5 Reasons why building a successful business is hard

It is easy to dream of owning a business empire and achieving things you could only dream of. Some people will takeover other people’s companies thinking that they can easily build the next big business. There are literally thousands of starts ups every month, which after 6 or less months become part of history and you wonder what happened. Building a successful business is not for the faint heart. It takes time and hard work.

1. It is is not glamorous

Last night we passed through a restaurant for some coffee and to my amazement the competition to my regular place had closed. I asked one of the waiters as we were having coffee  as to what happened to the competition and all the waiter could say was that they were not making enough money. That is how it is for most companies, they start of with a lot of expectations that they will make a killing in their industry, sooner than later they will be kings of the restaurant business, so they think.

I looked at my regular coffee place, the owner is always there whenever we pass through for coffee, she makes sure her tables are clean, picks any paper that is out of place, arranges desks when she can, mingles with her clients from time to time. She as a business owner is a regular in her own business. For  most wanna be business owners they think that it is glamorous , that they open their shop and like magic they sit back and everything works out. Unfortunately business is not a fiction or magic trick, it requires day to day work, and even a magic trick requires work

2. It can be dry

There are times  for any start up that there will be no clients, and all you will have is the dream. Will you sit back and watch or will you keep marketing and thinking of new ideas. Even the biggest companies we can think of such as coca cola took a number of years before they made real sales. The trouble will always start when we think a dry season is not natural. Every business has a period in which it goes though a dry period, Audit firms have their off-audit seasons, airlines have off -peak months and not days, ice cream is low in winter, soccer has an off season for the leagues, restaurants struggled before lunch or supper times. The point is this, ignorance as to what is your dry season will make you think this is the only seasons there is. Most people give up when it is dry because they have not figured out what to do when there is plenty.

3. Not everyone sees what you see

Building a business is hard as not everyone sees what you see. You might see the next Facebook or the next coca cola, but your immediate friends might just think that you are wasting your time and that you should get a job. This is where the challenge is, believing when no one else does. It is hard to go against the tide and stand up for what you believe in. Not everyone sees what you see, so you have to prove to them. Surprisingly most people will start praising you when you succeed because that is just the way people are. Do not expect support at the beginning, when you get it, it is a bonus and not a right.

4. It is abnormal

Normal as we are taught is finding a job and working for someone, fulfilling our roles in the society. Building a business and making it work means working odd hours, longer periods, not expecting overtime pay, not expecting leave days, investing and not asking for money back immediately; all this is not normal. It can mean not driving the car that you want to drive, not mingling where you think you should, not being able to explain to people what you do. Building a business is abnormal and not many people want to live life which is not normal.

5. You worry more

When building a business you have to worry more than you would if you were working for someone else. You will worry about the rentals, the salaries, the utility bills, the internet bill, the fuel bill, the car service, the marketing expenses and much more. All these have to be met whether a sale is made or not. So most people then give up and fail to plan or run their business. When you are building a business you need to make it a habit to think of these things. If you don’t think about such things no one else will.