Lewis HowesYour Personal 24/7 Greatness Coach

The Reality of Working For Yourself!

14 Apr 2025 · 1 min

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In this candid monologue, the speaker reflects on the harsh reality many new entrepreneurs face when they leave traditional employment. They describe the initial phase of entrepreneurship as a grueling treadmill: long 16‑hour days, a demanding self‑imposed “boss,” feelings of fear, loneliness, and uncertainty. The speaker frames this as the first of five distinct stages in a business’s lifecycle, emphasizing that while the early year is often the toughest, it is not permanent. By recognizing the stage‑based progression, entrepreneurs can anticipate new challenges, find relief, and move beyond the initial hardship toward more sustainable growth.

Chapters

Those of us that are entrepreneurial, we're like, I want to work for myself. And then you find out your boss is a jerk. You find out he's a slave driver. Yeah, 16 hour days and you're exhausted. You don't even know what you're doing and you're scared and you're lonely. Oh my gosh, it's hard. It's really hard. The good news is, is that it can get better. I remember that. And that sense of feeling like you're on a treadmill, which is the first stage of the five stages in business. The good news is you don't have to stay there that you can move on up and you'll face different problems. as you go through the different stages, but you'll also start to get some relief because I think the hardest year of work is when you first kick it off.