When Entrepreneurs Want to Give Up

"I just don't think I can do this anymore." 
"Freelancing is so much harder than I thought it would be." 
"A 9-5 is starting to look good. Really good." 

These are some of the comments that I've been hearing from entrepreneurs in my circle lately. And while I'm certainly not going to say that I never even dream of going back to a (relatively secure) full-time job working for someone else, I know deep down in my gut that it would be a mistake. 

Here's why: I’ve been down that road before and it did not make me happy.

Sometimes what looks like entrepreneurial burnout and readiness for a corporate job is masking something else: overwhelm.
Entrepreneurs who lie
Some of this mis-education around entrepreneurship and starting your own business is nothing more than snake oil in a prettily packaged website.

“Earn 100,000 in 7 days!”

“Become rich and travel the world, once you start this easy-to-run business in your pajamas.”

“Want to be your own boss? Open your own business tomorrow in 3 easy steps!”

And then we wake up. Because it’s not easy running a business, but it’s not easy working at a job that you hate either. While dreaming of coffee breaks and water cooler chats, let’s not forget to add in requests for time off that are denied, the raise you thought you’d certainly get but didn’t, and the volatile co-worker whose main job, it appears, is to ruin every day of your work life with their over-the-moon stress fests. 

image credit Please, let’s first remember that you are not a failure in any sense of the word if you decide to go back to working for someone else. Lots of people do it. Lots of them are perfectly happy.

I would caution though, that you are seeking employment for the right reasons. What are these? Only you can tell.

Here are some bad reasons to give up your entrepreneurial dreams:

You really want a boat. Or a new car. Or a bigger house. There are ways to get these things (if they are truly that important to you) as you follow your self-employment dreams. It may take longer. You might have to work harder. But it is possible.          You miss having coworkers. We’re really lucky right now to have some great online networking and business community groups available with just the click of a button. Finding a “tribe” online is a great way to share connection with others who get what you’re doing. (And you can get away from them whenever you want.) Office gossip just isn’t the same when you’re all alone.   :) Security. This one is important to a lot of people and I’m not discounting it. I’m fortunate in that while I’ve been running my own business for the past seven years, I’ve had health insurance through my spouse’s employer. Job security in general feels good too. It’s hard work to pound the proverbial pavement week after week, drumming up new clients for your business. But think of it this way: would you rather be working hard for a better future that you control, or leaving it up to the whim of your employer? 

I’m not saying that working for someone else = bad and working for yourself = good. I do believe, though, that many times what an entrepreneur/freelancer needs more than searching the want ads is to take a little time off. Rest. Recuperate. Make a plan of action that is sustainable. Get out of your office, your house, and your pajamas and do something that is fun and refreshing and different.

Then take two aspirin and call me in the morning.  


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