This article throws light upon the three special challenges of entrepreneurship. The challenges are: 1. Growth of the Enterprise 2. Entrepreneurial Stress 3. Selling the Company.
Challenge # 1. Growth of the Enterprise:
With the growth of a business and increase, in its size and complexity, there is need to delegate authority, provide thorough, personalised training to employees and focus on coordinating their efforts. Over time, it is observed that in a changed situation, the very skills that brought the company early success are no longer effective. The company requires a new set of abilities from its CEO.
Most entrepreneurs find it difficult to manage and run a much larger and more complex company. Many face particular problems while delegating authority. As the creator of the business, they feel a strong need to control its operations and they suffer psychological setback whether they are required to share responsibility with others or relinquish any decision-making.
Others gradually discover that they simply lack the professional management skills needed to run a complex business.
Some tiny entrepreneurs feel uncomfortable with the environment of a big business. However, most entrepreneurs learn to delegate, often being careful in selecting those whom they delegate and by delegating gradually. Some, unable to delegate, sell their firms and start all over again, launching a new venture. Still others avoid the dilemma, entirely by deliberately restricting the size of their companies.
Challenge # 2. Entrepreneurial Stress:
All CEOs experience stress largely because they have to shoulder the burden of responsibility for managing a business. High levels of stress are usually experienced by entrepreneurs running small businesses. The root cause of such stress is the risks the entrepreneur assumes in launching a business and his sense of total accountability for its success or failure.
Another important source of stress is loneliness. In most small firms, entrepreneurs cannot speak out their minds or discuss business problems with friends and relatives and seek advice, especially in the early days of the company (when things are not in good shape). No one else is experiencing the same set of problems and is thus reluctant to share the sorrows and anxieties of the entrepreneur.
Three other sources of entrepreneurial stress are: total immersion in the business, frustration with employee problems and an overly high need for achievement. Most entrepreneurs kill themselves though stress when they set unreasonable goals, push themselves too hard and experience great frustration when they fall short of their expectations.
There is no proper cause for entrepreneurial stress because it is an inherent part of entrepreneurial venture. So some try to cope with it, others thrive on it.
However, the incidence of such stress can be reduced to some extent, by adopting various strategies such as making changes in their business routine (e.g., scheduling more time between meeting appointments and taking time-off for exercise), setting time aside for social activities, and creating more opportunities for interacting with employees as much as possible.
Often small entrepreneurs participate in local business organisations (such as the Rotary Club) that provide an opportunity to communicate with other CEOs of non- rival firms and discuss business problems.
Challenge # 3. Selling the Company:
Often for various reasons entrepreneurs sell their business — such as the desire to retire and enjoy the financial returns the sale proceeds provides them and to use the profits to start yet another venture. Sometimes entrepreneurs are constrained to sell their firms because, at the time of retirement, no qualified successor is available to assume leadership.
This type of problem normally arises among family-owned and managed entrepreneurs.