The meaning of an entrepreneur is someone who is a risk-taker! Taking risks is part and parcel of an entrepreneur’s life, which begins when you decide to become one! At every step of the journey, you will be faced with choices with some amount of risk that you have to be willing to take to achieve success. However, a smart entrepreneur takes risks with some safety bag you have already worked out before plunging it head first!
Let’s have a look at some types of entrepreneurial risks involved in this line of work.
- No steady income:
- Trusting employees:
- Relying on cash flow
- Operational Risk
- Estimating success
- Burn out
When one is just starting with a brand new enterprise, there is absolutely no guarantee of a stable income like one has as an employee. This is a big sacrifice and a lifestyle change an entrepreneur must be mentally prepared for before taking the plunge. However, this is a situation that eventually turns around, even though it’s a slow process.
Putting faith in a few key employees versus a whole bunch of people doing the same job can be mentally taxing. When one starts a new business, only a couple of people work together to build a brand rather than a whole army of people. In this phase, the business owner has this small group of people to give their best, and the way to make sure they deliver is to be an understanding but motivating leader for them.
Sticking to a budget and having emergency funds can come in handy when the enterprise is new. Relying on cash flow can be extremely stressful, especially when you don’t have all processes in place, and sometimes, unexpected expenses arise out of nowhere.
One of the important aspects and potential risks are not estimating delays, obstacles, and time constraints before starting a business. This isn’t going to be a bed of roses, and making peace with it should be one of the top things on the list of an entrepreneur to avoid panic and stress later on in the process. Communication with all the stakeholders and employees plays a key role in avoiding this kind of risk.
If the past year and a half have taught us anything, then it is the unpredictable nature of supply and demand. Literally, anything under the sun can suddenly affect the popularity of a certain product or service. Basing one’s entire future on a market survey can prove to be a major risk. An entrepreneur should always be prepared for rising and fall to create a plan to fall back on if things go extreme south.
This is the most common risk associated with entrepreneurship. Overworked, under-slept, not exercising enough, not eating right or at the right times are things most new entrepreneurs go through due to the overwhelming nature of this role. While it is understandable the excitement and stress one goes through when setting up shop, it is crucial to remember to take care of one’s mental and physical well-being to avoid burnout. One needs to make sure to take out even 30 minutes in a day to relax or spend clearing their mind!
Risks come with any career one decides to pursue, and they should not discourage one from becoming their boss. If there are risks, one needs to remind themselves so are perks and solutions!
