Being an Entrepreneur - Curse or Blessing?

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I have been away from my writing for quite some time. I have struggled to find the time. I have struggled to find the words. I have struggled to find the inspiration because I am in the middle of starting a new business and it is tough. Really tough.

There are a thousand things that I need to be doing at all times for this startup business. There are people I should be calling. There are plans I should be writing. There is social media buzz that I should be creating. There are investors that I should be cultivating. There is a huge uncertainty hanging over me and also there is a real shortage of cash. This lack of cash is the curse and the constant companion of all early-stage entrepreneurs.

Because I am an entrepreneur, I have my freedom. Freedom to choose and freedom to act. Because I am an entrepreneur I have the ability to create and to manifest from my efforts. I can take full responsibility for my situation without anyone else to blame. This provides a fantastic platform for personal development and constant growth and improvement. There is even the potential for big economic rewards if I am successful in creating value.

Tempting are the thoughts of getting a real job, having a steady income and a regular paycheck. Tempting is the false illusion that this would give me safety and satisfaction. After all, I am an entrepreneur. I would feel tethered and bound if I were stuck in someone else’s corporate vision. I have to create and live my own vision. Being an entrepreneur is sometimes a curse, but mostly it is a great blessing.

Want to turn-around your business and achieve results in record time? Contact me to discuss Executive Coaching, Group Facilitation and Management for Hire services for technology companies. You can learn more at www.ricksalmon.com ,  www.xelerator.com and at www.e-unlimited.com.

Rick Salmon is an energetic entrepreneur who lives in Norway and believes that European startup companies can succeed and grow quickly if only they get the proper help and assistance. Please join the discussion and leave your comments. Subscribe to this newsletter/blog to receive frequent updates and tips.

By the Bootstraps

My grandfather was an entrepreneur, just like me. Unfortunately he died of a heart attack at an early age. Big doses of stress and cigarettes were standard fare for entrepreneurs and shop owners in those days. Although I never met him I have envisioned that he would look at me with his ancient blue eyes, stare for a long, dramatic moment and then say “You´ll have to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps son”. I expect that this would be his advice for my life. Little did he know that I would also have that entrepreneur gene (or is it an illness?).

Learning how to ´bootstrap´ a startup company is an important lesson. In every startup I have done I have been successful in raising capital, but only after I had proven to the investors that I had the ability to make sales and generate revenues on my own. Pulling myself up by my bootstraps has always been a healthy and necessary process.

But there is another kind of bootstrapping that is even more important to us entrepreneurs. It is the ability to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps when we are discouraged, tired, disappointed or disillusioned with our startup businesses. We all hit that stage. As entrepreneurs we all have those days when it just seems impossible to be able to hold out – to endure tight cash flow, limited resources, the nagging pressure of bills and the fear that we might not be able to keep our fragile little boats afloat in the storm. Those dark days are always a part of an entrepreneurs´life.

One of the key differences between the great entrepreneurs and the merely mediocre ones is the ability to rise to the occasion – to find a way to raise energy levels – to see the opportunity, even in the darkest hours.

Yesterday I had a dark and stormy entrepreneurial day - but I also found the way back to the blue skies and to high energy. How about you?

Rick Salmon is an energetic entrepreneur who believes that this beautiful world that we have created needs our help. Learn more at www.ricksalmon.com