Obstacles of Early Stage Founders
The entrepreneurial journey is not a feat for the faint of heart. Taking a leap from employment into building a business comes with a lot of confusion and disorientation. The things that make sense in one context don’t necessarily make sense in the next. However, there are ways to overcome these challenges. In this article we will touch on some of the obstacles you may face, and how to get through them.
Acknowledge the New Context
In this new context of entrepreneurship, you will be making decisions in different ways. You may be looking at some of the same components that were present in your previous stable job, but the context will be different. One way to help stabilize in the new arena is to simply acknowledge and be aware that it is different. Think of the skills you used in your previous employment that can be applied here, and make sure to pace yourself.
Abundance Vs. Scarcity Mindset in Networking
One way to work through struggles as an entrepreneur is to make sure you have a supportive community around you. Talk to friends about what you are going through and what you are looking to understand. Gain their perspective. Who is in your circle? How is the circle feeding into you and how are you feeding into that circle?
In the founder lifecycle, there is so much support, abundance and desire to help each other that it can actually bring up an inverse response of scarcity, fear and “I can’t trust anyone.” You may feel that people really care and want to help, but your intrusive thoughts prevent you from going deeper and accepting that help out of fear. It takes inner work to get out of that patterning.
Exposure Therapy
Some of our greatest harm happens in community, but also some of our greatest restoration happens in community. If we take the risk and put ourselves out there as entrepreneurs, it will greatly benefit our businesses. Keep seeking out relationships with other entrepreneurs and business owners and try to put the fear of failure or scarcity mindset aside. Many times, the risk is worth the reward.
Sync up With Seasons
In the global entrepreneurial ecosystem there is a cadence of “There are a lot of resources here” but also “There are no resources here.” This can be anxiety provoking. Trace when in the year the resources are available. Like in nature, we don’t have all things available to us in all seasons. Ask other business owners what patterns they see in the seasons, and use their insight to look at your own business and see how you can sync things accordingly. When can you talk to that investor? How many networking events can you go to? There may be a drought where you need to recharge due to a lot of events happening at once, but that is okay. Next, you can plan how to reintegrate after you take time away to recharge.
Lack of Strategic Foresight
Oftentimes we lack the strategic foresight that comes in handy during challenges, or that helps us avoid said challenges. It is always good to anticipate what might happen in the future of your business so you are prepared. Founders might want to prepare administratively to have a large volume of fundraising conversations, and anticipate what that might feel like so you can support yourself differently. This skill can go a long way.
We hope this blog post has given you insight into the difficulties you may face as an early stage founder. These may seem daunting, but many entrepreneurs have overcome them, and so can you! You can check out the related podcast to this blog post here. And, as always, if you need guidance and support in your journey, we are here to help you. Love, light and blessings ✨