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people don’t understand what you’re going through. You can’t tell your employees about hardships because you risk them getting spooked and looking for another job. I’ve actually come to believe that a business with a good culture isn’t as true as it used to be, but if you’re having a hard time making payroll and you tell all the employees, you do run a huge risk of losing some or all of them. If you’re not sure how to market or fix a problem with the business, you’ve got to watch out there, as well. It really can be lonely as an entrepreneur. Most of my friends who aren’t entrepreneurs don’t get it, either. When you’re stressed out about a situation with a customer or employee, it goes over a person’s head. If you have an opportunity, but you feel the risk level is a bit higher than normal, do you chat with your friends over dinner about this million-dollar decision? If they’re not entrepreneurs, it’s hard for them to give advice or to even understand the situation. The loneliness doesn’t only cover the bad times; it affects the good times, as well. Having a great month or year financially? Watch out who you tell. They may want a raise or a handout, depending on who they are. As an example, I drive a Porsche to work as often as I can. It was literally my childhood dream to own one. I’ve been told by both employees and consultants that I shouldn’t drive it to work because I don’t want to make too big of a show that I may be doing well. I ignored both the advice and criticism from the employee. But I mention it to prove my point — it’s lonely being an entrepreneur. Even when you’re doing well, you’re told you should be ashamed or hide it. That’s crazy talk! Side note: To be clear, I’m a big believer in sharing the marbles with the people who help you achieve success, and this includes your employees. I’m not suggesting that if you’re having a great year, people in the organization don’t deserve raises or bonuses. You should never try to get ahead by holding others down. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be allowed to have nice things and enjoy your success. “Most people don’t understand what you’re going through.”
bonus of friendships from people who get you. They’re people who are in the same or a similar boat.
Even with an entrepreneur friend, you have to be careful how much of the good times you share, because it can be easy for some entrepreneurs to get jealous of success.
Joining this group was the turning point for me, both personally and professionally, in a number of ways. During my four years with this group, I was able to get insights on areas where I sucked. I got advice on my business model and got to see other winning business models. This helped me create The Newsletter Pro foundation and adapt what I was doing to incorporate winning strategies from other businesses into my business. I got to ask specific questions to people who had been there and done that, which shortened my learning curve. As an added bonus, I’m still great friends with many of the same 20 people I met in that original group. I do business with some and can call any of them for help, despite that group having dissolved years ago. I’m convinced that having a coach and peer group to help you in business during hard times — and to share in the success of your business when there are good or great times — is one of the single best and most overlooked strategies for entrepreneurs. It was for me, for sure. Since this experience, I’ve used coaches and peer groups without fail each year. I’ve had one or two at a time since I first discovered the power of coaching at this level in 2012. Think about it like this. Tom Cruise is one of the best actors in Hollywood. He may not be your favorite, but from a box-office standpoint, his films have grossed over $9.3 billion worldwide. Whatever you think of him as an actor, it is hard to argue with $9.3 billion of unadjusted ticket sales. Even with all his success, Tom has multiple coaches for acting. One of the best quarterbacks of all time is Tom Brady, and he has a minimum of half a dozen coaches at any given time.
Being an entrepreneur is literally the loneliest job on the planet.
Once we move past how lonely it is, what about how hard it is?
You have to set the vision of the company, create the culture, hire, fire, and train. Next, you need to set the goals and priorities for the company, yourself, and the team. After that, maybe we better think about sales and marketing. Don’t forget about HR, taxes, and other regulations. We all have customers, and they have needs — some reasonable that should be accommodated and some unrealistic and totally unreasonable. All of our employees have lives, needs, and issues, both personally and professionally, which need to be assisted or managed. I know I’ve questioned my sanity a few times over the years. But the reality of it is that you don’t have to — and shouldn’t — go on this journey alone. In 2012, I joined a mentoring group that had 20 members, and it changed my life. This was the first time I had ever joined any type of coaching. Previously, I thought I didn’t need it. I thought I could go it alone, as I mentioned earlier, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Every single great entrepreneur, athlete, actor, speaker, etc. has a coach. When you put like-minded entrepreneurs in the same room, you get an added Have you ever thought being an entrepreneur is something only crazy people do?
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