Why Entrepreneurship Is Very Tough

Regardless of the type of business, going on your own is very tough. You can no longer complain that some task fall outside your job role. Not only do you stop earning a regular monthly income, you also have to put in all your life savings. You will work harder than you've ever worked before and wonder when the results you desire will come. But these are not why entrepreneurship is very tough.

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Entrepreneurship involves identifying a entrepreneurial business opportunity and taking it. On the surface, you'll think there's nothing extraordinary to it. Everyone does something once in a while that brings in extra cash, something outside their normal salaried work. If that is the way you are looking at it, then you are missing the key part of that definition: Entrepreneurial business opportunity. 

Entrepreneurial business opportunity is an opportunity that involves a big risk. It defines your career and future. It is different from occasional freelancing. It requires a lot of gut -- believe in yourself and the business idea. You will be sacrificing a lot to take the entrepreneurial opportunity and still keep on sacrificing to make it work. And that is why entrepreneurship is very tough. 

It is not just about the hard work or irregular income; it is more about the starting. Most people don't go past the starting wall and understandably so. What if the opportunity is very temporal? What if someone is already doing the same thing? What if I don't make it big enough to be worth the jump? What if things don't work out as expected? Where will income come from and how soon? Is this worth quitting my job for? Where will I find a business partner? 

There are so many questions that come up only when you are seriously considering taking the entrepreneurial jump. They don't show up when you are doing the analysis. They don't show up when you are researching the industry. They don't even show up when you are thinking about your friends who run their own businesses. They show up only when it's you involved and the sacrifices are from you. That is the main reason entrepreneurship is very tough.