An entrepreneur I know freaked out when he got his second sale and nearly quit. Here's what happened...
I’ve found that when people get into business they’re usually very motivated and often even excited. Everything is so new, exciting and great. But at a certain point, every person who gets into business, and every person who becomes an entrepreneur, hits a wall. It’s like a plateau. When you’re learning, and you’re reaching mastery, you’re going to hit these plateaus where it seems like you can’t move forward. This can happen even if it seems like you’re doing the right thing.
My First Client: My First Pain
Back in the day, I actually got my first client. This was many years ago, and it was a client for some video work. The client was awesome, and I was super excited. I felt like I was finally an entrepreneur and everything was going to work out. Here’s what happened though. It turned out that it was actually a lot of work. I undercharged for the project and I had to do everything myself. At the time, I didn’t know how to delegate or how to partner up with someone. For a very small amount of money, I had to do everything myself.
So I hit a roadblock, and I thought wow, is this really it? Maybe it’s not as good as having a job. Maybe it’s even harder and the rewards are smaller. Because I was brand new I had all these doubts. I didn’t have any proof yet and I didn’t know anyone else who was successful with what I was doing.
Learning To Outsource The Work
Now I have clients who I teach how to build a business. I see that it happens to them sometimes. Some people will get a project, they’ll get their first or their second sale, and then they will realize that it’s actually a lot of work. They’re doing it all themselves and they end up feeling very stressed about it. I have to talk them out of quitting because they didn’t realize that it was going to be so difficult.
There is a common misconception from people who are used to having a job, that you have to suffer through this yourself. You have to somehow manage your own time and figure it out. As an entrepreneur, there is a much better solution to this. When you get your first sale, you don’t have to sit there and figure out every little part of the project all by yourself, if you can outsource it. If you can pass some of the work along to another person for $4 an hour, then there is no reason to stress yourself out about it.
