Hope Horner is an accomplished entrepreneur and the award-winning CEO of Lemonlight, a production company based in LA.
Starting a business is an incredible journey. The idea of turning a dream into something real is exciting, and it’s easy to get caught up in imagining the possibilities.
But if you’ve never known any other entrepreneurs, you might not know just how much hard work and grit it really takes. The highlight reels people share don’t always include the tough days, sleepless nights and behind-the-scenes struggles that come with launching something from scratch.
Want to peek behind the curtain? Here’s what starting a business is really like and why it’s worth the ride.
1. Forget work-life balance (for now).
Everyone talks about how important it is to have work-life balance, and they’re right—eventually. But when you’re just starting a business, work-life balance often goes out the window.
The truth is, when you’re in the early stages, building the business is going to take up most of your time. You’ll often be working 14-hour days, pouring every bit of energy you have into getting things off the ground.
And guess what? That’s totally normal. The beginning stages of any business require a lot of hustle. You’ll have to ride that wave of excitement and motivation while it lasts because it’s what will keep you going through those long days.
The good news is that this phase won’t last forever. As your business starts to grow, you’ll eventually be able to scale back, delegate tasks and get closer to that elusive balance everyone’s always talking about.
So don’t feel guilty if work-life balance isn’t your reality right now. The key is to accept that this phase is temporary and part of building something bigger.
2. Prioritizing tasks will feel impossible at times.
Starting a business means wearing a lot of hats, and when you’re juggling dozens of things at once, it can be hard to know what to tackle first. Everything feels important, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by your to-do list.
One tool that really helped me was the Eisenhower Matrix, which organizes tasks into four quadrants based on what’s important and what’s urgent.
Q1. Important And Urgent: These are the must-do tasks that can’t wait.
Q2. Important But Not Urgent: These tasks matter for the long run but aren’t pressing right now.
Q3. Not Important But Urgent: These tasks feel urgent but aren’t crucial for your success. Delegate them if you can.
Q4. Not Important And Not Urgent: These tasks? Skip them. They’re not worth your time.
At the beginning, it might feel like everything falls into Q1 or Q2, but that’s where this tool helps you get a clearer picture. Yes, there will be quite a few tasks that make the cut, but using the categories helps you scrutinize your list more carefully.
Once you’ve narrowed down your list, instead of focusing on everything that’s still on your plate, think of the steps you need to complete just one task at a time. One step forward is better than none!
3. You’ll be solving new problems every day.
Here’s something no one tells you: When you start a business, you’re constantly solving new problems. It’s like every day brings a new challenge that you didn’t see coming. And the further you get into your business, the more complex those problems become.
Elon Musk said it best: “If you’re the CEO of a company, you actually have a distillation of all the worst problems in the company.” For the first few years, you’re solving hard challenges all the time—challenges that are only reaching you because no one else could solve them.
You’ll have a team that can take care of the smaller details and little fires eventually, but as the founder, the big stuff will always come to you. Whether it’s deciding on a new strategy, figuring out financing or handling a crisis, you’re the one making the tough calls.
It sounds stressful—and it can be—but it’s also one of the most rewarding parts of the journey. Every problem you solve is a step closer to making your vision a reality, and you’ll learn a ton along the way.
4. Expect setbacks—and learn from them.
No one likes to talk about failure, but the reality is that things won’t always go as planned. You’ll face setbacks, and they’ll feel frustrating and discouraging.
The unfortunate truth is that every entrepreneur I know has faced moments where they wondered if they should just quit. What sets successful entrepreneurs apart is how they handle those setbacks. Failure doesn’t mean you’re not cut out for this—it just means you’re learning. Every mistake is an opportunity to grow and adjust.
Steve Jobs once said, “I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance,” and I think that rings true. So when things go wrong (and they will), don’t let them knock you down. Learn from those experiences, adapt and keep moving forward.
5. The payoff will be worth it.
Starting a business is hard work—there’s no sugarcoating that. But for every long day and sleepless night, there’s a payoff. There’s nothing like seeing your idea come to life and knowing that you built something from scratch. The pride and satisfaction are hard to describe.
While it’s easy to get caught up in the grind, don’t forget why you started in the first place. You had a vision, and every step forward is bringing you closer to making that vision a reality. When you reach a point where your business is running smoothly, you’ll look back and be glad you stuck it out through the hard parts.
Starting a business is truly unlike anything most people have done before. It’s not easy, and if you don’t know any other entrepreneurs, it’s even harder to know what to expect.
Here’s the bottom line: Yes, it’s tough, and yes, there will be challenges. But if you stay committed and push through the tough days, the result is something you can be truly proud of.
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