What You Should Know Before Becoming an Entrepreneur - 7 Harsh Lessons Learned
If you’re thinking about becoming an entrepreneur, then this article will teach you what you should know beforehand!
American author, expat and entrepreneur Mike Kelly can prepare you for some of the pending hardships that lie ahead.
Diving headfirst into becoming an entrepreneur is going to be easy, right?
Wrong!
Diving headfirst into entrepreneurship already is a difficult thing to do. If you’ve already done it, I highly commend you on your ballsy move. Seriously.
But if you are only considering entrepreneurship, this article will allow you to make the right decision and with greater confidence!
When I first started my entrepreneurship journey, I suffered many roadblocks that slowed my progress, hindered my leadership potential and almost made me quit owning my own business.
I don’t want this to happen to you. The world needs your unique ideas.
In this article, I will give you clairvoyance on what you will face and how to overcome it.
What should I know before becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Is it as difficult as it seems?
Yes.
After starting my first company, I found numerous technical and personal challenges impeding progress and keeping me away from the income I greatly desired.
But worse than that, I couldn’t help the people who would benefit immensely from my eye-opening breakup course. Everyday, there were men out there suffering from a lack of intelligent breakup recovery.
That was before spending over five years in the game. Now, I have advanced understanding of methods, tactics and obstacles I use to my advantage.
Once you read this article, you will get the same advantage – but much easier and faster!
Let’s begin. Below are the 7 lessons you should know before becoming an entrepreneur.
1.) Reality is flexible. You should be, too.
Graduating from universities, secondary schools and stream-lined trade-schools is a relatively secure process.
You are in a preset and rigid reality, a type of cocoon shielding you from anything outside of it. Alumni contacts have already been established, workshop resources are just down the hall and third-party recruiters are already chomping at the bit to speak with you.
This is an easy transition into the “real world.” But if you jump out of this rudimentary boat, reality becomes more evolved and foreign.
At the start, it breeds uncertainty and confusion.
What I learned is that this new reality isn’t as scary as you may think. In fact, it is rather flexible.
There are infinite opportunities to pursue, all enveloped in jobs and skill acquisition. You have vastly more permissions governed by only one ship captain – you.
There are less rules than you think and more unlocked doors than you realize. It’s hard to get over this notion because childhood and university exemplify the exact opposite. Everything is regimented in rules and external permissions.
Be flexible with the reality around you and learn to bend it to your will.
It’s no longer college or your dorm room. You don’t have to ask permission to move your roommate’s anime sex pillow while avoiding all the pizza crusts and crushed Mt. Dew cans.
You now can have overnight guests! You have the freedom to walk around naked if you want.
You could even stare into the existential void of blackness for hours on end while listening to Mazzy Star on repeat – without judgment!
(see below)
Whatever you do, make reality work for you! It’s easier to change than we all think.
Shaving off preconceived notions of how things are typically done is an essential exercise. The biggest lesson learned from my own ocean dip is that reality can be unfathomably advantageous.
Form the perception that any obstacle in your path is an opportunity rather than a hinderance.
Any challenge is defined by your perception of it.
2.) Double down on the friends that stick around. You will lose some.
Making major vocation alterations can paint you in many colors.
Not everybody in your life will understand your transition, and some may even resent you for it.
That is the way of it. Many are fearful of this transition and often refuse to understand it. Trust me, this is an EXTREMELY good thing.
Yes, unfortunately you start to understand the fickleness in others but now you have the change to develop strength in your own backbone.
But no matter how the cards play out with your community, double down on the ones that stick by your side.
If they want to actively promote your wellbeing, let them and don’t forget to show your gratitude.
Treat your friends as if they were your ROTH IRA: place dividends back into them when they provide for you. If they’re going to enrich you in any way, reinvest that positive energy back and bake them a goddamn cake or help them move.
You will need a great deal of support during this transition—and certainly beyond.
The appropriate thing to do is be transparent and honest with them.
Confess your insecurities and fears of losing them. Thank them for everything they’ve been for you and continue to keep their efforts in your heart.
This, of course, includes family.
If you’re considering transitioning to the entrepreneurial realm, you will hear this mantra a lot:
You are the average of the five people you most closely associate with.
As much as I want to resist this phrase, I keep finding it to be true.
Pick the brains of those who have achieved what you want out of life and get involved in their circles.
Are there any friends of yours that are successful AND looking out for your best interests? Definitely keep them around!
3.) Whoever your greatest bosses were in your life, be all of them to yourself
It used to be common to hear people dream of the coveted aspiration of being their own boss.
From more experienced entrepreneurs, I hear this less frequently.
This may be because being your own boss requires a great deal of work.
Becoming an entrepreneur means you’re operating as a free spirit. Make no mistake, no superior is looking out for you anymore. Every decision rests on your judgment and yours alone.
Worse yet, you only have yourself to blame if things go higgledy-piggledy.
Being your own boss is not only a taxing and multi-disciplinary activity, but savagely essential. You are no longer in an environment where someone tells you how things are done, giving you scope and structure, but something more nebular.
You need orientation and procedures—and they better be damn good if you want to make it work.
A good start is evaluating all your previous jobs.
- What were their structures and procedures?
- What worked for you and what didn’t?
- How about your bosses?
- What did they do that was effective for you?
- What did they say?
- How did they treat their own bosses?
- How did they instill effectiveness in others?
What matters most is finding out how you were empowered to strive beyond your pervious standards.
It would be a misnomer to say all of this is enough to be your own boss. You need to develop agendas and deadlines that work best for you under carte blanche conditions.
When I launched my first company, I needed additional help managing myself.
