Starting a new business can seem like one of the scariest things in the world, but with enough determination and passion for your product or service you can accomplish your short and long term goals while overcoming hardships.

These 5 steps are important for those who are just opening their business and are not quite sure of the challenges that will arise during their time as a business owner.

1. Being the Boss

Being the boss of your own business is very different than being someone’s employee.  Instead of answering to someone else, you are the one in charge, which means that you must handle all the responsibility and everything related to your business. At first, this may seem scary, but with a great deal of commitment and perhaps the expense of losing a little bit of your personal life at first, becoming a fantastic manager and leader is very possible!

2. Assigning and Taking Risks

As an employee, you may have only had exposure to departmental risks.  Owning your own business creates room for financial repercussions and risks which are much greater. It requires more money, time and energy than you might be used to contributing to an organization. Every strategic decision involves some risk, but if you take the time to weigh the pros and cons of the risks you are considering taking, you will be equipped to decide which ones are worth taking. As a leader, manager and business owner, you must not operate out of fear and trust that you and your employees will succeed. Sometimes you will fail and learn from your mistakes, but you should always give yourself permission to succeed!

3. Learning How to Delegate

A common challenge for new business owners is not having enough time for strategic planning or not being able to delegate smaller tasks at first.  Eventually, business owners get bogged down with high level tasks and need extra help.  At first, you might not have anyone to delegate menial tasks to but it doesn’t have to be hard for new business owners to assign new tasks to employees.  If you hire trustworthy employees and lay the groundwork by training them very well, you will likely see your new-hires transform into reliable employees which makes running your business much easier and more enjoyable.

4. Staying motivated

Once you realize why you are doing the work it gets easier to keep yourself motivated and overcome challenges.  You will also enjoy the rewards and growth that your company is bound to receive in the future.  All the time and energy that you put into your business adds up! It can be hard to find the motivation to keep your business alive and kicking.  Most of the time there will be no one thanking you for all the hard work you are putting into building and managing your company while leading your employees, but your bank account will thank you each time you turn a profit. Cha-Ching!

5. Balancing Work and Family

For this challenge, you can reference some of the points we have mentioned above. Some entrepreneurs and business owners create their businesses so they will be able to enjoy their life in the future.  Some think, “I’ll start a business so I can have more freedom.”  Starting a business so you have more freedom?  Yea, right!  You need know decide why you are building your empire.  For example, to take care of your family, to retire early, to buy a house in the south of France, to be financially independent, to be happier, to have more flexibility in your schedule, etc..

By becoming the boss there is a lot more responsibility involved that will take up more of your time and energy than a regular 9 to 5 job tends to do so make sure you enjoy what you are doing. Finding equilibrium between work and family becomes easier when you learn how to delegate tasks to employees that you trust to take care of day to day operation of the business.  Eventually, you will have more time to spend with the people you care about if you play your cards right.

Overall, most of the challenges you will face have achievable solutions. With hard work and dedication these obstacles can easily be surpassed, which can lead to your business to flourishing.