When you’re starting a business, you will be criticized. It’s as certain as death or taxes, probably more. If you start something new, people are guaranteed to have something to say. Most of the commentary will be negative. The thing is, while some of their critiques might be correct, they’ll almost certainly miss the bigger picture. This isn’t because your friends and family members don’t have your best interests at heart. Most of the time, it’s because they have seen people bet everything on a dumb idea, or try something haphazardly and fail. There’s nothing wrong with their thinking, but they’re wrong if you’re committed to succeeding. So, here’s how you deal with all the things you’ll hear as an aspiring Entrepreneur.
You’re probably going to need to start a business at some point, accept that and accept the criticism from others
If you’re young and looking to get rich, just run the math. Look at which jobs pay what and look at the nice houses in your area. I can almost guarantee you that many of the super nice homes in your city are out of reach for people earning even a high salary. Some countries like the USA, Vietnam, and the UAE just have great housing all-around, and your area might be the same way. But look at the cream of the crop. It’s likely that the only hope you have is to spend a good deal of money. Getting into a business is pretty much the only way to get your hands on this money. Accept that and start doing something now.
Know your industry
People will never research your industry for you. They’re too busy with their own lives. This means that they’ll criticize your work based on averages, and what they know about businesses succeeding and failing. Most people don’t succeed, but most people also don’t make enough of an effort to do well. If you take the time to learn an industry properly, you’ll quickly find yourself ahead of the game. If you’re able to get ahead of the game, you should be making much more money than average. This should be a decent living if you’re thinking clearly about monetization.
Know your multiple
The little trick to owning businesses is that they can all be sold for something. How much is that “something”? In order to know that you need to do some research. Search “EBITDA multiple” for your industry. You should find a number; it might plausibly be as low as 0.5 or as high as 40 depending on what you’re into. Multiply this number by the amount of money after taxes your business is making to know how much your business is worth. Blogs usually sell for 2.2–3x what they bring in every year. This should allow you to set realistic goals based on your age and experience level.
Choose a broad skill if you’re young, target your niche if you’re older
When you’re young you just don’t know as much as when you’re old. This is true for everybody if they’re healthy, because everybody who is alive and healthy is able to learn more over time. As a young person, this means that in order to be most successful you want to go broad. I give life advice and write opinionated articles, but the skills I’m developing are writing and SEO. Not necessarily life coaching or philosophy. So far, so good. It’s hard work, but I’m already noticing a payoff.
Try to avoid conversations about work
If the people you’re hanging out with know nothing about your industry, it’s best to simply avoid conversations about work wholesale. It’s not really worth wasting your energy explaining technical stuff, or getting into arguments with other people. Keep conversations outside of work light, unless it’s with people like your mom or dad. You know, people you can *really* trust.
Improve your emotional control
You need self-control to function as a human being. A basic level of self-control is required to get anything done in life, whether it’s starting a blog, becoming a musician, or getting in shape. On a macro level, you need to manage your time if you want to get basic tasks like cooking and cleaning done. This also applies to dealing with criticism from others. No point in completely alienating people, especially if they’re making sense.
Criticsm is a part of business, and a part of life. Try not to let it get you down. Most of the time, people are just trying to be helpful. Try to take as much heed as possible but be strong minded in pursuing your purpose. It’s simple, but not easy.
Thanks for paying attention.
By Rising Current on .
Exported from Medium on November 8, 2024.
