A few weeks ago, I was speaking with a new franchisee. He had been in business for around 6 months. During our conversation, he shared some of the challenges he was facing as he tried to grow in his new role as an owner. His experiences reminded me of a previous life experience I had in the early 1990s when I worked in Japan.
My job in Japan was to work with senior-level Japanese leaders who would soon be taking over large manufacturing facilities in the United States. I was tasked with preparing them for what would be a new, and very different, life. We spent a lot of time discussing the various challenges they would face upon their arrival in the United States.
Initially, they would be dealing with physical challenges. They would be confused by how to set up a bank account, decipher labels in the grocery store, or choose appropriate gifts when visiting someone’s house. Everything would be foreign to them, and they would need to deal with these physical challenges first. However, we also talked extensively about the fact that the physical challenges were the easy part. The harder challenges were the psychological ones.
The psychological challenges begin to occur once the physical challenges subside. They revolve around feelings of not fitting in, not knowing what they are doing, or doubting if they were the right person for the job. In many ways, these psychological challenges related to the idea of not feeling like they were in the right place. However, over time, they would get past both the physical and psychological challenges and start to feel comfortable, productive, and at home.
In many ways, opening a business presents the same types of challenges. In the first six months, new business owners are trying to figure out how to hire people, run the billing system, and respond to customers. These are the physical challenges. However, just like moving to a different country, eventually, the psychological challenges come into play. Doubts such as, “I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a business owner,” or “This doesn’t feel like I expected it to,” or even, “Why did I do this?” start to arise.
The good news is that eventually, with patience, you get past these challenges and become comfortable, productive, and in the right place. It’s important to understand that there is nothing abnormal about these stages. Everyone goes through them, to varying degrees. The key is to remain present, taking it day by day, and not getting too far ahead of ourselves. Just like climbing a mountain, it’s one step at a time.
