Rites of Passage for Entrepreneurs

There are many entrepreneurs here in Singapore. Some are successful, some are not. The important thing here is they all had to go through some misfortunes, gut-wrenching things and rites of passage to get to where they are now. Rites of passage are associated with a crisis or a change or status for an individual.

Building a successful business is never easy. The road to success is long and tedious marked by indignities and setbacks. This is the kind of thing every founder needs to go through at some point in time. The road may be long and tedious but the important thing is we learn from them. Here are some misfortunes, gut-wrenching things and rites of passage many entrepreneurs have experienced:

• Our server crashes: There will come a time that our servers will overheat and shut down no matter how skilled our technicians or maintenance crew are. We know that if our servers crash, it is bad for business.

 

• We forget to renew our license: Licenses are essential in the operation of a business. If we have a secretary to do it, we might not forget but if we are just starting and alone, we tend to forget things.

 

For example, we have an online store and we forget to renew our SSL certificate. That is bad for business since we are leaving our customer’s credit card information and transactions out in the open with hackers ready to steal it.

 

• The biggest deal falls through: As entrepreneurs, we have to accept that sometimes, deals will fall through – even the biggest and the surest ones. We have to get used to this one so in the end, we will not lose our focus and just move on.

• Barely surviving financially: Founders will always have their share of “barely surviving financially” story. Sometime during startup, we will encounter financial turmoil but it doesn’t have to be the end. Business is a perseverance game.

 

• The first company fails: If we are in an online business, we can build many companies but the first company is guaranteed to fail for the reason that we learn our lessons from that experience.

 

• We have to fire an employee: When we are employers, firing people is part of the business. The hardest thing is firing people we like.

If we can relate to such things, we are really an entrepreneur. For others who are still starting, this list might help them avoid some misfortunes or instances that will surely try one’s soul.