In today’s age of reality TV; experience blogs; professional networks; informational interviews; and entire sections devoted to when-good-businesses-go-bad articles, it’s hard to believe there are prospective entrepreneurs who don’t know how much work being your own boss really is.
For the dreamer, Alexandra Levit’s New York Time’s article “Starting a Business—the Romance vs. the Reality” is a reminder that the road from employee to employer is hard. It is paved with doubt, investments, conflicts, and challenges. Where will you office? Should you sublease, use coworking space, office in an exeutive suite or build out your own space? Will you hire staff or outsource? Will you do this…? Should you do that…?
There are no easy answers and few easy questions.
For some, Levitz’s piece will be a wakeup call: yes, there are office conflicts even when you are in charge. There will be personality conflicts, technology issues, and daunting responsibilities that crop up when you least expect them or when you do expect them.
Read the article; heed the warnings, then remember: Your skills, experience, passion and dreams will get you so far. A strong network of resources, information, colleagues, organizations and friends will get you farther.
The path to entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be a lonely one. Going into business for yourself doesn’t have to mean doing everything by yourself.