It’s Friday, and I was remembering when I couldn’t take a break on a Friday and I had to keep working. And in those days, I would work at Starbucks from 9:00 in the morning until 10:00 o’clock at night when it closed. The reason I had to work so much was that I actually didn’t have knowledge of the industry that I was in, I didn’t know anything about what I was doing, and I was starting from scratch. So I worked 80 hours a week, and I would work weekends. I did every single thing I possibly could do to try to get sales and to understand this business.
I’m sure other people could probably have built a business with less, but it took me 80 hours a week, at least, working on weekends, working late into the night, and the only way I could get myself to stay focused was to actually go into a Starbucks, sit at the bar there and get caffeine, and just keep the loud music going, and force myself to stay focused and stay on course. I’m glad that I did that because it’s what allowed me to be able to get to the place in my business, six and a half years later, where I can actually take a vacation.
It’s so easy for people to look at where you get to and think that it shouldn’t be so hard for you when you’re building your business, and that is a lie. It’s a lie that a lot of the social media advertisers that make money off of selling coaching courses and becoming famous tell. They make it look like it’s so easy and like they’re so successful, and if you just put in a little bit of work, you can make millions of dollars. I think for the average person, it’s a lot of work.
Being an entrepreneur, building a business from scratch is so much work. And not only is it the amount of time you have to put in, but it’s also the amount of emotional energy that you have to put in. It’s more than you’ve ever put in before when you were working as an employee, because of the risk, it’s all on your shoulders. That can take a toll on you emotionally, and when you owe money because something goes wrong or some client doesn’t pay you and then you have to pay it yourself, it’s completely exhausting and overwhelming.
I think it’s really, it’s important that it be said out in the world, that it takes a lot of work, way more work than you think it’s going to. That should encourage you, because no matter where you are in your journey, it’s the right spot. It’s going to take time. It takes more time for some people than it does for other people, and it doesn’t matter. The goal is not to become rich, although that is a good thing. It’d be great if you can be very successful and sell your company and do these amazing things, get the Lamborghini, truly genuinely pay for it. But the real measure of your success is… will you stick to it? Will you keep working? Can you find joy in the climb to success?
So if you are still working on a Friday and you’re an entrepreneur, or if at all you feel frustrated, I want to encourage you that this is part of the process. This is what makes you the hero; when you stick to it and keep working. It took me a ton of work, and I still have a lot more work to do, but I am taking this year to allow myself to leave on time and work a normal 40 hour week. I hope it encourages you, no matter where you are.
