I have discussed with a few would-be entrepreneurs lately, and have been involved in trying to recover a small company emptied by its founder’s greedy way of life – charged entirely to the company. Often the same mistake appears: the simple fact of creating a company appears as an open check book for a jetset-type lifestyle.
Real entrepreneurship involves effort, tears, long evenings, and actual sacrifices. Sacrifices in the field of time and family life. Financial sacrifices when it comes to achieve payroll and not paying oneself for the sake of cash flow and continuing business, because a client is late paying its dues.
Some people believe they are successful the day they create their company. It is not so: it is just the start of an uphill battle. Life before (e.g. as employee) was easy. You did not have to care about getting the salary check at the end of the month. Rewards were maybe minimal, but predictable.
To all of those with this erroneous of entrepreneurship: entrepreneurship is a great experience and a provider of growth, but it also comes with a lot of sacrifices and not an easy life. Be aware of it, and above all, make sure you maintain your overheads limited and a simple way of life to ensure sustainability of the business!
