I held quite a few discussions with young entrepreneurs in the professional services industry over the past month. Sooner or later, all discussions ended up revolving around the same issue.
It’s important to remember that no matter how good we are at our daily jobs, no one ever managed to survive entirely on their own. Our capacity to cooperate, to synergize, to use our strengths to cover each other’s weaknesses, has been at the core of human nature, ever since we left our caves to live in human-made settlements.
Although there are certain merits to working on your own, like increased concentration and therefore, productivity, my experience has taught me that prolonged absence from an organized workplace can become detrimental in the long term.
The most commonly encountered issue, is what many people often cite as “staying away from your boss at work, only to find yourself working for an even worse boss.” We are our own worst bosses. Just like we are our own worst critics.
Indeed, people who suddenly find themselves working alone, have the worst bosses of them all. A boss that they can never get away from. A boss that follows them everywhere. Even in their dreams. Which is why the most important asset to young entrepreneurs in the professional services industry, is neither their intellectual property, nor their tangible capital. Rather, it’s something infinitely more important: A proper support system at home. People who care about you, and, when they see you getting tunnel-vision, they will be there to tell you “Hey, snap out of it. We are here for you.”