What are the tough obstacles faced as an entrepreneur?

[InsideSpin]

What are the tough obstacles faced as an entrepreneur and what can be done to overcome them?

[InsideSpin]

This is not an easy question as each business venture tends to have its own obstacles to overcome. Some of the more common ones include:

. finding the right team to operate the business with excellence. Experience, raw talent, sometimes luck as well play a role in finding and bringing together the right team.

. getting the initial financing together to prove the business concept. The first funding is often the hardest as you are asking for money almost purely on a paper statement of what you think you can do (a leap of faith for the investor). Once you are moving forward a bit, usually you can create some tangible reason to get more funding -- proof of product success, key customers, industry recognition, etc.

. taking the big risk -- there is almost always a point when a business has to take a risk that, if wrong, would harm the business perhaps making it fail altogether. The risk-reward relationship is more than a cliche -- those who take risks are often the ones who can reach out for the rewards. It does not mean you should take silly risks -- risks are only risks if you enter them with less knowledge than you should. It's not a risk to take a card at blackjack if you know the next card is the one you want -- in business, it is often the case that you can reduce your risk by knowing what you are getting yourself into. This is where experience comes into play.

. firing a founder or someone close to you. Many small businesses start with a founding team of friends or workers with some prior relationship that brings them together. It is not uncommon for a time to arrive where the business outgrows one or more of the founders. In the CEO role, letting a founder go is a tough moment for everyone involved.