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Being An Entrepreneur Is Easy, Being Entrepreneurial...Isn't! It definitely gives a high to see CEO below your name on the visiting card and there some upbeat things that go with the tag of being an entrepreneur

By Deep Malhotra

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11:55 pm on the clock, a dark office at distance and you see a lone soul working on his computer inside his cabin. The screen light doesn't cover much around but does light up the anxious face staring at it. Just a few hours ago sitting on the same chair, surrounded by his team the same face was beaming with a contiguous glow speaking about the fast trajectory of things and the growth in store for the company in the coming months. None of the team members that surrounded him in the room earlier that day would've imagined that behind the confident mask there was this pale looking face trying to arrange funds for salaries and bonuses for the employees next day at this hour of the night…

This may be the real face of entrepreneurship, because acting as an entrepreneur may look glamorous and exciting from outside, but being entrepreneurial every day isn't rose-coloured and sometimes very dark. Entrepreneurs have many such dark days and darker nights when they are alone fighting the few inky realities of being entrepreneurial:

Humiliation: We are driven by the horror of humiliation and as entrepreneurs, we may face it more often. Some may be hidden like those last minute cancelled meetings when you have already reached the client office or investors avoiding your follow-up calls to being laughed at your vision or lambasted for non-performance in front of those who matter. But humiliating experiences can be the fuel to drive you ahead. There are enough or more real-life stories where the protagonist has used the humiliation to propel to success.

Insecurity: You will never meet an entrepreneur who hasn't been in self-doubt in the rocky wobbly path while building the enterprise. The truth is entrepreneurs are insecure souls, they often experience a burst of anxiety, the art is to mask it up in front of the world to put up a brave face. But these insecurities can be the shadow that can avoid you from being reckless.

Greed: The selfish desire to overtake and acquire more than one need or can handle is often the underlying idea that makes a prosperous entrepreneur. Because without greed, one would be indifferent to make the impact and the want to change things. Greed can be an important stimulus for an entrepreneur to strive and make it big.

Dullness: When you hear success stories it almost seems too quick and easy, that one gets an idea, get someone to believe in the idea, get invested and show growth and the hit the jackpot. But when you read in between the lines that's where the monotony lies. More often than not mundane dull things gets the better of you in the midway and then future ahead becomes uncertain. In these times of uncertainty, the dullness of normalcy is the best progress you can make for your business.

Unemotionality: It is true being an entrepreneur you can affect many lives, help them build and enhance themselves. But when you are emotionally attached to things and people that may hamper the progress of building the business and you are then being dishonest towards your work. It is important to be emotionless in making decisions, even if it means that it may not be good for all who are involved, but it is unquestionably best for the business.

There is a difference in being an entrepreneur and being entrepreneurial. On the surface, it may sound the same things, but it wouldn't be so always. Being an entrepreneur is something which is in vogue nowadays. It definitely gives a high to see CEO below your name on the visiting card and there some upbeat things that go with the tag of being an entrepreneur. Because everyone likes to hear a good story, especially with a happy ending. But behind the story, the episodes about being entrepreneurial is not always spoken about. It involves not so gleeful things, the hustling, the sleepless nights, the list goes on. These tough tales ultimately make us the real entrepreneur.

…it's 12:00 am on the clock already, the phone beeps with the message from the bank "Your account is credited with…" and it is just the message that was awaited. It is time to be relieved, re-energized and ready to being entrepreneurial all over again!

Deep Malhotra

Co-Founder, BECK Friends.com

Deep Malhotra is the Co-Founder of BECK Technology Ventures Pvt. Ltd. and Gemini Group. Deep has over 13 years of entrepreneurial and startup experience in working & building companies like Google, MySpace.com & rediff.com.

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