People unfamiliar with the business world make many unrealistic assumptions about how business life works.
One executive and his wife wanted to start a business. The idea was great, and the man and his wife were savvy - but they didn't understand the commitment required for a successful business. They wanted to start it to have more time for their family and recreational activities. I'm sure other entrepreneurs find that statement as hilarious as I do.
Here's some real-world reality about businesses and executive work in a nutshell.
There are no 40-hours-a-week $100K jobs.
Regardless of those devious little advertisements you see on late-night TV, promising that you can work five hours from your computer and make $1 million a year, this is a fantasy.
Except for a lucky or brilliant few, who invent the next "Pet Rock," making money takes hard work and dedication. Regardless of whether you work out of your home, office or sailboat, those who pull in six- and seven-figure salaries work very hard.
I'm reminded of the woman who went up to the famous violinist Itzhak Perlman and said "Oh, Mr. Perlman, I'd give my life to be able to play like that." The gentle Perlman replied, "I did."
While some folks get lucky, it's amazing, as Edison said, how hard work seems to increase one's ratio of good luck.
Work is work.
Sure, a few hobbies can be turned into a business. The problem is, once they become a business, they're not a hobby anymore - at least if you want to be solvent.
This doesn't mean that your work has to be drudgery or distasteful. It means that a business must be run like a business.
Whether you're going into business for yourself or working for someone who has a product or service you love, there are still deadlines to meet, bills to pay, taxes to grumble about and disciplines to follow. Even the editor of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue has good days and bad days.
Regardless of how much you love the subject matter of work, it's still work and not leisure. One easy way to tell the difference is that you have to go to work. There's rarely a mandate to go skiing except the voice inside your head. But if you don't go to work, creditors can get very unhappy.
There are parts of every job that are unpleasant.
The dream of finding a job you love every part of is a great fantasy. But every job has a duty that's equivalent to cleaning the toilets. Even the queen of England has to do things that are distasteful. If Her Majesty grumbles about her job, what makes you think you're immune?
Work/life balance is a myth, for the most part.
A work/life balance can come after many years of concentrating on work. It can't come when you're starting your career or changing careers. Beginning or changing a career requires massive dedication and determination. This is even more true if you're one of the many corporate escapees who has gone into business.
In corporate life, if you have a bad day, you can usually shake it off. In business, a bad day can cost you your best or only customer. Expect more 80-hour weeks than 40-hour ones if you are starting a business, changing careers or starting a new area of your career.
There are many little things we do by habit; it will take extra time to learn them or do them over if we're new to a position.
Failure is not only an option, it's a necessity.
Failure is highly underrated. Most of us have learned our most important lessons not from success, but from things we tried that didn't work out. Any seasoned executive will tell you that failures point the way to success. Only simpering fools think that business can take place without failure. They're dangerous, and should be avoided.
After Edison had failed more than 1,000 times to get his electric light bulb to work, he was asked when he expected results. His reply? "Results? Man, I've gotten results! I know 1,000 things that won't work." We must match that attitude if we desire success.
The difference between the footnote and the headline isn't whether the individual failed or not; it's what's done after failure occurs. The Japanese proverb, "Fall seven times, get up eight" is instructive. The successful person learns from failure and incorporates what's learned. The failure finds excuses and cries in his beer.
Of course, learning and incorporating learning takes time, even for the seasoned executive. Live with it.
Business is cutthroat, faster and changing more rapidly than ever. Those who want to succeed must have a depth of commitment and unwavering dedication. Only the committed and dedicated will survive and thrive.
