id":43767,"date":"2023-10-20T15:31:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/what-no-one-told-you-before-you-started-your-own-business-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:31:00","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:31:00","slug":"what-no-one-told-you-before-you-started-your-own-business-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/what-no-one-told-you-before-you-started-your-own-business-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"What no one told you before you started your own business – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"chalkboard<\/div>\n

I was excited when I recently read an article about a young entrepreneur running a basic but serious business class for children as a school holiday activity.<\/p>\n

In the program the students learn marketing strategies and are encouraged to find their own business ideas and ways to make a profit out of them.<\/p>\n

I wish I\u2019d had that opportunity when I was a kid – maybe my trajectory as an entrepreneur would be easier.<\/p>\n

Apart from being a political refugee, one of the most difficult experiences in my life has been the adventure of being an entrepreneur.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t say this from the point of view of \u2018poor me\u2019 but from the point of facing constant challenges that come with starting your own company.<\/p>\n

When you have control over your time, you have to rely on self-motivation.<\/p>\n

However, waking up at 6 o’clock in the morning, running five kilometres, meditating for 20 minutes and getting ready for the day is not enough.<\/p>\n

The tricky part is facing a day that you have to organise yourself, with tasks that only you know are important.<\/p>\n

Some of these tasks may include applying for a grant, organising meetings with potential clients, attending meetings previously arranged, calling and writing once again to a client who has not yet considered your product a priority because you know in your your gut that it will be the best thing they do for their organisation.<\/p>\n

So, you must transform your mind from creator to marketing expert, and no one tells you that a big part of being an entrepreneur is this.<\/p>\n

But the day doesn\u2019t finish there.<\/p>\n

You must keep updating your social media and website, design specific presentations for your meetings and talk with \u2018experts\u2019 who don\u2019t always give you great advice.<\/p>\n

You feel obligated to listen to them anyway because you never can be sure when the right piece of advice is coming from the right contact.<\/p>\n

It takes up so much precious time! It is like being a drifting boat looking for a shore to anchor into.<\/p>\n

No one tells you that your day will also include anxiety generated from not having a constant income and seeing your savings trend downwards trend, the fear of losing your time and ending up in a job that you don\u2019t like, the stress that you cause your partner when he sees you working so hard and the business is not yet taking off.<\/p>\n

Yet he patiently tells you over and over again, “You will make it my love”.<\/p>\n

And you hug each other and you say, “I knew that it was going to be difficult”.<\/p>\n

The next day starts the same and you keep on repeating to yourself: “I\u2019m doing something great! My program will help others.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m generating employment, I\u2019m leaving a vacant role for a person for whom entrepreneurship is not suitable.”<\/p>\n

However, you anticipate having a cramp in your stomach in the middle of the day when you doubt what you’re doing and you think: Maybe I should leave all of this and find a job.<\/p>\n

In other words, get a ‘real’ life.<\/p>\n

But that real life does not suit everybody.<\/p>\n

What should you do when you are a creative person and enjoy developing new ideas?<\/p>\n

How can you see yourself in a job that does not meet these expectations?<\/p>\n

So, the only solution is listening to yourself. There is no other option.<\/p>\n

In fact, sometimes I think that a gift is a blessing and a curse all at once.<\/p>\n

Sometime ago my partner and I went to Patagonia for a holiday and we had to cross an isthmus to get to a boat that was going to take us to see the Grey Glacier.<\/p>\n

The wind was so strong that our bodies were constantly shoved from one shoreline to another.<\/p>\n

I honestly felt that I was going to fly away and drown in the middle of the cold lake at the base of the glacier.<\/p>\n

But then I told myself, “Keep on walking, we will get there”.<\/p>\n

In contrast to myself, my partner was like Don Quixote fighting against the windmills, in a state of ecstasy, brimming with enthusiasm encouraging me to continue.<\/p>\n

When we finally arrived at the boat I reflected deeply on the way I had faced the risk of crossing the isthmus and how I was fighting against the wind rather than working with it.<\/p>\n

When I remember that day, I liken it to being an entrepreneur and I think: I have to go with it, I must keep on enjoying this journey, otherwise, I will be always be waiting for the outcomes instead of living the experience of starting my own business.<\/p>\n

A a piece of advice to others and myself who are on the same entrepreneurial path: We must keep on going and we must embrace uncertainty.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if the final outcome will be good or bad, I don\u2019t know if all this sacrifice is worthwhile but at least let\u2019s enjoy the journey.<\/p>\n

And to our partners, friends, potential clients and government, give us all the support you can and please open the door to us.<\/p>\n

Because in the long term, we will generate employment and we will change our country from a culture of searching for jobs to a culture that creates exciting opportunities for us and our community.<\/p>\n

The journey has already started, let\u2019s just keep on riding.<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em> Facebook,<\/em> Twitter, LinkedIn and iTunes. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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