Entrepreneurship is a glamorous job. There’s reputation, success, and significant money involved. That’s why many people look up to successful entrepreneurs like Bill Gates or Elon Musk. But glitz and glam should be the only thing you focus on when aiming to become an entrepreneur. There’s an entire world of business, technical aspects, and legal aspects you need to be aware of. Yes, the “entrepreneur mindset” is important, but the practical matters are just as important.
Being an entrepreneur is hard, and there are always challenges and obstacles along the way. Let’s take a look at common obstacles that the modern entrepreneur faces.
Business Side of Things
As mentioned before, many of the challenges come from the business side of things. It’s always difficult as the business aspect is governed by societal rules and not just a mental game. Below are among the most common practical problems that entrepreneurs face.
Budgeting and Finances. Just as it was years before, managing your business’ budget is a critical challenge that must be overcome. However, with how complex our society has become, there are many factors to consider when doing the finances. There’s resource allocation to non-physical investment like digital media or statistics, there’s the purchasing of services that caters to a particular modern need (like internet, VPN, and other intangible services), and of course, entrepreneurs have to contend with inflating prices.
Marketing and Advertising. Finding your target audience has always been a struggle of businesses since the industry of trade started. But in the 21st century, despite the access to technology that connects us all, many businesses are still struggling to connect and engage the right people for their products. Especially with new factors at play, it’s critical to get input from trusted digital marketing companies, as it has become the primary form of advertising.
Being Unique in a Competitive Market. Most industries are booming with competition and multiple establishments fighting over the title of the market leader. This is another hurdle that entrepreneurs face: establishing their brand and identity in an oversaturated sea of businesses. Entrepreneurs and business owners are hard-pressed to find a unique selling point to separate themselves from others, and not everyone is successful.
Over-reliance on Business. There’s a lot of business tools nowadays, especially when you compare them to the rather sparse equipment of businesses from years past. However, in the same way, that it’s something really helpful, relying too much on it can be detrimental as well. It’s still critical to learn how to look at raw data and pull your conclusions. Computers might calculate at extremely high speed, but contextual analysis remains a human-exclusive ability. Sometimes, it’s best to manually look at your data and interpret how it came to be.
Hiring the Right People. The job market nowadays requires a very specific set of skills, skills that require years to hone and perfect. It’s not just a matter of hiring someone and training them to be good at it. Now, the skill level required in the more technical aspects of things is extremely high. It can be difficult to find someone with the specific skill set you’re looking for. It can be quite difficult to find the right software developer, or social media manager, or even a manager with the specific skills you want or need.
Mental Aspects
Needless to say, the mental side of things is equally relevant. It’s hard to become a successful entrepreneur when you’re constantly bogged down by a negative mentality. And negative mentality comes far more often than one initially assumes. Here are other mental hurdles entrepreneurs need to overcome.
Impostor Syndrome. “Fake it until you make it” isn’t exactly the best advice, since it leads to feelings of being an impostor. Many legitimate businesspeople and thought-leaders second guess themselves. They ask whether they’re good enough for this or whether they have the skills.
Fear of Failure. Along with impostor syndrome comes the fear of failure. No one wants to fail, but an entrepreneur more. They’re not just putting in the effort, but they’re also sinking in a considerable amount of cash, mental energies, and time- on top of failing people you’re doing business with. Failure is scary, and that’s a fear every entrepreneur has to live with.
Running Out of Time. Many entrepreneurs feel like they’re constantly running out of time. They don’t have enough time to do all the tasks they want, they’re missing an opportunity to take advantage of the market, or they’re getting too old to be doing this.
Entrepreneurship is filled with struggles, and it’s not exactly for everyone. But for those willing to take on challenges and find fulfillment, it might just be for them.