It’s so appealing to think about entrepreneurship from the point of view that, “Woo hoo! No one is telling me what to do!” That can be a great thing. But shit if it isn’t hard sometimes. I’m going to be honest, there are times when I wish I had a boss. A boss to help guide me, a boss to set deadlines, a boss to tell me what to do next.
I know this seems counter intuitive to thriving as a entrepreneur but I assure you, it’s not.
Making all the {right} decisions for a business is intimidating and scary. There’s a lot of pressure associated with it and a lot of guilt we put on ourselves when things go wrong. So having someone to turn to when you’re just not sure about what to do next, is a very appealing scenario.
Don’t get me wrong, I love being my own boss. Most days. But there’s nothing wrong with sometimes wanting to hide under your desk and cross your fingers that someone else will come along and make that decision for you or figure out that problem for you.
Of course, you only have so much time that you can do that before you realize that this imaginary person is not, in fact, gonna show up and you need to get your ass up and make a decision.
While sometimes scary, sure, it’s not as much so once you realize that mistakes are all part of the process. One of my favorite quotes from Arianna Huffington, is…
We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes — understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.
I think that the fear associated with being out own bosses doesn’t fully set in until there is a big decision to make or something went wrong and you’re the one left standing there. Before then, we’re so focused on the excitement of launching a business that we don’t ever really think about what it’s going to feel like to be the one in charge when things are running smoothly.
Then once it does happen, that moment when you’re feeling the pressure of being the boss, you’re left feeling insecure and and confused; wondering if you’re really cut out for this undertaking and should you have, maybe, not gone ahead and launched a business…
Don’t think that way. I know I did often and it was not a good feeling. Decisions will be made to the best of your ability. Sometimes they’ll work out, sometimes they won’t, but that is not reflective of your ability to be your own boss. It’s simply part of the learning curve and oftentimes a great lesson is learned.
It’s not reflective of your shortcomings or lack of strength. OK? So as you work to build your business and you start to worry about your abilities to be the boss and be effective, think about what Arianna had to say, get out form under the desk, and keep going.
Lots of love and encouragement,