Reading and podcasts became my new best friend. I looked to books such as:
- Do What You Are (https://amzn.to/3HptDGX),
- Don’t Shoot the Dog (https://amzn.to/3Jc2tEL)
- The 4-Hour Work Week (https://amzn.to/3XubnC0)
- The Effective Executive (https://amzn.to/3HpTJtq)
These are only a few examples but certainly a good starting point.
Oh!
And certainly the Magic of Thinking Big (https://amzn.to/3XNQUHP). This one is incredible.
For those that are wired for it, being you own boss is incredibly gratifying.
Conducting yourself with prominent authority and discipline is an unparalleled mastery—for what other device can you truly rely upon?
In the end, you need to be the deck hand, fisherman, navigator and captain of your little vessel.
Get the guided blueprint for honing your creative focus and discover your next biggest achievement.
With this free eCourse, you’ll be starting on your creative future today.
4.) Prepare to rewrite your preconceived notions of success
Your parents may have defined success for you already. You need to be prepared to consider it could be absolutely fucking wrong.
Success can be defined subjectively (micro) and objectively (macro). Objectively, success is a measure of how well you are committing to yourself or your vocation.
EXAMPLE — How many hours did you commit to your vocation today? Did you accomplish what you set out to accomplish for the day?
The subjective definition of success is, well — subjective.
Not matter how you define it, make sure it pushes you that extra step beyond your previous standards.
For example, my micro definition of success is how well I do something while nobody else is watching.
At this point, only I am concerned with my success. I track it, measure it and it’s no one else’s burden to watch over men. There is a great freedom in that.
5.) There is no room for depression
Perhaps the most important thing you should know before becoming an entrepreneur…
Any path to your island will spill sea water into your boat.
Whether it be due to storms you cannot control or negligence of self-care, nobody else is going to bail for you. If depression is the saltwater in your boat, the bail is your cathartic best friend.
When your intrapersonal status is suffering, you must enact upon it with the most effective meta-skills you’ve developed.
Depression is much like homesickness, where both cause paralytic distress.
Though, unlike homesickness, depression is the feeling we get when we forget that at our core, we are unassailable.
We are the hardest to convince yet the easiest to fool. No matter our conditions of misfortune, its impact to our psyche comes from our perceptions of it.
6.) Self-development is no longer recreational, but essential
Becoming an entrepreneur requires constant optimization.
Self-development, self-improvement and self-help are terms difficult to stomach. They are vague and abstract platitudes used too often to elicit any excitable meaning.
When referring to development, I mean it as a garnishment to our reasoning and the advancement of knowledge. Don’t let any self-proclaimed “life coach” fool you otherwise.
Upon the launch of my first company, I thought I knew enough. I was reading plenty and learning a lot. That is, until the biblical genesis of 2020 happened.
I lost everything.
Even after things are making sense and you’re making good headway, self-development should never stop. Especially in the face of disaster.
7.) There is a much bigger and more aberrant version of life out there than previously thought.
Yes, it’s true!!
I remember it appearing like a mirage.
At first, it was untouchable, ethereal and always too far away to make out clearly. What I saw was a desirable vision for myself I only fantasized about between momentary distractions of social gatherings and mindless entertainment – like Altered Carbon Season 1, baby!
At this point in my life, to not pursue this vision would be a personal disservice to the highest degree.
I actually fear the person I easily could have become. But it’s a comforting fear because I know that man is well behind me and will never come into existence again. I wouldn’t be the inspirited, brazen and motivated man I am today if I didn’t jump out of that boat.
Where I see life now, there is a whole new dimension to it.
Frivolous things and empty applause are now left ignored. My self-reliance and authentic values are constantly hardened through exciting trials of my design.
These are the seven lessons I learned from abandoning my traditional career path. Truth be told, there are many more, but none hold more significance over these sexy seven.
CONCLUSION: The question you need to answer for yourself
It was my own coffeehouse wager to see if there was something more to life. Something that would allow me to look back at my conventional self and be thankful I still wasn’t him.
Take a look at your own predicament. Don’t ask how well you would swim if you jumped off the boat. Ask yourself:
“How much fun you will have doing it?”
Now go kick some ass.
Till next time,
Mike
Mike Kelly
Editor of Prosperity
Ex-structural engineer gone expat polyglot. Through his book, speaking events, published writings and online blog, he strives to influence millions of travelers to be their best selves while experiencing novelty overseas or at home. His desire for adventure travel is rivaled by his love for motorcycles, airplanes and family. Michael graduated from Gonzaga University with studies in civil engineering and philosophy. For his 29th birthday, he moved to Africa where he is experiencing his next transformative experience.
Becoming an Entrepreneur FAQ
What are the 5 skills of an entrepreneur?
It would be foolish to think there are exactly five skills of an entrepreneur. What makes entrepreneurship so exciting and diverse are the multitude of skills utilized by driven individuals working to change the world. The most important skill an entrepreneur needs is self-belief. That is, they believe they can change the world and meet their goals.
What are the 7 skills of an entrepreneur?
It would be foolish to think there are exactly seven skills of an entrepreneur. What makes entrepreneurship so exciting and diverse are the multitude of skills utilized by driven individuals working to change the world. The most important skill an entrepreneur needs is self-belief. That is, they believe they can change the world and meet their goals.
What are the 10 major steps to become an entrepreneur?
There are no exact steps to become an entrepreneur. What makes entrepreneurship so exciting and diverse are the multitude of opportunities and conditions which create the perfect environment for one to become an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs don't need to own a business. The original French definition of entrepreneur is to bring a low yielding asset into a higher yielding function.