By Jerry Kauffman, EOS Partner
In today’s business climate, there is a lot of talk, buzz, and visibility around entrepreneurship. Being an entrepreneur is often painted in a rather rosy, even glamorous, light. Control your future, make a bundle while working part-time, overcome exciting challenges, enjoy a lot of leisure / adventure time, etc. Basically, become Richard Branson or Martha Stewart.
The reality is almost always much different than that. Starting and growing a business is hard. It’s a lot of work. Obstacles abound. And it often doesn’t work out very well. Effort does not always mean results. Sometimes the risk/reward balance turns out to mean lots of risk and very little reward. The path can be hard.
Top 5 Entrepreneur Frustrations
Gino Wickman, developer of EOS™ (Entrepreneurial Operating System), has observed thousands of entrepreneurs and identified their top five frustrations. Most identify with at least a couple of these:
- Control. The entrepreneur used to have control of the busines and now the tables are turned. The business is controlling them; their time, money, attention, and energy are all directed to the business.
- People. They just don’t get it. The entrepreneur has a clear vision in his head, but his people just don’t understand. He’s told them often and the vision just isn’t soaking in. Arrgh!
- Profit. Specifically, not enough of it. The entrepreneur is working sooo hard and the profit just isn’t there like it should be. She’s giving her all and it’s still a struggle just to break even, and looks like it will stay that way.
- Hit the Ceiling. It wasn’t too hard to get here, but now it’s super hard. The entrepreneur is stuck, the business is plateaued or slipping backwards, and he has no idea how to get back on an upward trajectory.
- Nothing is working. The entrepreneur has read all the latest books and studied trending “management breakthroughs.” The book sounds good, but the theory just isn’t as easy to apply as the author suggests it will be.
Entrepreneurs & EOS
If you identify with one or more of these frustrations, check out EOS™ to see if the tools and system there might be worth pursuing. They’ve helped many other entrepreneurs already.
For additional reading about whether you might be an entrepreneur, check out Gino Wickman’s current work to reach 1,000,000 potential entrepreneurs to help them discern if the entrepreneurial path might be for them. It’s not for everyone. Are you an “entrepreneur in the making”?
