It’s during the first year or so that we struggle with getting our business off the ground. Being an entrepreneur comes with numerous challenges and while they are rewarding, they can be incredibly difficult. It’s not just the entrepreneurs that are wet behind the ear, it’s even experienced ones that have to deal with various challenges. But for any new breed of entrepreneur, running an efficient business is something that plays second fiddle to overcoming certain hurdles. What are these?
Acquiring Financing
New entrepreneurs have so many hurdles to jump through, not least in the financial sector. When you are going to every bank for funds you may be deemed high-risk. And this can throw a spanner in the works in numerous ways. But there are routes around it; you could get a merchant account for high risk businesses so you can sell items through the right channels, but it’s also a good idea to assess your various funding options. It’s not just about going to the bank; it’s about making sure that you know where your angel investors are located and start networking like crazy!
Dealing With The Unknown
We have got to remember it’s not just the professional components but it’s the personal aspects that can truly weigh us down. When we look at our business we could struggle to answer numerous questions, especially when our employees come to us expecting all the answers. We need to provide a lot of support and various solutions for our business and our employees. But when we spend a lot of time dealing with the unknown our anxieties can rise. And dealing with this sort of volatility is partly to do with having solid structures in place such as your business plan and making sure that everything is adequately researched but it’s also about making sure that you are able to cope with the unknown. This can be down to having a better sense of resilience but also making sure that you are learning from other people that have come before you. One of the best ways to do this is to get a mentor. They can guide you to a certain extent but they can also give you nuggets of wisdom for you to use throughout your journey.
Learning To Build A Team
In one respect you’ve got to see the bigger picture but you’ve also got to understand how each individual component can slot into the business. It isn’t just about finding the right person for the role; it’s about making sure that you give consideration to their costs to the business, how they fit into the culture, but also if they will work well under certain pressures. This means that you’ve got an abundance of pressure to build the right team but you also need to do it quickly because this means the business will take off the way you want it to.
Learning to get over these difficult business hurdles takes up a lot of valuable entrepreneurial real estate. Understanding the hurdles is the first step. Once you get into the mindset of problem-solving it becomes part of your makeup as an entrepreneur. It’s far better to embrace these problems rather than to run away from them.