Entrepreneurs who regret quitting

Sam Shrem has been his own boss for nearly 20 years.

Throughout his career, he has opened his own consulting firm, launched several startups and advised high net worth clients as an independent consultant.

But if the 54-year-old entrepreneur could turn back time, He might not have made the move to become an entrepreneur on their own.

“If I had a crystal ball, I wouldn’t have made that leap,” says Shrem, who lives in Boston.

“I’m so sorry all the time. I look back, and now I would have consistently been seven figures as a management consultant if I had continued to work with major corporations.”

Quitting work to become your own boss has become a challenge A very popular option.

In 2022 for example, Applications to open a new business In the US, they have climbed to their highest level since 2004, with more than 5 million new companies signing up.

But as he explains The collapse of the US Silicon Valley bank in MarchBeing a founder comes with significant risks and responsibilities, and makes some regrets leaving their jobs as a corporate employee.

Shrem learned this the hard way in the Great Recession of 2008.

Then I was forced to Pay wages with your savings For a team of 15 people. He had accumulated sleepless nights and huge debts.

The startups he launched recently have failed, and even now, as an entrepreneur who combines freelance consulting with writing books and developing data-driven products, he often looks back with regret at not continuing his work. In Beirut, Lebanon.

“My friends envy me,” he says.

“but They don’t know what you’ve been through. Every businessman takes risks, and the world needs it, but this is not an easy lifestyle.

It’s not uncommon for the reality of running your own business to clash with expectations, says British employment consultant Aisha Murray.

unrealistic

As business owners, we want to be successful, but often We have unrealistic expectations from the start In terms of sales numbers, income, or time that needs to be set aside,” he points out.

“If you had a successful career before starting a business on your own, you might think that anything you try to do after that will work, too.”

Added to this belief is the danger of comparing the harsh reality of your own experience as an entrepreneur with Seemingly flourishing experiences we see on social media.

Such was the case for Kathryn Warrilow, who set up her own PR agency in 2006 after becoming disillusioned with The traditional workplace hierarchy.

From the outside it looked like he had moved in the right direction.

The agency has become a successful business, with seven employees and major clients.

“But I never shut down,” says Warrilow, 43.

“I feltFoggy and worried all the time. I never felt like things were good enough.”

Stress made her a “total control freak,” perpetually Accurate management of your team.

This was not what he had imagined.

“My biggest misconception was the belief that being my boss would give me freedom, that you could come and go whenever you wanted and set your own hours,” he says.

The truth was that life must be adapted to work, and Customers expect her to be constantly available.

So in 2015, after one of her potential clients offered her a job, this mom of two decided to leave the company.

The day I decided not to continue working on my own It was probably one of the best days of my career“, He says.

relieved to leave

“I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.”

Now the managing director of travel company daysout.com, he says so Enjoy many freedoms Which I expected along with entrepreneurial spirit.

Can Manage your time better Some days I end up early to meet a friend for coffee.

As for Shrem, he will remain his own boss for the time being.

Although he tried to work full-time for a large company in 2017, it was only Failed to move.

“suddenly, I found myself hating having a boss over meAnd having to come to work and having to deal with administrative tasks.”

However, he claims that these items might never have bothered him if he hadn’t been his own boss before.

naturally, There are many success storiesand many people will never look back.

However, Shrem remains wary of encouraging anyone else to follow in his footsteps: “Anyone who wants to take that leap into entrepreneurship has to be aware of the ups and downs.”

*If you would like to read the original BBC Worklife article, click here.

You can now receive notifications from BBC News World. Download and activate the new version of our application in order not to miss our best content.