Everyone Struggles at Their Own Level
2024.07.20.

I often think about what well-being and prosperity mean in the context of entrepreneurship. What do we need—how much and what kind—to be well within our own company? And how is well-being connected to prosperity? How do we get there, and do we even know where "there" is?

Around 2013-14, when I wasn’t doing well in my company and couldn’t find solutions to my problems, I tried to talk to leaders of companies who, in my view, were significantly ahead of me. During one such conversation with a company leader in his Buda office, I asked him a few pressing questions that I couldn’t resolve. The guy just smiled and said:

“Welcome to the club!”

Since then, I’ve overcome a few things; a good 10 years have passed. My company has reached the international market, we’ve become visible, and we’re successful in our niche. I achieved what I wanted; my to-do list was fulfilled, and a dream came true. And somehow, life has brought me to a point where company leaders now seek me out to discuss their problems and questions. As I talk with these leaders and entrepreneurs, a question has started to nag at me: What causes their discomfort? What caused mine? What changed in me around 2013-14? How did I manage to achieve my goals then? What’s the common thread in my story and theirs? These companies are all different—different sizes, stages of development. The leaders, like their companies, are all different. Young, old, beginners, experienced, men, and women. Some are playing it small, others very big, yet they share something in common.

They’re not well.

They have stress, problems, things they’re stuck on. They’re trapped in a situation and can’t see a way out, and they’ve reached a point where they’re willing and eager to talk about it. They’re searching for solutions. But what does it really mean to not be well? Is it about not finding the right employees? Or not having enough revenue? Or struggling to finance the company?

Of course, these aren’t simple issues, but they’ll always be there. Some people aren’t well-suited to handle the uncertainties of entrepreneurship, and maybe entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. But if you’ve embarked on this path not because you were forced but because you wanted to create something according to your vision, then you have the openness, the desire to make it happen.

But do you know why you’re running your company?

This is usually where I start my conversations. What do you want? You, as a person. What do you desire, what makes you tingle when you imagine it with your eyes closed? And if you know what you want, what excites you, what gets you out of bed in the morning, can you say how your company helps you achieve that? How does it bring you closer?

It generates money.

Is that all? Is your company really just about making money? It can be, and that’s fine. If your company gives you nothing but money, and that money allows you to spend your free time on your hobbies or with your loved ones, then great. But if that’s all it gives, the challenges can quickly drain you. Just like an employee who comes to hate their job when they’re only working for the paycheck. In such cases, we try to do the minimum required to get paid.

A slow death.

Inside and out. So, this generally only works if there are few problems. And it doesn’t matter how much money the business generates or how high your salary is. You can quickly come to hate troublesome revenue, no matter how much money is involved... So, what does your company give you? What inner desire of yours finds expression in your business? It’s a tough question, hard to confront, but it’s good to be aware of. Because somewhere, this is the main driving force, something worth checking in on regularly: Am I getting this thing? If you know what you want, if you know how your business life supports you in this, the next question is:

What’s your goal for your company?

Where do you want to go? If you don’t know this, how do you know you’re heading in the right direction? And more importantly, how do you know when you’ve arrived? Could you rush past your goal because you didn’t know what it was? Can you march on for years without tension or frustration, not knowing when you’ll arrive? I think that only leads to exhaustion and burnout. A friend once told me about their military training: They set out at night with full gear, not knowing where they were going. They didn’t know when it would end; they just kept going. It was much more exhausting than when they knew they had a 30-kilometer march ahead. The same can happen in business. It’s much easier if we know how long we need to push through 12-hour days than if we just plow through endless soul-sucking weekdays. And then there’s the question:

What about the money?

How much money do you want to make? That’s what a business is for—to generate money. That’s why you’re not running a nonprofit, a foundation, or doing volunteer work. A business exists to make money. But how much? A lot? Enough? Whatever the amount, how much? And where are you now? If you don’t know how much you want, how will you know if you’re successful? Because you feel that way? That’s deceptive... If things are going well, you’ll feel great, like you have enough! No matter how much “enough” is. If you’re in a bad mood, if a crisis like COVID hits, if everyone tells you to be afraid, that feeling will grow that you don’t have enough.

And it doesn’t matter how much you have!

So it’s worth figuring out what you want and how much of it you want. Because that’s necessary to know where you’re heading. Where you want to arrive. And you know what? It’s okay if you don’t know yet—just know that it’s worth knowing. If you don’t have an honest answer yet, that’s fine. If the question is nagging at you, the answer will come. Be aware of it, because it can be an incredibly clear and understandable guide in your entrepreneurial life. It helps you understand what well-being means to you as an entrepreneur. What good life means to you.

But how do you get there?

Hard work? The law of attraction? Is it enough to imagine your well-being and then attract it? Maybe, try it out and let me know if it works. A roast pigeon could fly in through the window; I believe that can happen. Leave the window open, so you don’t have to replace the glass afterward, and wait. Don’t like waiting? Then do something! This way, you increase the likelihood of achieving what you know you want to achieve. Will it work? Who knows? We don’t know what will happen, but we can know what we want to happen. So know, and work for it!

When do you want to be there?

If you’ve imagined the state you want to reach, when do you think you could realistically get there? Immediately? Well, then I understand why you’re stressed :D Give yourself a bit more time; otherwise, the pressure will be too great, and that can either help or hurt. It helped me; it pushed me a lot, but it wasn’t necessarily good for those around me. And I paid the price... So, when do you want to achieve it? Maybe in 3 or 5 years? Let’s say 3. Write down the goals you want to achieve in 3 years!

What should your annual revenue be? What should your profit be? How many clients will pay you this? Who are these clients? How many employees will you have? It doesn’t matter what these criteria are—the question is, what’s important to you in your business. Once you have that, write down where you stand today with these things. This is Year 0, the base you’ll build on. From here, it’s simple—just fill in Years 1 and 2, and you’ve got the main arc of your plan.

Do you believe you can do it?

I once had a great conversation with a company leader who envisioned building a billion-forint company from services in 5 years. When we put together the spreadsheet and I started asking him how he envisioned the process and where the money would come from, he let go of the plan and significantly reduced the numbers. Is that a problem? No. If you can’t envision the process, you can still reach your goal; the question is how actively you can participate in it and how much will depend on your luck and external factors. Is there a problem with doing it without a plan? Not for me; is there for you? If there is, make a plan; if not, enjoy the process and see what happens...

But are you aware of these things? Have you ever said these things to yourself? Have you taken the time to consciously address these fundamental questions, or did you just get swept along in your business life, hoping things would work out somehow?

If not, then it’s easy for your company to head in a direction you don’t want. It doesn’t serve your desires; it just generates money. A lot, or a little. It matters, but if you no longer love it, if you only see the problems, it will slowly drain the life out of you. And you won’t understand why you’re exhausted.

On the other hand, even if you’ve thought these things through, it doesn’t guarantee everything will go smoothly. But if you have, you’ll be able to prepare consciously for the process, create plans, and check them periodically to see if you’re

still on track. Whether your company is heading where you want to go.

So, I think the first step is to

be clear about what you, as a person, desire
consider what your company can contribute to this
then imagine what your quantitative and qualitative goals are
and when you want to achieve them
then write down where you stand with these today
finally, imagine how you’ll get from the present to your envisioned future in the time you’ve imagined

This is the foundation for turning your dream into a tangible goal, for which you can plan a path. Because you might need a plan. Not to cling to it tooth and nail, but to know what you’re deviating from.

But I’ll write more about that later...

The article was translated from Hungarian to English by ChatGPT. Thank you, ChatGPT, for being here.

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