Risks are part and parcel of daily life.
From the moment those prominent rays of sunlight usher themselves into your home and dictate a new morning, to the moment you lay your head on the pillow after a long industrious day; you’re always taking a risk.
In fact, nature has engineered us to be risk-takers. Heck, even your marriage proposal was a risk. Because the flip side of the coin is…
They could have always said no
As adept as humans are at risk-taking, we’ve become coy about it, especially if one aspires to be an entrepreneur.
But why is this the case?
Laxity; modernity has instilled in us a fear of the unknown. No longer are we the valiant conquerors that once traversed foreign lands and explored the wilderness.
Not that we’re complaining or anything; because who’d rather be hunting a wild-boar instead of digging their teeth into a juicy burger delivered right at the door?
Exactly.
That being said, what kind of risks should you consider taking before starting your own business and how do you handle them? Here is a couple that you might need to face along the way.
Saying goodbye to that steady paycheck
Before you stamp the word ‘entrepreneur’ on your LinkedIn bio, you might have to say goodbye to your current employment position.
And this sucks.
Because most entrepreneurs rarely have a solid financial backup in case things go south. So once you venture into the realm of business, it’s safe to say that you’re on your own.
Plus there’s no guarantee that you’ll get a steady personal income once you kick start the business.
Bracing for tough times ahead?
Then it’s probably a good idea to be a bit more stringent with your spending especially for the first couple of months (or even years) of building your business.
Which then brings us to…
Saving an extra penny for the growth of the startup
Every Saturday evening, you always had a candlelit dinner at the Chateau le-something with the mister or missus.
And the tab always came to a whopping $400 per meal, right?
But ever since you aspired to leave the confines of your 9 to 5 to become a small business owner, the money has gotten tighter.
In fact, you’ve even had to dip into your savings just to finance some of the projects that run your business.
Especially if your crowdfunding didn’t go so well. Or the recent grants/loans you took to start the business are currently overwhelming your financial structure.
All in all, prepare to cut out some of the luxury in your life to uplift the enterprise.
Sacrificing personal time to meet the company’s objectives
It takes time to build an empire. But if you’re passionate about it, you might find yourself working100 hours a week just to perfect your company’s business model and meet the stipulated deadlines you set.
This might mean missing out on some family time and sleep for the benefit of improving your business acumen.
Acknowledging that you can’t do it alone
Even the savviest of entrepreneurs know that they can’t build a successful enterprise without the collective effort of their business partners, friends, and investors.
Everything from financial to emotional support is vital in keeping an entrepreneur focused.
So if you’re riding solo, perhaps it’s time to consider bringing in a sidekick to help you realize your vision and brand!
All in all, every successful entrepreneur understands that business and risk-taking go hand in hand. And in the famous words of Roman Philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca:
“It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It’s because we dare not venture that they are difficult”
