“Don’t forget to strap in your friends and family! It’s going to be a bumpy ride.” No one can deny that starting your own venture is like a roller coaster ride, but those closest to you probably have no idea that they are also in for a stomach-churning adventure.
As you embark on your entrepreneurial journey, you, and your friends and family need to be prepared for internal turmoil and drama. Your only certainty is no paycheck, no steady income, no fixed schedule and no predictability. Everyday something in the news, on acclaimed publications or trending websites, may send dismay through your spine. Whether it is a new well-funded competitor launching the same product as you, or perhaps an expert claiming your industry is dead, this isn’t a ride for the weak or complacent. And this is just the beginning.
However, this emotional ride is the only path! So don’t worry. Pivot as necessary, be strong and make sure your loved ones take their (e)motion-sickness medicine. Free fall coming up!
Kriti Vichare is a marketer, entrepreneur, and cartoonist. She is the illustrator and co-founder of #entrepreneurfail, a web comic about the ironies of starting a company. Sign up at http://www.entrepreneurfail.com to get exclusive never-before-published comics.
Kriti is also the founder of IdeaKube (http://www.ideakube.com), a company that facilitates brainstorming through ‘ideation parties’. Kriti was a former marketer at PepsiCo and Kraft Foods. You can contact her at http://about.me/kritivichare.