While writing the title of this post, I thought about how important and necessary it is to speak things clearly when we start a business.

And although it sounds colloquial, it occurred to me that this topic should contain the "harsh truth" about undertaking. So I've tried to capture in these lines 10 things that nobody tells you when you start a business and that you definitely need to know.

To put it another way, these are 10 things that I would have liked someone to tell me before starting my first business, and I am sure they would have saved me money and a lot of headaches.

1. A business takes time

If you are planning to start a business to work less, you are doing in the wrong way. Your own business requires a lot of time investment, particularly in the beginning and probably for many months or years, you will have to work double what you would work as an employee.

Many people abruptly give up their jobs because they are tired of the long hours and endless hours of work. Well, let me tell you that your company will be no different. In fact, you probably have to work more days and more hours in your office than before if you really want your business to rise and grow.

Of course, over time things will change, and you will enjoy the benefits of being your own boss, but that will be gradual.

2. It will not be the end of problems

This may be the biggest myth on this topic. To think that with your company you will no longer have problems or that will not be necessary to support to latest people is something illusory. Building a business, in fact, requires a lot of skill to solve problems.

You will have to trade with demanding clients, informal suppliers, employees, partners, shareholders, etc.

And you need to be the leader able to solve with them all the situations of the day-to-day.

3. You will not make as much money (at the beginning)

Earning real gold is one of the most important reasons why we start a business. However, what many entrepreneurs ignore the fact that money comes with time and in proportion to quick work.

"The worst mistake is to expect that in 6 months your company produces enough to buy a new car."

You can make a lot of money with your business, but to the extent that you are willing to innovate, create, improve what others do and be the best in your field. Good businesses are built and generate profits, but you must have patience since at the beginning they also need a lot of investment and reinvestment.

4. You will not have a mega company in a few months

Believe that just by making some investment, hire some collaborators and advertise on the Internet, orders will arrive and the hundreds of customers interested in your product or service is entirely false.

Building a company is the result of intelligently integrating the different factors we are talking about in this post, and it requires a lot of dedication, vision, and steady work. Of course, there are cases of people who have invented the latest application that drives users crazy and become millionaires in the blink of an eye. But these cases are the least usual.

So with your feet on the ground, you must work to build the business of your dreams and accept the process.

5. You can not do it alone

Only in the movies when Rambo armed to the teeth finished with all its enemies in a matter of minutes could imagine someone achieving its goal entirely alone.

In real life, working alone can be professional suicide. You must know that to lead a business towards success requires different knowledge and skills. 
If you can surround yourself with intelligent people who give you good advice and help you solve problems and plan the course, then you will have more chances to be victorious. If you do everything by yourself, and in your style, you are in the wrong way. You are slowing down your success. 

6. Today is not enough to be good at what you do

Being the best at something can be a trigger for success at the beginning. Doing things right is something positive. However, many companies have failed because of the lack of innovation and their limitation of seeing beyond what there is.

Every company needs to evolve, learn and improve every day what it does. Especially in the information age, pretending that what you know today will continue to be good for the next 5 years is a hoax.

Surely by the time that time comes, there will be more competition, new products, more technology and different cultures of consumption. So if you want to grow, you must be willing to innovate and always improve in what you do. The Japanese named this in the industrial era under the name of Kaizen, the culture of continuous improvement.

7. Do not take away the eye of the beads

If something is sure to end many companies with great potential is the negligence number one: forget the figures.

If you want to be a real entrepreneur, you must give high priority to the accounts of your business. If you are not an expert in accounting, you should advise you for someone else but without evading your responsibility to make decisions in the light of numbers.

You should always know how much you invest, how much you spend, how many bills and what your utility. You must manage budgets and have a re-investment item. Remember, work hard and be good at what you do, not in any way replace the numbers and make the right decisions.

8. Go outside, the product will not sell itself

I have heard this phrase many times: "this product is so good that it sells itself."

Now, try to leave the product stored in your warehouses and wait for your customers to come and find you to buy.

Regardless of size, all business must have a sales and marketing strategy. You must know how to sell, sell and sell. If you are not sure how to sell a course right now or hire someone to make the sales. But there is no other way on this planet that allows the growth of an organization that has nothing to do with sales.

9. Do not neglect the legal part of the company

"I would think legalization is like oxygen for your business."

Many directors make the grave mistake of dismissing the formal and legal part of their company.
They fail to comply with legal procedures such as registrations, registrations, tax payments, tax obligations, licenses, patents, etc.

Of course, all this can be tedious, but it is also an important investment that keeps the business alive. It will allow you to get rid of the stress of audits. Or at some point, you are exposed to problems that can quickly end the profits of a semester by a concept of fees & charges that can be prevented.

Of course, even for this, there are accounting consultants, lawyers and people who can guide and advise you rightly. The key is to be aware of the importance of legalizing your business.

10. Do not get frustrated at the first failure

And the right to conclude is important that you know that not everything will go well at first always. Many times you have to overcome difficulties and learn from things that are not going well.

The important thing is not to be successful at all but a good apprentice because even if it sounds a bit trite, failures if they leave great lessons.

So it is best not to get frustrated and try to extract the best from each adverse situation.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, maybe these points seem hard and direct, and the least I want is to discourage you. On the contrary, the spirit of this blog is to encourage, equip and guide entrepreneurs to build companies that are solid, that can grow and give them the financial freedom they crave. And the only way to get off to a good start is to speak openly.

My best wishes for success in everything you undertake and remember to follow me on Twitter as @fahimtm and Facebook.