I've heard the advice: "Never show weakness," especially in business. (Cue eyeroll.) We're all human and we all struggle. Below are some of the professional and personal challenges I've seen so far on my entrepreneurship journey.
1. Fear
Everyone experiences it. Everyone is afraid of one thing or another. It's how we deal with it that matters. Fear can either hold you back from taking action, or it can help you plan for the unknown.
As I began my business, I was afraid all of the time. And I still am. But I know that my path is made and known by God and he gives me that fear to see the danger and obstacles ahead, and plan accordingly. Although I often think, "I'm too afraid of failure to take the next step and carry on," I try to turn it around and think, "I'm afraid that this may happen, what steps can I take to plan for that just in case?"
2. A Feeling Of Inferiority
This is another thing thing that everyone experiences. At one time or another, we have all felt lesser than someone else. Maybe even lesser than a lot of people. Comparing ourselves to others can damper our belief in our capabilities.
Other business owners have more education than I have. They are strong than I am. They are older and wiser than I am. They have more experience, more resources, more of everything! I fight the feeling of inferiority everyday. I often question my capabilities and my skills in comparison to others.
I heard a quote from a girl once who was about eight or nine years old, "You have no choice but to be you...everyone else is taken." At the time, it was cute. Over the years, though, it has grown in meaning to me. God gives us gifts and skills that are unique to us. No one else in the entire world has the set of skills and gifts that each individual has. You have no choice but to use your special gifts in a special way.
3. Learning Curve
Although I have seven years of experience in the sign industry, there were several things that were difficult to learn when I opened my own shop.
I really struggled (and sometimes still do) with laminating the prints. It was one of the things I had never learned to do before. The first 4' x 8' print I had to laminate, I had to do over three times. I remember being so frustrated that day. I've gotten so much better in the last four months and it's nice to see my progress.
Another thing I wasn't very experienced in was printer operation. The machine in my shop is complex and more like a robot than anything else. And although it was new to learn, it was no where near as difficult as learning to laminate. The difference is that laminating is a skill of the hands that can be nearly perfected, whereas, in the case of the printer, I will always be learning new things about the printer, its settings and maintenance as long as I have it.
4. Foot Stomp Shear
One of the most challenging things that happened during our move in was the moving in of our stomp shear. A stomp shear is a machine that cuts metal sheets. It weighs about 1100lbs. For reference that is almost ten times my own weight. Moving it off of the pallet and onto the place where it sits in my shop today took every ounce of brain power my dad and I had. We had to invent our own lever mechanism that consisted of a cut-in-half pry bar, a metal pipe and several odd-shaped wooden blocks made from pieces of two-by-fours. It took us about 6-7 hours to accomplish this.
These are only some of the challenges that I have experienced as a business owner and I am sure there are more to come.
Thank you for reading this open and honest post. Please subscribe and leave a comment of anything you would like to know about signs, entrepreneurship or anything else.
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