Success Lifestyle Magazine Issue 3 - January 2019 | Page 7

The thought of owning your own business is exciting. Who doesn’t want to walk out of a fancy car, have millions in the bank, and step into a room in full boss mode? After all, that’s what entrepreneurship is about right? Truth #1: Your First Project Will Give You a High then Drop You Right Back on the Ground This poignant truth is particularly Oftentimes we view the finished product of years of toil and sacrifice and believe that we’ll instantly achieve the same results the moment our doors open. This image of roses and bliss fools us into thinking that business success is guaranteed. Reality check! Entrepreneurship is one of the most di�cult journeys you’ll ever embark on. It’s time to take your head out of the clouds and pay attention to these ugly truths about entrepreneurship. Issue 3 : January 2019 applicable to solopreneurs operating service-oriented businesses. There’s always that first job that brings hope of what the future could look like...a future filled with a steady flow of high paying jobs. It’s a great, dare I even say highly profitable, entry into the world of business. What happens next is the make or break moment. That job will end and then you’ll experience a lull caused by poor preparation for life after this first job. I experienced this first-hand. My foray into the freelance writing world was through Elance (now called UpWork). I landed a job for a female empowerment website that provided fairly basic pay. The job thrilled me because I was writing about topics I cared about and truly felt like I was making a di�erence. That job lasted for about 3 months. It helped me realize that I could transform my writing skill into a side hustle, but it also fueled my dependency on Elance to find new jobs. It took me almost 2 months to find another job. Now that I’m a more seasoned solopreneur, I understand that I should have spent time building my personal brand in that first year. That time investment would have helped me gain a steady stream of income that would have probably enabled me to leave my full-time job. 7