Entrepreneurship...

The one thing I have learned from owning my own business is that it is tough. Everyday you are trying to feel the pulse of the market while also innovating for the future. You are in charge of everything soup to nuts and if anything goes wrong, it is your livelihood and business on the line. But that is also what find exhilarating about it too! It is a high risk, high reward field, but at the end of the day it is exactly what you make of it. There are 10 things I did not understand about entrepreneurship when we first started. I thought I would share with those of you who are thinking about it. These are all concepts and pretty high level. Tomorrow I will talk about tactics and the reality of owning your own business.

1. Success and failure is 100% up to you. Each decision puts you one step closer in either direction.
2. Your house/office is a often a mess, filled with samples of both successful and discarded ideas.
3. There is little time for hobbies and outside activities. Entrepreneurship is its own job + hobby put together.
4. You need an understanding DH. David is wonderful as a husband and business partner. He even comes to the tradeshows and sells with us, taking time off from his "day job".
5. There is a lot of sacrifice. You need to be willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. Sometimes that means that you need to be on the phone every night at midnight to talk to your partners in other countries.
6. Nothing quite goes as planned. So make sure you make contingency plans.
7. Keep your promises. If you cannot, make sure everyone understands why you cannot.
8. Be flexible and open to new ideas. Sometimes the best ideas are old ideas which you discarded.
9. Believe and invest in yourself. There is a level of arrogance in believing you can do something better than everyone else, but that is why you start a business.
10. You gotta have the love! It is often hard, but if you truly are passionate about it, there is nothing better!