 Being an entrepreneur is rewarding. You're able to build something that you can call your own. But at the same time, people won't always tell you some of the scary truths of being an entrepreneur. Like the headless hot dog. But seriously, sometimes we don't always tell you the whole story. We always talk about the great stuff, like working whenever you want to work, no bosses, no one to tell you when to go to the bathroom. I get it. But there are some scary sides of being an entrepreneur. Like the first one with organization, being an entrepreneur means like you have to be organized or else it's just chaos all around you. And especially when you don't have a boss telling you what to do, you have to be on your game. Many entrepreneurs say that they lose four hours a week of free time because lack of organization. 41% of those entrepreneurs that are on vacation, they'll take time away from that to work on work stuff. The key is not to schedule your priorities, but to prioritize your schedule. Right. And 36% of the people polled say they have a general work-life balance, which is tough. You know I like to watch movies, right? Yeah. Did you hear about the movie with the hot dog? What movie? I won an Oscar wiener. So it's so important to take care of yourself. I understand. You want to make sure that your business is growing and it's going well. At the same time, you need to have a good balance between work and life. 63% of entrepreneurs say that they specifically take time off so they can do self-care. Yeah, that number was actually surprising. I thought it was going to be a lot lower because I talked to a lot of small business owners that they just work, work, work. Most people think that when you become a small business owner, you can work whenever you want. If you're afraid of 40-hour work weeks right now, chances are when you're not sure, especially just starting out, that workload is going to be 60, 70, 80 hours a week getting started. So that work-life balance is crucial. So, hey, Jeannie, when you're chilling on a lamp, what do you like to do just to kind of unwind and relax? Well, good question, Weenie. I wish I had enough time to watch movies, but I keep getting asked by all these people for wishes. So another scary truth about being an entrepreneur is you have to be a part-time accountant. I get it. It's another hat you have to wear on top of running your business on top of your head. But we sometimes forget that that's vital. We have our normal paychecks when we're working 9-5. Those taxes get taken out. If you don't plan ahead for this, come tax season, you're talking about thousands and thousands of dollars that you have to come up out of nowhere. So if you don't plan ahead for this, you're planning for disaster. And, honestly, don't want to go up against that other three scary truths. IRS. And you want to make sure you're getting paid on time. Any outstanding invoices, you want to make sure that you're getting those when you need them because the consistent cash flow can make you make sure you're staying afloat. Yeah, I know. It was super tough for me when I freelanced in web design. That was sometimes hard when I relied on that money coming in and I sent those invoices and then those reminders and the client still hasn't paid. You're stuck with no money. So plan ahead for that. Make sure you set really good expectations with your clients, the money schedule and the payment so that you're protected with your business. And the next scary truth is you want to make sure you're in it for the long haul. Now, if you're not a foot long or a genie that lives for 10,000 years and you have instant gratification syndrome, you may not want to go into business for yourself. Yes, it's gratifying. Yes, you want to make sure that, you know, you have all of these creative outlets for you in building this business, but it's going to take some time. So be patient and know it's longevity that you're after. So we're not always going to be able to work on the fun stuff, the thing that really got you into the business itself. Sometimes you got to work on the not so fun stuff, the accounting, the invoicing, the late nights, the admin, all these things that essentially makes your business run. But it's something we have to do and we'll persevere if we have a very strong why. And those nights are like, I'm about to throw in the towel. I'm about to give up. Remember what got you started? Why did you start this business? Because that's going to push you through to grow it and just follow your passion. And you're not going to want to do all these not so fun things all the time, but you have to. Or else you'll fall short. Hey, was that a short joke? Have you been here the whole time? So the next scary truth is you're probably going to want to give up at times, but just channel your inner Smurf because Smurfs never give up. When the going gets tough, the tough gets smurfing. But don't throw in the towel, you know, just focus on the end game. There's a lot to look forward to and all your accomplishments that are soon to come. Yeah, and it's going to feel like you're just wanting to work till 2am in the morning trying to get all this stuff done, but it's like cooking a hot dog. You got to only cook it so long before it's that perfect temperature, right? Same thing with your business. Only work to that perfect temperature. Don't overexert yourself. Otherwise you're going to get nothing done and you're going to be a burnt dog. Special delivery. My favorite. All right, so here's the other scary truth. Sometimes you might actually hate your boss. I know, hard to believe, right? But I think my boss is pretty awesome. I mean, she lets me work in pizza costumes. Sometimes my pajamas. Hey, if I didn't get enough sleep the night before, she's cool if they taking a little nap. If you're feeling a little blue, exactly I get to take some time for myself. Throw in a midday yoga class. You call it. Also, she lets me blast my music. I want to get into that creative zone. In fact, you know what a pizza maker's favorite song is? What is that? Slice, slice, baby. Boom, boom, boom, boom. But you know, sometimes my boss, she screws up and it's pretty frustrating. It causes more work for everybody, including me. Sometimes I want to ring her neck. But at the end of the day, every day, I know she's trying her best. What are you saying, Emma? Aren't you your own boss? That is correct. So I got to deal with all of it. The good, the bad, the ugly, but it's worth it at the end of the day. I get to be the boss. That's a wrap. Be sure to comment, like, subscribe, and ring that bell. This is The Journey. We'll see you next time.