Do you know it’s possible as an entrepreneur to lose all your hard-earned success?
You could lose everything in the wink of an eye. I can imagine the horror that comes with that.
Every one of my businesses is like a treasure to me. I dread losing them. That’s why I always aim for success.
Success in entrepreneurship comes when you are free of all forms of stress.
Stress like your competitions, low profits, a harsh economic system, and several others.
But all those are external enemies, there is a new set. These enemies are more vicious, psychological, and internal.
They are around the corner waiting to blow up. But if you don’t know these enemies, how can you defeat them?
Every entrepreneur who has experienced success knows and understands how results come about.
Especially encouraging and positive results that bring happiness.
They understand the traits they have to gain, the skills they have to get, and the knowledge they need. They have mastered everything to achieve success.
Yes! You need skills, knowledge, and traits. They are important for success. But it doesn’t end there. You need to be able to recognize threats to your success. Whether external or internal.
These enemies within may seem tiny, but they can blow up and shorten your success span. Even before you can say, Jack Robinson.
You need to avoid this, but how? How do you eliminate something you can’t see and don’t know?
This is where I come in. Over the years, I have created four successful businesses, and these are where I learned about the enemies within.
I believe you should too, it’s necessary for your business.
Inflated Ego
The first and the greatest enemy within is ego, accompanied by arrogance.
Confidence is good, no doubt, but a healthy amount of it. When it becomes too much, it tips the scale and causes trouble.
You are your boss, and you don’t have to answer to anyone.
This bit is true. If you ask me, it’s one of the perks of being an entrepreneur.
But it becomes a problem when you make your business more about you and less about the business.
Ego and arrogance can make you do things or make decisions based on personal interests. Forgetting about the business needs.
What makes a successful entrepreneur is the ability to solve people’s problems. But if it turns to pleasing yourself, be certain that your business is on its way to its feet.
You can never know everything. And you should never become insensitive to changes around you.
Over the years, I have learned how to confront this enemy. And you need four things to do that. Courtesy, modesty, compassion, and being open to advice and criticism.
Extravagance
The second enemy within is extravagance with a tiny dash of unhealthy competition.
When I started my first business at sixteen, I faced some kind of hard times. And I believe many entrepreneurs faced a hard time too. If you ask them, they will call it a painful memory they cherish.
True, but could that also be the reason why they lose their frugal nature when success comes? I was tempted, but I didn’t fall for it. Rather, I pushed on, investing in more businesses. Here I am today.
Even Warren Buffett, with all his wealth, still leads a frugal lifestyle. You should too because then you have understood and conquered extravagance.
This enemy becomes worse when you introduce unhealthy competition.
Competition is generally good. And no one questions that. It only becomes a problem when it is not done right.
Healthy competition is a blessing for entrepreneurs because it leads to improvement.
If you forget why you created your business, you can go into unhealthy competition with rivals. This almost always ends up on a not-too-good note.
Do little investments seem like a joke to you? Is it because your competitors are doing more? If any of the answers is yes, then you are setting your business up for disaster. It is very dangerous. I advise you to avoid it at all costs.
When success sets in, continue in a frugal nature. Treat every dollar and cent with a lot of respect. Remember your little beginning.
The Comfort Zone
The third enemy within is the love of the comfort zone.
In entrepreneurship, success gives you money and earns you a respectable status.
Wow! That’s great! Finally, you have something you never had then. Money and status.
These two can make you feel safe, creating lots of temptations to remain there. In the comfort zone, you tend to shy away from difficult situations. You even grow a strong aversion towards risk.
When you are complacent or relaxed, you create disasters for your business. That a particular strategy works for you doesn’t mean it should continue this way.
If it does, it will be out of date. Then your competitors will have taken steps ahead, taking risks you dodged.
Overcoming this requires you to evolve and push forward.
Leaving your comfort zone is not a problem, it is a step in the right direction.
And in entrepreneurship, the greatest risk is taking no risk at all.
Self-taught Helplessness
And, last but not least, one of the enemies within is self-taught helplessness. Why on earth would anyone want to learn helplessness?
It sounds funny, but it isn’t. It is as serious as the need for help in helplessness.
When you get used to never being able to do anything, you will become helpless all the time.
This is one of the negative effects of self-taught helplessness. It makes you feel like a victim when you have to be optimistic.
The best way to deal with this enemy within is to feel its presence, recognize it, and understand it.
If it’s not handled, this enemy can lead to a bigger problem. Like a natural disposition to do only easy things.
The enemies within entrepreneurship are not limited to the four mentioned above. There are more. And the more a business grows, the more these enemies grow, and the harder it becomes to control them.
These enemies within are only a representation of a larger number. Understanding them will help your success.
Remember, long-term entrepreneurial success is understanding and eliminating the enemies within and without.