How The Media’s Superhero Image of Entrepreneurship Creates Anxiety for Rising Entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs, you’re not alone in your silent mental struggles

Let’s speak the truth, shall we?

There’s a dark side to entrepreneurship.

A few months ago I published an article sharing my story.

I had left my job at Google, with the intention of trying to build something of my own. I launched an e-commerce brand — it was my first ever business and experience in entrepreneurship.

The article shed honest light on what it really means to be a solo entrepreneur in your late twenties building a completely bootstrapped business.

The words spilled out of my heart — I was real, raw and honest.

But what happened after I published the article was something I never could’ve imagined.

My inbox flooded.

Entrepreneurs and business leaders started sharing it with their followers on Linkedin and Twitter. Hundreds of people wrote to thank me for spreading the “truth about entrepreneurship”.

The truth that entrepreneurship is not as glamorous as the media portrays it to be. The truth that on the other side of the coin, the grass is not greener and life’s not as shiny as you might think. The truth that the personal sacrifices, loneliness, anxiety and emotional toll entrepreneurs endure are immense and sometimes, unforgiving.

People wrote to me to say:

“I’m so relieved to know that I’m not alone.”

The Media’s Superhero Image of Entrepreneurship Creates Anxiety for Rising Entrepreneurs

Look — no one said building a company is easy. We all know that it’s a rough road to travel on. But it’s time to be open and honest about how brutal it really is — and the price so many founders secretly pay.

All we hear and read about is how a 3-year old startup was just acquired for $50,000,000, how others are seeing double-digit growth rates, how great the life of the founding team is, how they are hiring a bunch of people and closing out another round of funding.

Such news led me to constantly think to myself “why is my business growing so slow? I’m not working hard enough, I’m not moving fast enough, I’m not being good enough. Maybe I’m not cut out for this?”

I found myself constantly turning to Google to search “the personal and mental struggles of building a business” and read stories of people opening up on theirs. I felt relieved. I realized I wasn’t mad; this was part of the journey — but rarely does anyone talk about it.

It’s very difficult to find people in my life who are willing to let their guard down and be honest and real. It seems that very few entrepreneurs will admit to or even talk about the stress, loneliness, and anxiety that emerges throughout the journey. Why we feel compelled to keep it to ourselves and hold it within us like its a deep, dark secret is beyond me.

Mental Health Struggles in Entrepreneurship

I thought there was something wrong with me when on a Tuesday morning I would be ecstatic with the sales and the next three days I would be completely bumped out. One day I would be euphoric from the new wholesaling contracts I just signed, and the next week I would struggle from the anxiety that things aren’t progressing forward.

So I did some research.

According to a study by Michael Freeman, “entrepreneurs are 50% more likely to report having a mental health condition, with some specific conditions being incredibly prevalent amongst founders.”

Founders are:

• 2X more likely to suffer from depression
• 6X more likely to suffer from ADHD
• 3X more likely to suffer from substance abuse
• 10X more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder
• 2X more likely to have psychiatric hospitalization
• 2X more likely to have suicidal thoughts

In another research by the UC Berkeley Institutional Review Board, entrepreneurs were more likely than comparison participants and the general population to experience:

• Depression: 30% compared to 15% and 16.6% (APA)
• ADHD: 29% compared to 5% and 4.4% (NIMH)
• Addiction: 12% compared to 4% and 8.4% (SAMHSA)
• Bipolar diagnosis: 11% compared to 1% and 4.4% (NIMH)

I definitely wasn’t alone.

A New Mantra: Build Slowly, Through Stability

At one point I looked at my life and thought it was crumbling. I had left my job, downgraded my lifestyle, socially abandoned my friend circle and invested a large portion of my savings into this business that I was struggling to grow. I would stare at a depleting bank account and wake up 3 or 4 times a night thinking how am I going to make this stand on its feet.

I felt ashamed of myself for all that I had failed to achieve, instead of being proud of all that I had… Completely irrational thoughts, I know.

That was until I realized this:

It takes years to build a porfitable business, because “overnight success” is a term that was interchanged for “10 years in the making.”

Keyword #1: profitable.

Keyword #2: 10 years in the making.

It took Facebook 5 years to turn a profit. It took Amazon 7 years. And then I found out that there are billion-dollar tech companies (Uber, Span, Square) that still aren’t profitable.

It took Arianna Huffington 14 years to establish The Huffington Post and Reid Hoffman’s LinkedIn 9 years of pivoting and rebranding to reach profitability.

The moment I understood this, I felt the suffocating cloud of torture slowly disappear. I dropped all the weight and burdens of self-inflicted, externally-drawn pressure.

I swiveled away from the “10x growth” the media preaches and, instead, I developed a new life mantra for myself:

Build slowly, through stability.

And I urge you to make it yours too.

Entrepreneurship is a spirit no one can take away from you. It’s a way of living, believing that the status quo is there to be challenged.

We are creators, originals and above all — doers.

But let’s stop idolizing the “Zuckerbergs” and “Elon Musks” and “Jeff Bezos.” I admire their boldness, work ethic and the companies they’ve built — I really do — but instead of making their path “the norm” or “the dream”, I’m just going to build my business at my own pace without sinking myself into a deep pool of debt.

I’d rather operate from a place of stability and mental wellness. I’d rather not put a timeframe on myself or my business because that leads to anxiety. And above all, I’d rather not compare my ‘year one’ to someone’s ‘year ten’. We’ve been wired to do so, but it’s time we rewrite the definition of success.

How to Change the Conversation

My first 6 months were the most difficult. I thought the feelings of self-doubt, regret, fear, loneliness, judgment, and worry were irrational weaknesses when in reality, I wasn’t alone. Thousands of entrepreneurs out there silently struggled and walked my shoes. Thousands “failed” and went back to their jobs. Thousands realized this journey’s not for them.

To all struggling entrepreneurs:

You’re not alone.

You’re not alone is the message we should be spreading. Especially in the entrepreneurial world where the storms are always present and the sun doesn’t shine more than a few days a year.

Let’s stop this silent struggle. Let’s reshape the flawed perspective.

Talking about it is not a weakness, but rather a strength in its own.

Today, the media’s superhero image of entrepreneurship creates anxiety for rising entrepreneurs.

But if we learn to look at entrepreneurship as more than just building a business — it’s about building yourself up as well — then we begin cultivating a healthier perspective.

Personal development is about learning how to become more self-aware and emotionally mature. It’s the willingness to be vulnerable, so you can learn to be honest, love yourself more and see your growth in the journey regardless of your business results — and that’s not a weakness, that’s a strength.

Entrepreneurship is not just about the business, it’s also — and more importantly — about the human(s) behind it.

If we approach it from this angle, the conversation changes. We will set healthier, more realistic expectations for aspiring and rising entrepreneurs.

On a more humorous, lighter note, you’ll enjoy this.

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