 Entrepreneurship realities are not the same as expectations. Shark Tank, the popular show on ABC, gets people to believe that they have the whips to be next billionaire entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship expectations are coming up with a business idea and hoping that a few investors will like your idea and invest. The reality is that entrepreneurship is difficult, heartbreaking, and worse than a full-time job. Let me explain the entrepreneurship expectations versus reality from my experience with startups. Full-Time Pay A full-time job pays you either on a bi-weekly or monthly schedule and to a lot of people they like the security of a paycheck and rightfully so. You put in the work, and you should get paid for your work. In a startup venture, you’ll have to put in the full-time equivalency if not more, and the worse things about it are that you usually not getting paid in the beginning. It is very rare for startups to get investment at the starting stages and if you leave your full-time job to pursue your startup who is paying you? The expectation is that seed capital will take care of your salary. The reality is that you’ll have to live off your savings or worse never get paid because your startup did not pan out like it was envisioned. Everyone gets funding There is an expectation that anyone who pitches their startup to investors will automatically get funding. A business pitch may have all the data and nice pitch deck but rarely does a startup get the funding they seek. In an article by CB Insights state that 67% of startups end up dead or self-sustaining. When investors do provide the financial backing for a startup, they are looking for a quick turn around and want superior returns. Unless your startup is the next Facebook don’t think investors will flock to your startup with seed funding. Elevator pitch You’ve probably heard of the famous elevator pitch of having a 90-second speech ready in case you bump into an investor in the elevator, and you have to pitch your business. The reality is that you will probably never run into an investor in the elevator and pitch your business. Elevators are super-fast, and not all building are extremely tall that it takes you 90 seconds to get to your destination. You are better of working your networking skills and pitching your idea via phone call or email. Don’t fall for the Hollywood dreams that every startup has success and expecting that you're only one pitch away from getting funding. The reality is that you will probably not getting the financial backing for your startup, your startup will more than likely fail, and it takes an enormous amount of effort to get your startup running. Are you up for starting your own business knowing the realities of a startup? Dr. J Real TalkDiscussing business, ed tech, and life. Follow me on social media @DrJRealTalk
1 Comment
8/12/2019 11:08:21 pm
Most people enter entrepreneurship very optimistic. They rid themselves of negative thoughts. They have this wrong notion that it's not going to do them any good. Little did they know that in business, you need to look at every angle and every possible problem must be solved as early in the planning stage. You need to be prepared for anything untoward and likely. You can't just swipe every negative idea under the rug and you need to expect the worse to be able to fight them off promptly. You need to act quick. Leave a Reply. |
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