I feel like the culture today makes starting a business just seem like the best thing ever with no downside. But as someone who has always liked business, started a podcast to get experience in business and wants to run a business one day I know that’s not true. So I’d love to hear from business owners about this
What’s the most unexpected part about starting a business?
byu/Born-Leather2883 inEntrepreneur
Posted by Born-Leather2883
16 Comments
The shift in mentality. For a typical 9-5 you have more of an idea of what’s expected of you and how it’s done. For business owners you have to figure it out yourself.
Do you want to open your own business?
The unexpected thing for me was that it’s way easier and way less competitive than everyone said it’d be.
Sleeplessness. Being delusional, lonely and highly misunderstood.
Lastly, if you’re emotional, running a business/entrepreneurship is probably not for you.
I thought it would be money issues or equipment issues. My most unexpected surprise is my drive for quality finish – it’s the hardest part and the most important. Money and equipment is easy, trusting workers for quality isn’t
just how anti-business the UK government actually is.
After a year of business you learned more about human nature than you wanted to. Also who truely cares about you and who doesn’t.
Holy smokes, where to begin, ha. In my experience as a total newbie starting a small business, there were a lot of unexpected parts behind the scenes that didn’t get talked about much.
But, one thing that surprised me early on was just how important having a solid registered agent is. It’s not really something I thought about, and to be honest, that I even knew was a requirement when first forming my LLC, but my registered agent has been a life saver. In my case, reminding me about my upcoming annual report that I forgot about needing to do. Missing things like that can snowball fast into big late fees, and even having the business lose its good standing with the state. Having someone reliable to handle things quietly in the background has been a huge stress reliever for me.
The depth level of uncertainty
im starting a business right now (and quit my job to do so!) and im so excited about it! (I also have cried many nights and panicked) but mainly im excited lol!
For me it’s that mindset contributes to your success AND failure more than anything else.
The #1 thing I learned is you have a partner. It is your State government and the Federal government. They will dictate through many laws, taxes and regulations how you will conduct your business. #2. employees cannot be your friend or family. They are employees, keep everything professional.
For me, it was the health issues that came with entrepreneurship. I gained 5kg in one year, was working too much, stopped exercising, and my sleep also suffered. Got it back on track now.
The most unexpected part is how lonely and mentally heavy it is. No roadmap, no feedback loop, and no one telling you if you’re doing it right. Most of the work is managing your own doubt and showing up anyway when nothing seems to be working. The business problems are rarely the hardest part. Staying consistent when results are slow is
The realization that you finally realize Human Resources departments did stuff.
Got more understanding of other businesses now, and people in the public eye as well – i don’t complain as much now as i used to when a service is subpar – i know how much goes into running a business and i try to support other businesses now by cutting them more slack