It’s easy to think about becoming an entrepreneur and being your own boss. The idea alone is thrilling and exciting. Most of us were raised to have a career, find a job, work 30+ years and retire… Therefore, somehow, we believe that being your own boss is all about having time flexibility and nobody checking on you to make sure your work is done. While that sounds appealing, I’ve discovered, that’s not all that it is about. There is a lot more to it… so I wanted to share with you a few things that nobody told me about entrepreneurship.

 

Thus, I gathered some thoughts and wanted to share it with you. This is part 1, of the 8 things nobody told me about entrepreneurship.

 

1. Nobody told me about entrepreneurship’s MOTIVATION

This is one of the biggest struggles for many entrepreneurs. When it comes to motivation, I’ve learned that it doesn’t shine every day automatically as the sun does.

 

Like Zig Ziglar said “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” Every SINGLE day you must find a voice, a message and/or anything that can get you out of bed and energized for the day. There is no away around it. Every day you must remember the reason why you began in the first place. Yes, everyone talks about motivation, but nobody told me how essential it is for everyday success.

 

Thus, do whatever you must do to stay motivated, to bring that ray of sunshine to your morning. To some of us, it may be meditation, a workout, a hike in nature, a motivation speech, a book that we are reading, or a combination of it all. Therefore, make time for it in the mornings, wake up earlier if you must. No matter what, this is something you must do EVERY DAY!

 

2. Nobody talked about entrepreneurship’s LONESOME

While the idea of working by yourself and for yourself sounds very appealing, nobody tells you that it can get lonely. Yes, you get to miss those 10 minutes to go to the coffee maker and catch up a little bit with your coworkers. Sometimes you miss being able to share a great idea with someone. It’s rare that someone mentions this to you, but it is part of the journey. Loneliness can be the source to spike up your anxiety and depressive feelings. Hence, be aware of this possibility. However, once you learn to enjoy this space, you become unstoppable.

 

It’s good to be aware of the loneliness part of entrepreneurship so it doesn’t catch you by surprise. Make sure to mingle and join entrepreneur networking groups in your location. Attend their events and mingle with other like-minded business peers. If for some reason you chose to be in a remote location, make sure to join groups for either local activities or even online coffee meets. It’s just great to remember that there are others like you going through this struggle. Better yet, others who can share your ideas and bring in some light to whatever task you may be facing.

 

For instance, some of my favorites, the Amazing Women Entrepreneurs Network on Facebook or the Marketing & Communication Network on LinkedIn. Find the one that fits you best with your business model and goals. This is your community. You are not alone.

 

3. Nobody mentioned entrepreneurship’s FITNESS

Have you ever gone for a run or for a good sweat and the best ideas came to you while at it? Well, I have! I always noticed some of the greatest CEOs and entrepreneurs having some type of fitness discipline that they follow, but nobody really said how important this was. No matter how tired you are, you must include some activity into your day. Not only to look good but for your overall mental health and creativity.

 

 

Working out produces endorphins, endorphins improve our moods, a happy person finds solutions and can get more done in less time. When you are having a “block” or a moment when nothing is happening, go for that run, get some fresh air, or go on that treadmill and break a sweat. You’ll feel energize and you’ll be able to look at the task-at-hand from a different angle.

 

4. Nobody told me about the mistake of MULTITASKING

As a woman, multitasking is one of my strengths and I thought it was going to be so important as I started my own business. However, what nobody told me is that multitasking can be overrated when it comes to entrepreneurship. While some of us have different strengths, I have found that it is easy to tackle one task at the time. Starting by the “big frog”.

 

The big frog is “THAT” one daunting task that you never want to complete. The one that you know you must do on Monday morning, but comes Friday afternoon, right before your deadline and that’s when you finally commit to completing it. It’s not only about completing it right before the deadline, but it’s also the fact that you were carrying this task throughout your entire week. Believe it or not, it also slowed you down the entire week. Dragging those feet over the ground while thinking about it took away part of your time to complete other important tasks.

 

So, after doing this for almost 6 years, I’ve learned to eat the big frog first… I have days when I don’t want to. But it makes such a big difference in getting more done in the same amount of time. When we work by ourselves, we only have our deadlines to help us stay accountable. In order to make more out of my week, I’ve learned that when I focus on one task at the time after eating that big frog, I get many more things done and the week feels like a more successful one!

 

Nobody told me about entrepreneurship’s ACCOUNTABILITY and so much more… which I’ll talk about in part 2.

To be continued…