Why Starting a Business is Hard (But Still Worth It!) 

Why starting a business is hard? Well, it’s supposed to be hard in any environment. These are the challenges every entrepreneur faces in building a company.

Why starting a business is hard. It always feels like just when you’re taking a step forward, you’re taking two steps backward.

Although some of you might claim that you do enjoy the challenge and that it’s part of growth and learning, honestly, many of us avoid effortful situations that make us uncomfortable.

We’re telling you that starting a business is supposed to be that way—hard—even if you’ve been there before.

As to—is owning your own business hard, and why? There are 7 main reasons that make starting a business so darn difficult. Let’s meet all of them in this blog post. Also, let’s discover how you can tackle your biggest startup enemy—that thing called money—with the help of a virtual assistant.

Ready?

Why Is It So Hard to Be an Entrepreneur? (And How to Deal)

Why Is It So Hard for Me to Start a Business?

Sweetie, starting a business is not a walk in the park.

You’re trying to carve out a new path and want to change the world and make it better than how you found it—that needs deeper drilling.

Here are the challenges that encompass the difficult nature of launching a startup—what you should expect from your journey.

  • Finding Your Balance

    What is the hardest thing about starting a business?

    We know that as an entrepreneur, you’ve been promised a life where you control your own time. But you’ll soon find out that balancing work and life is extremely hard, especially when your business is small and trying to find momentum.

    As the captain of the ship, you will be pulled in 10 different directions every day. When there’s a fire, you have to stay late and solve the problem—and believe us, there will be constant fires at the beginning.

    So, yes, most entrepreneurs will have to cue in “overwhelm” and “exhaustion.” And frankly, business balance will only be achieved once you’ve set up your company for success.

  • Competition is Super Intense

    Don’t get us wrong, technology is great, and because of it, many of us can spin up an entrepreneurial lifestyle. But then again, everybody is doing the same, from your friend to your sister and your sister’s boyfriend—competition is so fierce.

    Well, what’s so bad about having competition?

    The thing is that when there’s too much competition, the focus shifts. Instead of businesses trying to work toward their goals, they’re here working more hours, putting you out of business before you can even fly.

  • You Don’t Have All the Answers

    There is no one-size-fits-all approach when starting a business. Everything is experienced with unique conditions—from the market to the people you’re working with.

    So, unless you’ve been down that road before, you’ll never know what to expect, which means mistakes are inevitable and will cost you time and money. It happens even to the best of us.

    Fortunately, you can try to manage your expectations and gain the upper hand using the tons of information that you can get from researching the market, customers and competition.

  • Distractions

    Distractions can be deadly. Why? It’s on the loose and can kill your business in so many ways.

    For startups trying to get the hang of things, it’s easy to get lost in the jungle and stray from the real mission.

    You think you’re dealing with the important stuff, but honestly, you’re just distracted by your existing competition and their new product, internal politics and strategic partnerships that really aren’t realistic.

    Everything has perfect timing, and all those other things that you’re thinking about right now are just mere distractions that keep you from the real task at hand.

  • Information Overload

    Among those other challenges we just mentioned, this one is definitely the conundrum—having so much information that you’re completely left slack-jawed in a haze.

    The social media platforms and new technologies are awesome, especially for you with little resources, going head-to-head with the big boys. It gives you the power to compete on a larger stage. Then again, for a business novice, the influx of information can be overwhelming and distracting.

    The key to finding your footing is to identify the tools that are necessary for your work. You’re never going to master everything, so unless you have a boundary, it will be difficult to know what to ignore and prioritize.

  • Self-Doubt

    Have you already heard? Self-doubt is the killer of dreams, especially when you’re starting a business.

    Building your own company from the ground up is exciting. But along the way, when things aren’t going as planned, you lose confidence. And every single time you fail off the mark, that self-doubt, aka “insidious intruder,” is brewing inside you.

    That internal struggle is making you lose your drive and making you question yourself, “Is this business still worth pursuing?”

    As an entrepreneur, you have to learn to shake off this feeling, because self-doubt is the very reason why many businesses never get to launch and achieve their potential.

  • Money Matters

    Yes, money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy you a way in, to start your own business. Cash, or not having enough of it, is perhaps the hardest part of launching a company.

    The hard reality is that most entrepreneurs rely on loans to fund their ideas. And when your business has a hard time paying the bills in the first couple of months (when you’re just simply trying to survive), it will really test your grit.

    The good news is that financial insecurity is not permanent. Once you get through it all, you’ll learn fast that what didn’t kill you will only make you stronger.

    Most startups fail because they simply fail to manage their finances.

    As you come in, you should think about the costs and whether or not your revenue will be greater than your costs to make a profit.

    Evaluate your current financial status, your spending habits, your budget and how you can save and cut back on costs—what do you need to get back on track? You have to come up with a plan that’s measurable and realistic.

So, How Can a Virtual Assistant Help You with Your Biggest Business Challenge?

Why starting a business is hard?

Well, jumpstarting your own business requires getting out of your comfort zone and thinking outside the box—that’s how you can accumulate your biggest concern—money.

So, if you’re planning to invest to cut costs and save money, invest in a virtual assistant and follow in the footsteps of many startups.

When you hire a remote worker, this is what’s going to happen to your business from a financial standpoint.

  • No need to pay for rent, office equipment or utilities.
  • There are no compensation benefits to worry about, such as paid leaves or health insurance, since VAs are not employees but contractual workers.
  • The salary is not fixed but is based on the number of hours used to complete a specific task or project.
  • The salary of a virtual assistant hailing from across the globe (usually from countries with a low cost of living) is much lower than that of a local hire.
  • Virtual assistants offer specialized skills in certain areas that would cost you tons of money to hire a full-time expert.

Virtual assistants are important because they can accomplish many time-consuming endeavors that dominate your daily schedule. Understand that time is money that you can use to invest in your growth ventures.

Here are some of the tasks to delegate to a virtual assistant:

  • Track expenses
  • Conduct research and keep up with market trends.
  • Automate tasks such as data entry.
  • Manage customer accounts
  • Develop a tracking and filing system to make work more efficient.
  • Create reports and presentations.
  • Analyze data that you can use to reduce or limit costs.

Is Starting a Business Worth It?

Yes!

It doesn’t matter how you view business—as a hobby or something that generates economic stability—it can bring you a new source of income and a heavy dose of self-fulfillment.

However, you have to take each day as it comes and never get bogged down by self-doubt, uncertainty, distractions and not having all the right answers. Instead, focus on the things that you can control, like money matters, for instance.

Take control and reduce costs significantly by hiring a skilled virtual assistant.

Don’t give up giving wings to your dreams, and oh, don’t be too hard on yourself—hire a VA to support you as you make your way to business success!

Explore the most popular AI virtual assistants in 2024.