Nate Ritter

Photo courtesy fabiogiolito

So here we are, late at night working away. I’m a 30 year old entrepreneur/hacker/business man. I write code because it helps me to do business deals. We’ve rehashed this conversation over and over again.

“You just sit here and work,” she says.

“It’s what I do.” I tell her. “It’s like playing tennis or singing. This is what I enjoy doing.”

And again, we are both hurt by the other person. Not because we’re intentionally hurting each other, but because it’s hard when an extrovert web programmer gets together with an introvert normal person.

The problems with entrepreneurship - freedom

Most of the time, I love being an entrepreneur. Most of the time. Other times, I hate that I enjoy it so much. Entrepreneurs struggle with time management - our biggest enemy. We struggle with balance because most of us have 40-60 hour work weeks already. Many of us work for startups who need more time than a typical corporate job. But we can’t help it. We can’t work for larger businesses. They’re stifling, stuffy, restrictive. We need freedom.

So, we start our own things in basements, spare bedrooms, garages and kitchen tables. We carve out just a few more hours out of the week to work on something that could give us that freedom. We crave that freedom. We need the air to be our air, the land we walk on to be our land, and the time we live to be our time.

But by carving out just a few more hours a week we strain our relationships with those who aren’t involved in our adventures - our internal hopes and escapades. We lose touch sometimes. We forget often.

That freedom we’re driving forward for so badly, is it worth it? Sometimes, I think it’s not.

I once took a job at a larger organization with the intention of staying the course and simply doing my duty - providing for my family, coming home at 5:00, not having those side projects take up my time.

It didn’t work. I felt like I was a rat in a cage. I lasted 2 months.

The joys of entrepreneurship - the hope

So, here’s my question. Is it worth it?

When we finally get to the destination we’re hoping to make it to, is it worth the effort? I want your stories. I want to hear about your pain, and your joy. What is it that makes you tick? How do you handle the problems of entrepreneurship? And, in the end, is it worth it?

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