The not so romantic side of doing business

“Sir Francis, I want to be a business person. What kind of business should I invest in?”

I get this question all the time. And every time I hear this, it automatically tells me that the person is not ready to go into business.

Culture, media and seminars feature plenty of rags to riches stories. These penetrated into our cultural consciousness, fascinated us and gained our admiration.

The world loves a “Cinderella” story. People think in terms of pictures. The prospects of entrepreneurial endeavors become the dream and passion of those who look at the glam and glitz narrative, but not at the responsibilities and risks that accompany such endeavors. 

Here are some of the things that you will certainly encounter in your entrepreneurial attempt:

1. YOU WILL HAVE TO WORK HARDER AND LONGER HOURS NOW THAT YOU HAVE YOUR OWN BUSINESS.

When working for another business, you have an organization or community of people who can assist you. Your work hours are limited and some damages that resulted from your faulty decisions are absorbed by the whole group and you don’t have to bear it all.

Becoming an entrepreneur means that you are all alone when you start your own business. There is no one to blame. You will sleep less and work more. Anything that goes wrong is blamed on no one but you. You need to be ready for this.

2. YOU WILL HAVE TO BE A GOOD LEADER.

A good leader gets good people and knows how to inspire them to be better. When working for another business, you can make fun, tease and blame your leaders. Now, you are the one leading. As you start your business, the quality of your employees can make or break your business. They need to cooperate to keep the business going.

3. YOU MAY NOT STRIKE IT RICH AS YOU THOUGHT YOU WOULD.

Today’s modern day entrepreneur is symbolized by two things:

A hoodie.

The title ‘CEO’ attached to a young college dropout with a penchant for digital economy.

Most entrepreneurs realize that there are so many out of pocket expenditures that come with starting a business. It takes time to build a customer base that would allow you to make a decent profit and the income that comes may not be in large denominations right away. This will radically change your lifestyle and you need to live with this.

4. YOU WILL HAVE TO BE PATIENT AND PERSISTENT.

Money-making is not easy. Meanwhile, you continue to put money into your business for office rentals, fixed expenses and payroll. Disappointments and frustrations catch up with many entrepreneurs at this stage and make them miss the good old days of steady payroll, commissions and incentives.

In fact, you begin to dislike the term ‘bonus’ because you are now the one giving them instead of receiving them. While you drive customers into your business and continue to put money in it, you need to be patient and persistent.

5. YOU REALIZE THAT DOING BUSINESS IS NOT AS EASY AS YOU THINK.

The romance is gone. The work is grueling. You put 12 to 14 hours of work every day to make sure your dream becomes a reality. This will be a trade-off to some personal areas of your life. Then add all these: less sleep, complaining customers, aging accounts and employees who do not perform well. 

Welcome to the world of business.

Now that we have removed the romance away from the visual picture, here is the real deal: when your business begins to take a life of its own and the fruit of your labor comes in, you will begin to realize that it is God who has given you the ability to create wealth and that you are not Him. When jobs are created, needs are met. When the results come in, you will find that it’s all worth it.

(Start the New Year right with Francis Kong learning leadership and life skills as he present Level Up Leadership on Jan. 21-22 at EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. For further inquiries, contact Inspire at 09158055910 or call 632-6310912 for details.)