Great Achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.
-Napoleon Hill
Entrepreneurship is hard. In addition to the usual challenges that entrepreneurs face, there are also sacrifices that an entrepreneur would have to make now or later. Yes, sooner or later, you’ll be faced with a decision to make a sacrifice or not. In most cases, you have to sacrifice in order to succeed. So, don’t go waving that white flag just yet.
Business Comes First
Sure, there are things that should always come first over business like your health and family. However, there will be a lot of times when you have to sacrifice those things because business comes first during those times.
Let’s say that you have this one huge client that you can’t afford to lose. Let’s say that you have a good evening planned for your family – maybe a dinner at your favorite restaurant. If this huge client of yours calls you because of a crisis, you may have to drop your plans and go running to your client.
Since business comes first, you also have to sacrifice your sleep. It’s a known fact that most entrepreneurs work long hours. They go home and continue working at home so they sleep late. They also wake up very early so they can be at their business before everybody else.
You’ll also be sacrificing your health in the process. In addition to lack of sleep, you’ll also feel more stressed. You’ll also skip meals and if you do eat, it’s usually fast food.
This is where a good support system can help you. If you have a supportive family that understands that sometimes, business comes first; things will be easier. Of course, you have to make it up to them when you get the chance.
You have to Sacrifice Job Security
Of all the bad things that we can say about being an employee, we can’t deny the fact that you get job security if you’re employed by a huge and successful company. Unless you do something wrong, you’re basically assured of a job until retirement. Of course, the company can close down, but compared to your business, an established company that has been in the industry for decades is stronger.
You have to embrace the risk that your job security was thrown out of the window the moment that you decided to be an entrepreneur. This is especially true if you have a startup. You have to accept the risk that your business may close down even before your one year anniversary as an entrepreneur.
On the other hand, you will have the keys to your future as far as your job security is concerned. You won’t be at the mercy of your employer if you’re an entrepreneur. You can mess up and you won’t have to worry about getting fired. Of course, you’ll have bigger responsibilities to make sure that your future is secure. This is why before taking the plunge, you have to make sure first that you’re up for the task.
Putting Off Retirement Saving
It’s a good idea to have a retirement saving. This way, you’ll have money during your Golden Years. This is one of the goals of employees. They set aside some of their earnings for their retirement fund. They even take advantage of something like the 401k.
You may have to sacrifice that goal for the meantime when you start an entrepreneurship venture. First of all, you don’t have a regular monthly income, especially during the first few months of your business. In addition, a lot of entrepreneurs actually dip into their retirement fund so they can start an entrepreneurship venture. Simply put, they’re putting off retirement saving for their dreams.
There’s always a risk involved in doing this. You may blow off your whole retirement fund on a venture. This is why you have to really think things over and make sure that you’re prepared and well educated on the industry.
Sacrifice MBA for Startup
A lot of employees, after a couple of years of working, take up an MBA in order to boost their stock. If you’re in the process of setting up a business, you may have to sacrifice MBA for startup because entering an MBA program requires time, effort and money. With your startup, those are the things that you can’t afford to spare.
Is this a huge sacrifice? Well, it depends on your views of the MBA program. A lot of entrepreneurs feel that it’s not needed, so it’s not a huge sacrifice for them. Besides, it’s something that you can take any time in the future, so you don’t really have to sacrifice MBA for startup if it’s something that you really want to pursue.
Should You Make these Sacrifices?
Should you live a life wherein business comes first? Should you risk job security while putting off retirement saving? Should you sacrifice MBA for startup? These sacrifices are not meant to discourage you from being an entrepreneur. They’re there to weed out the half-baked entrepreneurs from the good ones. If you’re willing to make these sacrifices and you’ll do everything to lessen the risks, success is at reach.