10 Harsh Truths Many Entrepreneurs Need To Hear

Sounds exciting to become an entrepreneur right? But what many aspiring and existing entrepreneurs don’t know is that they’re going about their ambitions the wrong way.

It is largely estimated that 9 out of 10 businesses will fail. This statement doesn’t come as a doomsday curse on small businesses but addresses the fact that beyond just having a product or service that no one wants, many other factors can contribute to the failure of any entrepreneur.

Many entrepreneurs need to hear some hard truths. The business world is not a fairground, and weak, arrogant, or naive entrepreneurs will get crushed. While you think you may have the most amazing business ideas or one of the largest startup capitals, if you fall short on these hard truths listed below, asides maybe having a product or service no one wants, your business will eventually come crumbling.

That said, here are 10 harsh truths entrepreneurs need to hear:

See Also: 10 Things No One Will Tell You About Being An Entrepreneur

1). You Can’t Do It All Alone:

No man or woman is an island; especially entrepreneurs. You’d need someone to help handle the finance, someone to run errands, someone to follow up on prospects, and several other tasks. Although most new entrepreneurs wear multiple hats when they start a new business, over time for real growth to occur, they’d have to delegate their important tasks and focus on the two most important tasks of all; which is coordinating the team and customer acquisition.

2). All You Do Is Talk Without Action:

Most entrepreneurs are all talk and no action. They speak largely about everything they’re going to accomplish, how many clients they’d get, how large they’d grow, and how they’re going to spend their hard-earned money on the luxuries of life.

The hard truth is that a lot of these people are simply dreamers. They talk so much but have little to show for it. Their efforts are never good enough. They want it all on a platter of gold, fuelled with little to no efforts.

If you fall into this category, the sooner you understand that talk is cheap, the better off you’d be.

See Also: 5 Commitments Every Entrepreneur Must Make To Be Successful

3). You Don’t Care About Other Opinions:

Standing only on what you believe in without listening to counsel from others can ruin your business. Many entrepreneurs are largely egocentric, and so refuse the opinion of another, even if the person is a co-founder. When their decisions fail (which mostly happens), they begin to lay the blame on everyone around them and never own up to their mistakes.

These entrepreneurs fail to realise that their business failures weren’t largely because they had a product or service no one wanted, but because the required team work and decisions that would have made them successful were largely suppressed by their egos and eventually ruins whatever they thought they were setting out to achieve.

4). All You Do Is Procrastinate:

There’s a popular saying that “procrastination is the thief of time”. This statement has proven itself to be true every single time. Many entrepreneurs are masters of procrastination. They push everything a bit forward, and tell themselves they’d do it later, which largely never gets done.

Successful people on the other hand ensure they get the important things done as when due. Some of them are procrastinators, but they manage to still achieve something worthwhile, unlike others who are merely a barrel of noise.

See Also: These 9 Habits Will Make You A Millionaire

5). You Prefer Short-Term Results:

Short-term results never sustains or gets anyone far. It is the same reason major conglomerates eventually get topelled by startups over a long period of time. Large companies mostly focus on quarterly goals. Their managers have to narrow their focus so that they can keep the balance sheet smiling and also retain their jobs.

If you’re starting a business only to focus on the short-term mindset of most conglomerates, you’d fallout faster than you can realise. Small businesses that rise and eventually take over don’t plan for the short-term, but plan rather, for the long-term, even if profitability suffers.

6). You Are A Know-It-All:

No one likes a know-it-all. You’re always willing to chip in your own ideas and claim your other team members are dumb, when in retrospect, you may actually be the dumb person. Rather than claim ultimate knowledge, get feedback from your employees, partners, and also customers every single step of the way.

See Also: This One Thing Will Determine Your Success In Life & Business

7). You Don’t Have What It Takes To Succeed:

Let’s face it, most people who are currently entrepreneurs don’t have what it takes to succeed. They don’t have the resilience, perseverance, reflex, intelligence, and guts to make it as an entrepreneur.

If you fall into this category, you’re better off on the white-collar lane. Else, put in your inner strength, learn something new everyday, talk to other successful entrepreneurs, and above all, persist until you succeed!

8). You Talk Too Much About Other People’s Success:

When you spend too much time talking about other people’s success instead of yours, you rob yourself of valuable time that could have been spent working on your business.

Instead of talking about your rich relatives and friends all the time, isolate yourself and work tirelessly on your goals.

See Also: 4 Things Exceptionally Successful People Do Everyday

9). You Always Worry About Your Competition:

Rather than constantly poke your nose in your competitor’s business, focus instead, on making the customer see your business as the best option in the market.

Focusing on your competition will only pile up worry on your end and keep you behind them. But taking the reigns and paying 90% of your attention to your customers and 10% to your competition, will gear you up for success.

10). You’re Probably Still Going To Fail (and it’s not a bad thing):

9 out of 10 businesses fail. While your first or second business may be part of this sect, it is important to know that you never really failed, but only learnt through the process.

In the event of a business failure, go through the events that led to its crash and highlight everything you could have done differently to change its course. This new found knowledge would get you better prepared to take on your next big idea.

See Also: 7 Things Every Entrepreneur Must Know About Failure

What are your thoughts on these 10 hard truths many entrepreneurs need to hear? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Image Source: Symbid