10 Harsh Lessons From 10 Years Of Entrepreneurship

If it doesn’t make dollars it doesn’t make sense

A while back I stumbled upon a Twitter post with a list of harsh writing advice. I can’t recall what the advice was, but I thought to myself, “I could do one of those on entrepreneurship.”

Building a business is hard work.

Data from Fundera says that 70% of small businesses fail by their 10th year.

When I started my first business in 2010, I was blessed to work with my father and one of his business mentors. I didn’t have to figure a lot of things out on my own, which drastically improved my learning curve.

So every time I run into young and inexperienced entrepreneurs who don’t have any mentors around them, I’m willing to help if they want. This post serves that purpose.

These are the tougher lessons about entrepreneurship that most people are not aware of when they start. If you’re appalled by these things, it’s probably not for you. But if you don’t mind them, you will likely do well.

1. It takes at least 5 years to build a strong business

In some cases, it can even take 7 to 10 years. It’s a long time and you need to have a lot of patience.

Every day, you wake up, get to work, and do that day in and day out for years. Months can go by without making meaningful progress. But you just keep building your foundation.

There are so many things involved with building a stable business. Building a customer base, team, brand, website, customer support system, accounting, you name it. Even if you have a lot of help, it takes a long time to get everything in order.

2. Side businesses are not worth it

While I do think it’s a good idea to start a business on the side, I don’t think it’s worth keeping a business at that stage. When you start a side business and you notice you’re getting traction, it makes sense to go full-time.

You don’t want to be a part-time entrepreneur forever. That way you’re always overstretched and living in the middle of being employed and self-employed. It’s not a good way to live.