During a semi-routine repair on my laptop, I recently had my hard drive wiped clean when I wasn’t expecting it. The repair shop restored it to the original operating system. I certainly wasn’t really ready for that, and I imagine no one is ever ready for a reset like that, or for a computer hard drive to go down. Typical age of a hard drive is about 2-3 years. Be aware that hard drives often go bad, and most people will lose data.

I had feared the worst – that I lost some important things. So with a brand system starting over from scratch several weeks ago, it wasn’ that bad.

I hit the ground running – within a short while, all of my projects, client tracking, and business operations were up and restored. I had most of my data backed up. I hit the ground running because I have a strong backup system that is well-organized. The system which I have run my business online for over ten years was proven successful again. This was not the first time I had a hard drive failure.

Where starting over, it gave me a great feeling knowing that I knew where everything was, and where everything should be. My system is robust and strong – it holds up with strength when I have hardware problems. The efforts pay off and will pay off since I have taken the time to organize everything. I want other businesses to be as strong as possible and to not have unexpected loss when hard drives crash. Everyone should be ready when the economy gets better, and business gets stronger. It’s hard to hear when businesses lose bids and jobs because of lack of organization and strong systems.

So after all of our lessons in realities of being an entrepreneur, make sure you walk away with this tid bit: you are not in control. A business is hard to start and will be hard to maintain, but at the end of the day, it is the people that you work with that pulls your operation together. Things are always crazy when you throw more people and personalities in the mix. The people factor is what makes the business, and business efforts like this always take a life of its own. Your new business will take hard work and determination, but it will make all the world of difference. Don’t expect to make it work right away, you will fail – but it’s how you get back up again that will make all the difference to making your business survive in the long run.

When you start hiring your first set of employees, don’t expect all the people you interview to jump on your bandwagon. It’s hard to get other people interested in your business in the same way that you are. Take your time in bringing people on to your team. You won’t always hire people that are perfectly suited. Look for people that share your vision and who can have the strong dedication grow for your business mission. Once you do get your team assembled, you can hit the ground running to make your business strong.

The real harsh reality is that you won’t make millions or even thousands overnight. To become successful, it will take a lot of long hours and tons of hard work to get your company to be lucrative. It may even take a long time to get your first customer! Ask anyone in small business about their path to getting their first business customers – they will most likely have similar stories. Expect a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to go into your business before it even reaches the point you want it to. Success will come from your dedication, enjoyment and perseverance. These things will make all you want to happen in the long run. Don’t give up though! Keep your dreams! It will all be worth it when get that first thousand dollars in the bank.

Here’s what most new small business owner think: they have to do it all on their own, with no help from anyone. This is not the case! There are plenty of people and companies that will help you get your new business off the ground. For starters, the Small Business Administration, Better Business Bureau, local chambers of commerce and other networking groups are there to help you generate more customers and get the business side of your company under control. Don’t forget – there are many people in your same situation – many new businesses start every day.

Ready for frustration? Most new business owners are not quite ready. Once you start up your first business, you will be generally frustrated with yourself and anything that you feel is going wrong with your business. It’s all a learning process! It is hard to deal with the daily operations side of your business as well as helping the people that come through your door for help. It will take a lot of time out of your life, but remember in the end of all of the struggles, it will be well worth it. The people that you will meet along the way will make your business worth while.

When you’re in business for yourself, there shouldn’t be just one business deal that will make or break your business. New business owners can relax once they land that one big business deal. You don’t want to get lax at this point!  If this is the case, then you may concern yourself that your client will leave you in the dust. Business deals can come and go quickly, and can change because some client got upset or dissatisfied for one reason or another. It is recommended to diversify your business with multiple clients – that will help you flourish into a great company.

Just like the fact that things take twice as long to accomplish a task, you may be unaware that your title does not carry much weight when you start a new business. You will wear many hats as the owner of a new company. You will be the secretary, janitor, salesman, and owner all at the same time. You will have to do mostly everything for the business and you being an owner will mean little to nothing for the early years. Your title will have more weight and honor when you have money to hire other people to do the day-to-day work for you.

One of the harsh realities of being a new business owner is that things take twice as long to accomplish. You will learn the lesson that everything takes longer to finish than you can forecast. When you first start off, you will mostly fill multiple positions and tasks in your small business. Money will be so tight so you cannot hire all the people that you want – you will need to do a lot of the day-to-day grunt work yourself. Remember our previous posts to not let yourself get discouraged, because when things move forward, you will feel the reward of all of your hard work.