Effect of being an entrepreneur on relationships
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| Surmounting your own Everest |
Most
of us dream of living in that big house, driving a car that costs more than
most homes in South Africa and get the opportunity to travel the world at your
leisure and be financially protected and safe well beyond your grave.
These
are great aspirations and there is nothing wrong with them – these are some of
the aspirations I have for my life. Consequently, my aspirations have a bearing
on my family; for better or worse.
One
of the most significant things seldom discussed or delved into in
entrepreneurial education and development is the effect that being an
entrepreneur has on relationships in your life. Relationships with family
(parents, spouses and siblings), friends and your children.
We
all view the great strides that the mega-super stars among our entrepreneurial
fraternity – creating mega businesses with turnovers that rival the GDP of
small African countries. We look at these individuals that over a short a time
as 5 years have become dollar billionaires and we hope to do the same.
As
a wise friend once told me, “an overnight success takes 14 years, Yongama”
words that hurt at the time - but I have come to fully understand and
appreciate. Business takes time, success takes even longer and wealth creation
is a lifelong pursuit.
So,
when I left university full of hope and aspirations of becoming the next mega
entrepreneurial star, little did I know or even give time to think about the
effect my goals will have on others in my life. When I look back, it was an
exclusively selfish endeavor. Then again, is life not that, a selfish endeavor to
progress, one’s desires, hopes and aspirations – divorced of the effects it has
on others in your way or by your side?
As
the popular Xhosa idiom goes – [the road to anywhere is asked from those who
have walked it before you – translated] we have seldom done a study on
how the need to be focused on your business, can and has eroded relationships
with family and friends of the mega super star entrepreneurs of our day.
The
need and desire to achieve entrepreneurial success, to create something that
did not exist before and to overcome obstacles and regular ridicule on the
merits of your goals – all this requires one to have an almost obsessive focus
and dedication in making your business succeed. Leaving little room for other
things and people in your life.
I
have known a few entrepreneurs that have lost their spouses, girlfriends (mutually
exclusive, demarcations) and/or relationships with their children, in the
pursuit to surmount their Everest.
To
have a balance between work and family is easier said than done. This is not an
easy road – but like all difficult things, it’s a really worthwhile journey to
take.
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