6 Signs You’re Not Cut Out for Entrepreneurship

After the Great Recession many people found themselves creating businesses out of necessity. Now we have people starting businesses at record rates because they crave flexibility, freedom from a day job and money.

When I started my entrepreneurial journey in 2010, the idea of online entrepreneurship had just started to blossom. Fast forward five years, and it would seem as if everyone and their mother wants to start an online business. While I’m a big proponent of entrepreneurship (and coach many individuals on this path) I feel it is my civic duty to say that not everyone is cut out of for it.

In theory anyone can start a business. And yes, starting a business is easier and more cost-effective than ever before. However, that doesn’t mean everyone should start a business or even truly wants to.

Below you’ll find some signs that indicate that perhaps you’re not ready for entrepreneurship. If you happen to relate to the points in this post, don’t freak out about it. It’s okay if you don’t really want to be an entrepreneur. I would much rather have you follow your own desires than those of someone else.

I’d also like to point out that even if you do possess some of these traits that you can always change the behavior if you really want to. I certainly possessed a couple of these traits and have had to work on them as I run my business.

1. You’re not willing to fall in love with entrepreneurship

You don’t just have to be in love with your particular business, you have to be in love with entrepreneurship as a whole. That means you have to truly embrace the roller coaster ride that sometimes ensues.

Entrepreneurship is a journey with highs and lows. Some people thrive on this and love it. Others would rather get off the ride and that’s more than okay.

In fact, I would venture to say that loving the process of entrepreneurship is the primary component of success. The reason being that if you truly fall in love with the process then you can handle the other challenges I mention in the rest of this article.

2. You’re not willing to struggle the first few years

Businesses are not built in a day. As Marie Forleo often says, “Overnight success is a result of daily hustling.”

The first few years of a business is a lot like caring for a newborn child. It requires a lot of your attention, hard work and it can’t really take care of itself yet. However, at least with a kid you get the immediate satisfaction of love. In business, you won’t receive your satisfaction, at least not in terms of money, for quite some time.

While the first few years can be very rough financially, they can also be amazing. Remember, entrepreneurship is a journey, and uncertain finances in the beginning are just a part of why you have to really love it, in order to pursue it.

3. You’re afraid of commitment

Look, running a business is a commitment—a serious one! It may require making tough choices, stepping up when you don’t want to and dealing with challenges you wouldn’t have to worry about at a regular job. Truth be told, one of the biggest reasons why people fail in business is because they lack commitment. They meet a challenge, wash their hands of the situation and give up. Or, they don’t find their business important enough to dedicate time to it.

4. You can’t control your impatience

I once spoke to a coaching prospect who was frustrated because she’d been blogging and not seeing any money. She was on the verge of giving up. When I asked her how long she’d been blogging she said “Three months.”

To put it in perspective for you all, it took me three years of working a regular job and maintaining an online business before I started making enough money to quit my job.

You need to be patient in business. As I previously mentioned, success doesn’t happen overnight. Now, I will admit that I am not the most patient person ever. However, entrepreneurship has forced me to become more patient, and since I’m madly in love with the process of entrepreneurship, I was willing to change my ways.

5. You’re not willing to be uncomfortable

If you’re considering entrepreneurship, you must keep in mind that you’ll need to get used to being uncomfortable. There is no “making it” in entrepreneurship. There’s always a new level of growth, and with new levels come new devils in the form of major discomfort. You’ll feel discomfort . . .

when you ask people for money
when you start telling people what you do
when you start asserting yourself
doing sales
when you reach new income goals
when you have to resolve conflict
during financially lean months

In entrepreneurship you’re constantly being pushed out of your comfort zone. If you’re not willing to move out of comfort then you will undoubtedly struggle as an entrepreneur.

6. You seek quick cash and your ideal life is lazing out at the beach

I cannot even tell you how many people assume I’m living on a beach making millions and that this is why they contact me to start their own businesses. Profit shouldn’t be the sole reason you are in business. Don’t get me wrong, profit is important. Profit allows you to maintain your lifestyle and maintain your business. But profit for the sake of profit isn’t the name of the game.

And truth be told, you won’t make any money if your sole focus is profit. The reality is that profit comes from solving people’s problems. You have to possess the heart of a healer with the mind of a capitalist in order to make it in business.

Also it’s no secret that for us humans, happiness doesn’t lie in money. In fact, many studies mention how more money doesn’t make a difference for most people after they hit the $70,000-a-year mark. And naturally, this figure varies widely from person to person.

The truth is, happiness comes from fulfilling our life purpose, and being involved in the service of others. This is where some of the most successful entrepreneurs truly get the drive to build their companies. Do they want to make money doing it? Of course! But that isn’t their primary purpose.