Entrepreneur. What a powerful word. It expresses courage, hard work, determination and everything positive, really. As if entrepreneurship isn’t hard enough, why are we lonely?
Being an entrepreneur is the dream job really, isn’t it? Your own company, your own hours, everything is sketched out according to you. Living the dream. But what some people don’t realize is that it’s quiet. It’s something different than what your friends are doing. It’s away from the busy office space filled with companions and conversation. And it’s a change having your income not guaranteed. So, yeah, there’s a lot to it. The challenges aren’t always in our favour, but we’re entrepreneurs – we make it work, right?
Doing the daily grind, putting your heart into it. And some days are better than others. We all love sharing our success stories. You know when you get off the phone and closed that deal you’ve been working on for months? You turn around to high-five someone until you realize there’s no one there. Then you catch your reflection in the window, you realize you are on your own and still in you pajama pants. You give yourself a nice pat on the back and congratulate yourself quietly instead. Then, you get that big order you’ve been waiting for forEVER, hang up the phone and scream “Yes! Everybody, I’m bringing cake to the break room to celebrate!” but the break-room is just your restroom. And there’s nobody to share the whole cake with. And sometimes you have a rough day and all you want is a co-worker to take a coffee break with. Not always do-able when you’re the only employee.
The social aspect suffers a little. How many times have you called someone to share something exciting and they don’t answer. Then a few minutes, or even a few hours later you get a text reply ‘you called?’ When in an office with others, the conversation is live. It’s exciting in the moment rather than dulling down after a bit of phone tag and text. I have to say that is definitely something I miss. In the office space, one thing you undoubtedly have in common is you all work together. You share the same job, same roof. In the Entrepreneurial world, the sky is your roof. That’s a good thing because the sky is the limit, but my goodness is that every a big space to meet people. So you resort to other things; Online. As if the online world is an easy one. Putting yourself out there to meet people with the same interest? Let’s just say, not a big comfort zone. I just read an article a friend of mine wrote on this very subject which sums this up perfectly (you can find it here).
So if you have that entrepreneur friend whose busting and grinding all alone, call them. Message them. A little support goes a long way, especially in a lonely world. And if you have that office job, next time your coworker waves to you, wave them back down for a coffee. Enjoy the job you do, and celebrate the successes. Because it’s always funner to do-well, not alone.
