We live in an age of entrepreneurs and everyone would like to be one. The thing is though that we tend to glamorise the image of what it’s like to be an entrepreneur. Here’s a couple of things not too many people mention about the nitty-gritty of entrepreneurship.

Check out: 3 Truths No One Tells You About Running a Business

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Listen

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Glossary

• launch – start or set in motion (an activity or enterprise)
• lap – the flat area between the waist and knees of a seated person
• obstacle – a thing that blocks one’s way or prevents or hinders progress
• hurdle – one of a series of upright frames over which athletes in a race must jump
• brink – the extreme edge of land before a steep slope or a body or water
• uproar – a loud and impassioned noise or disturbance

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Think about it

Answer the questions below.

• Is business debt the only reason why some companies will not last until 2019?
• What do you have to realize not to give up in the face  of upcoming challenges?
• How did the author’s attitude to challenges change after 10 years of running his own business?
• Why does the boss have to get paid last?
• Should you start your own business if you think you’re working too much now?

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Practice makes perfect

Fill in the blank spaces with the missing words. Use ONE word per blank space.

You’re going to encounter challenges and obstacles ________ the day you open your doors. You won’t even be able to visualize these challenges before they land ________ your lap.

Some of ________ challenges will make you want to give up. And you will give up–if you ________ [not] accept the fact that your new title is “Chief Problem Solver.” You have to get out there and attack your problems from every possible angle if you want to be successful.

If you aren’t ready to jump these hurdles, your business is going to fail, even if you have ________  awesome new product, a plan to market it, and plenty of money to invest in your new business.

________ any given month, I encounter problems that could easily drive any normal person ________ the brink of insanity. Remember all the office drama you used to avoid? It all started landing on my desk. It’s going to land on yours, too.

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Your employees, vendors, contractors, landlords, and utility providers must all get their checks _________ you do. If there is anything left over when all of these checks ________ written, then, and only then, ________ you get to pay yourself.

You’re out of business ________ the day that you can’t pay all of these people. This is especially true if you have employees. If you miss even one paycheck, there will be an uproar in your office. You will kill morale, lose employee trust, and open yourself up to legal problems.

Failing to pay vendors and contractors ________ time is just as bad. It ruins relationships. The loss of these relationships will soon cause issues within your organization as you drop ________ the bottom of these people’s priority lists.

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