The Emotional Rollercoaster of an Entrepreneauer
The emotional rollercoaster of an entrepreneur gets easier over time. There are definitely dips, drops, steep curves and being upside down all while going 100 mph that can drive a person right back to the “safety” of a job.
However, I have found that the longer you are your own boss, generally that translates to being successful, and successful means making enough money to generally be in a positive mindset most of the time. You get used to the ride and weather the scary drops easier.
Given the often-quoted stats around how most businesses fail within the first 3 years and that if you are making a healthy profit by year 5 you will very likely to be an entrepreneur for the rest of your working life. Like a season pass holder, you get so used to the thrills you start craving it more and more.
A key factor that helps me spend most days feeling positive about my journey is having multiple revenue streams. Employees for the most part have one significant revenue stream, and the stress over the security of the stream is constant.
But once you start your own business and enjoy a measure of success, you generally find yourself looking to start more. I know a lot of entrepreneurs don’t do this and I can see the added stress it puts on them. If you sink everything into a new business and that barely gets you buy, over time that stress can be just as bad as if you are still working for someone else.
The key is to diversify. As an example, you own a restaurant, don’t just own the place where food is cooked and served, but invest in where it is made/produced, how it is shipped and set up multiple locations and/or ways to sell like catering, packaged meals and outside pop-up locations.
Having a clear vision, surrounding myself with positive people and being very goal orientated also help keep me moving forward. I have always seen life as s journey and being an entrepreneur really give me the freedom to pick and choose what I do most days. That in itself makes the rollercoaster I’m on more thrilling than scary.
As I write this, I have a half dozen revenue streams and am constantly looking for more. This greatly reduces the negative or even neutral days in my life. So
Plus, I’m an analyst and a creator. So, I am always looking at data and finding new ways to innovate. I have plenty of challenges and a long way to go to make my newest business profitable, but most days I feel pretty darn positive that I am on the right path.
This morning I woke up feeling like I’m at the start of a new rollercoaster and feeling super excited for the climb to the top to see what twists and turns lay ahead.
Daniel Meyer heads Sonic Analytics, an analytics firm with offices in Manila, the San Francisco Bay Area and as of February 2019, Ocala, FL. With over 20 years in Big Data, Dan is one of the most sought-after public speakers in Asia and offers big data coaching and analytics training seminars on both sides of the Pacific. Dan has also recently joined the Powerteam International family as a small business analytics resource speaker.
Sonic Analytics(www.sonicanalytics.com) brings big data analytics solutions like business intelligence, business dashboards and data storytelling to small and medium sized organizations looking to enhance their data-driven decision-making capabilities. We also advocate the use of analytics for civic responsibility through training, consulting and education.
As citizens of this great democracy, we need to look at the data (analytics), plan a course of action (strategy) and share our data-driven viewpoints (presentation). This approach to a data savvy work force starts in school. So, we started an internship program to empower our youth to use Analytics, plan Strategy and Present their insights… ASP!
When not training current and future analysts, you can find Dan championing the use of analytics to empower data-driven citizenship by volunteering his expertise with schools and non-profits dedicated to evidence-based social progress like Saint Leo University’s Women in STEAM 2020 Conference.
