For those wanting to run their own business

The internet has glamourised being an entrepreneur so hard.

It feels like everyone I see online wants to be an entrepreneur.

Maybe it’s the algorithm feeding me this.

Be an entrepreneur and run your own business.

Have all the materialistic things you could ever imagine, post your wins on socials every day, have never ending money coming in and never have to clock into a job ever again.

It can seem like the only way out of the traditional 9 to 5 is to leave and build a business. It’s not but that’s not what this email is about.

The gurus on the internet make it seem so easy, “just follow these steps and you’ll get there”.

Whilst single handedly it’s the best choice for self improvement as the feedback loop is almost instant in entrepreneurship.

The honest truth of it all is that its the hardest profession you can choose.

And in today’s email i wanted to cover the real no bullshit reality of it.

Not to discourage you.

Not to put you off chasing your dreams.

But to tell you the real truth.

My truth of it all.

In April I quit my full time job to run my agency full time.

It’s been just under 6 months and it’s been a wild ride.

Plenty of ups, downs, failures, lessons and opportunities both missed and taken.

All documented on my YouTube channel if you ever want to listen to long form yap vids.

but the reality is that I now work more than I ever have in my life.

I used to work roughly 8 hrs daily at my full time job - some days running over and calling it overtime which id get paid for extra, pretty standard stuff.

Then i’d come home and work on building my skills, media buying for clients back in the day or recently Jan to April building and running the agency.

I thought then once i’d take it full time i’d work slightly less.

When you run your own business theres no such thing as overtime.

You have to put in the work because nobody else will do it for you.

Whilst i cant speak for entrepreneurs that have staff in place and leverage labour to remove time intensive tasks from their day-to-day because i’m not at that stage yet.

What I can speak on is the complacency that you might face when you haven’t got a 9 to 5 schedule.

There’s no “I will start this task at this time because it’s convenient for me”.

That’s complacency and when you understand the entrepreneurship game you’ll know that the more of that attitude that plagues your business the worse you’ll start doing.

Start taking more of these small mindset losses and you’ll see things running away from you.

The hours needed vary on the type of your business, but 9/10 times you’ll be doing MANY more hours compared to what you’d do at your 9 to 5.

I used to do approx 40hrs per week at my job now I do between 70 to 90 working both Saturdays and most Sundays.

Whilst I have the freedom to work whenever and get to experience luxuries like working out when the gyms not busy, often when I socialise for example with mates or my partner, I’ll come back and work to catch up for hours ‘lost’ when away from the business.

There’s always something you can work on and it’s down to you to figure it out.

Your boss won’t tell you that your marketing isn’t effective and you’re not bringing in enough business to grow to your targets. It’s your responsibility to find skill gaps and fix them.

Whether that’s your sales process, onboarding process, service delivery, content you produce or 100+ other things you have to consider and do when running a business.

Nobody will tell you where you need to improve. The market does, but it’s for you to interpret that information and put the two together.

So it’s your job to sit down and analyse your moves and ensure they’re to the best of your ability and that you improve the shit that needs to be improved.

There’s no guarantee that you’ll win.

Often said by entrepreneurs that you’re sacrificing your young years to win in your 30s or 40s etc but there’s no guarantee that you’ll ever win.

There’s no written thing that you’ll work for all these years and your business will pop off and you’ll be set for life.

You can build a business for 10 or so years straight and get complacent & lose it within a few months. I’m talking from a recent experience someone I know has had.

Whilst you can do things to obviously focus on the long term to secure yourself there isnt a guarantee.

You can’t ever switch off.

Random moments during the day, you’ll be thinking about your business.

You’ll be working out and getting client calls or messages.

You won’t be able to sleep as you’ll be thinking of your business.

You’ll be out with friends and random things to do will hit you.

You’ll be celebrating a win with a loved on over a dinner and you’ll be thinking about your business.

You’ll be having dinner with your family and messaging a client or team member.

There’s no clocking out.

All of this can have a fat impact on your mental health.

On your personal relationships, with family or partners.

It can distance you or even make you lose friends.

Those who don’t understand will label you.

and you’ll have a hard time fitting in or even having conversations with those who haven’t chosen this lifestyle (at least I do).

Entrepreneurship isn’t what it’s sold to be online.

It’s incredibly difficult and unforgiving.

It’s you vs you every single day.

Its the version of you yesterday vs the version of you today.

Its you vs the market.

and yet it’s the most rewarding thing in this world.

When YOU take control and change your life.

Go from working for someone that sees you as just a number to working for yourself.

Start to feel the freedom that all of it brings.

Prove yourself that it can be done.

That the shit you've seen online is possible.

Without falling into the countless traps of online gurus.

Earning your first dollar online selling a product or service to earning thousands each month.

The constant self-development of character and personality.

The ability to treat your loved ones after years of financial struggle.

The opportunity to connect with likeminded individuals on similar journeys to you.

The ability to realise your dreams.

You have to be one mentally tough fucker to be an entrepreneur.

But it’s worth it.

My personal opinion is that if you’ve ever wanted to start a business but XYZ got in the way then remember this:

“Suffer the pain of discipline or suffer the pain of regret”.

I personally could not live my life not doing what i’ve always wanted to as i know on my death bed i’d regret not trying.

I’ve always wanted to run my own business from the early days of high school, dreaming of building an agency when I worked in the retail sector to even when I was at university starting a clothing brand with a mate.

If you know you know.

Have a great week.

p.s. If you read this whole email i’d appreciate your opinion on entrepreneurship.

Shoot me a DM or reply to this email.

Thanks, Konrad 🫡