Howdy,
This week’s blog will be about the hardest part of a startup. This probably goes without saying , but startups are difficult. I hate to belabor the point, but it is a truth that must be acknowledged. While a startup is exciting and invigorating in many ways, it has some real challenges.
The most challenging part for me has been how scattered a startup is. You have to be comfortable with rolling with things as they go because there isn’t necessarily a set course of action. Often, you have several moving parts to keep track of while finding a way to incorporate those parts into the whole startup. I never knew how comfortable I was with clear cut instructions until I tried to launch a startup, for which, there are absolutely no instructions at all. Learning to be uncomfortable with this aspect of starting my own business has definitely been a challenge, but one which I truly appreciate.
Another significant challenge of running a startup is time. I could work all day, every day, on a startup. In fact, if I weren’t a student, I would love to spend all my time just launching ScribbleScrubs. Balancing studies, a startup, eating, and sleeping however, is more challenging than I anticipated. Despite the challenge of personal time management, this has been really good challenge for me. I have to keep telling myself to just tough it out and go for it. I keep thinking of John Wayne’s true grit movie; I may not be a cowboy but I am a Texan (so it’s basically the same thing). Therefore, a little (or a lot) of grit has proven to be necessary.
I am so thankful for this learning curve. Learning these lessons now has opened my mind to my weaknesses but also my strengths. Learning to communicate and push through the tough parts has exposed some interesting and insightful things about my ideas and my entrepreneurial skills.
All in all, startups are hard. But what I’ve learned has been worth every stressful moment. Being aware of all the insight I’ve gained, despite the stress of the startup process, helps me when I’m in the midst of the stress. When worrying over a particular aspect of my startup, it is easy to get lost in all the things to do. It is easy to hate the work and the schedule which demands so much of me. Articulating what those moments of stress provide for me helps me stay grounded, focused, and determined through the late nights, and the exhausting days.