Lessons Entrepreneurs Have to Learn the Hard Way

Entrepreneurs are risk takers. Sometimes these risks pay off, but more often than not they leave you in a whirling pit of confusion. A big part of being an entrepreneur is having to learn from the consequences of taking a bad risk. The thing is, if we knew the results of where the tougher decisions would take us, we wouldn’t call them risks. If only we had a crystal ball that saw into the future!

As an entrepreneur, here are some of the lessons that I had to learn the hard way as a result of taking risks.

Your first idea won’t be your best.

Very little in life is as exciting as that feeling you get when you have your first legitimate entrepreneurial idea. Thoughts of how drastically your life will change as a result of your business will flash through your head, vacations, toys, controlling your schedule, and so on… all before you have even begun executing on your strategy.

Problem is, if this is one of your first entrepreneurial ideas, you likely don’t have the experience to turn it into a wildly successful venture yet. Don’t let this statement discourage you from entrepreneurship quite yet, because you don’t have to get everything right on your first try. You just have to get it right eventually and learn from your mistakes. Everything is a learning experience, and the more ideas that you try to execute on, the more often you will learn, and you’ll become a smarter entrepreneur.

Don’t hire the wrong person, wait for the right one.

First-time entrepreneurs way too often first hire someone who they like being around and are relatively inexpensive, versus someone who is best qualified to fill that role. It usually doesn’t take very long to realize that this was a bad idea. The costs associated with training an unqualified candidate will set your business months back in both work and finances. Take your time, and make sure you are hiring the right candidates, especially one that complements your weaknesses.

If you want to perform well, you have to feel well.

Entrepreneurship takes its toll on individuals who are daring enough to challenge it. In recent years, entrepreneurs have been speaking more openly about their internal struggles with depression and anxiety, and the everyday challenges that come along with them. As the leader of an organization, the more that these symptoms affect you, the more they will affect your business. Both mental and physical health are extremely important for entrepreneurs. If you want to be successful, you have to have long term plans for getting, and staying, in good health.

Entrepreneurship is a long, uphill climb.

There will be times when entrepreneurship feels like one step forward and two steps back. It’s not easy, and it seems like around every corner there is something waiting to jump out and knock you on your butt. In this world, the mentally weak won’t survive. You have to be willing to get back up, dust yourself off and conquer challenges that are harder than anything you’ve ever done before. Eventually, the one step forward will begin to feel like a leap, and the two-step backs will merely be shuffles.

I’d love to hear from you about the lessons that you had to learn the hard way from entrepreneurship!