Sunday, July 3, 2011

Why Entrepreneurs Need Friends


Entrepreneurs are an unusual breed. After all, who in their right mind would check email on a Sunday afternoon, or work longer than they had to each day? Who would live on savings while trying to grow a startup, straining family relations until funding comes through?


Needless to say, entrepreneurs are sometimes a lonely bunch. Sure, we have friends, but if you're like me, they're teachers and nurses and have respectable jobs that they don't enjoy talking about at dinner parties. Me? I could talk about my marketing firm and marketing in general until I'm the last one at the party.

I recently met some other female entrepreneurs. The feeling of belonging was new and refreshing. They understood what an accomplishment it was to reach 5 years with my company. Or to win a new client. Sometimes with my "regular" friends, I wonder if they really know what it is I do. With entrepreneur friends, you can talk about working out of your home office, traveling to The Bay for business and playing golf, all without feeling ill at ease.

Having a support group is an amazing thing in any situation, but especially for entrepreneurs. We can learn from one another and support each other through good and lean times.

Do you have entrepreneur friends, or are you the "black sheep" of your group? What does having entrepreneur friends mean to you?


Flattr this

2 comments:

  1. I absolutely can relate. I have dinner with friends and they ask but I know it is only superficial because the minute I get into details, they're eyes glaze over. It isn't that they are bad friends, they just don't get it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can certainly relate too.... sometimes it feels like running a marathon alone. In my case, nobody else in the office to speak and have a joke with and you have to run the whole show alone. It's good to converse with others in the same type of set up as you know that they know what you are going through/doing.

    ReplyDelete