Frustrations of an Entrepreneur: Friends and Enemies

You all heard about the best part of being an entrepreneur, like being your own boss, making your own decisions, time flexibility and being the one who drives change. But if it's easy, then a lot of people would have quit their jobs and risk it all. Entrepreneurship is probably way harder than working for someone else. These days, people don't want anything difficult anymore. The road to success is bumpy, filled with challenges and frustrations that wannabe entrepreneurs would have never imagined.

I have this group who might book a tour package, possibly my first big one. By this time, I have already developed a network of reliable suppliers. And reliable suppliers mean that they are not friends. Certainly not 'male friends'. I have a history in this town dealing with egoistic men. Remember my first rant about a then-friend who was supposed to be my 'service provider', being a local in this town who knows the ins and outs and all. Then he turned out to be such an A and the most unreliable of all. Our common friend came to the rescue and gave me all these promising ideas. He manages a dive shop because my other friend, the owner, is traveling in Europe at the moment. The dive shop manager friend was supposed to help me out with personalized tours. He said that he will give me the best price because he has a lot of boat contacts. Then voila, yet another unreliable person. Sure, I am an impatient sucker who lives up to their city person stereotype. But business is business. I just hope that someone will live up to the deal and respond faster when needed. The most common advice here is to "lower my expectations."

I spend my whole time here on this island trying to find out what other tour agencies can't give. And one of it is being able to respond quickly to enquiries. I focus on client service. Given the slowness and laidback lifestyle of the ruralites, you can't really expect that much. I am not trying to be better here I just know their shit by now. No wonder a lot of business owners are getting more frustrated with them than ever. The adage 'you get what you pay for' works very well in this region too, thanks to mass tourism.

One thing I learned is not to play 'the hero' in a man's life even if he is dying of hunger. The local men here have deep-seated insecurities. The last thing I want is to deal with a man's fragile ego the second time around. Or is this just me and my narcissism? My friend in the dive shop confessed to me a lot of things, including not getting any tours these days, to the point of not having the assurance of putting food on the table daily. For sure, it is still low season. Hell, it does not mean this place is empty. I also see him just hanging around and watching Tele. We are just at the same stress level here. I hang out at the dive shop, sometimes bringing food that we can all share. I have my dinner there when I have nothing too. Then he confessed that someone stole my action camera that I lent him for the photos that I need for my website. No apologies or anything, fine, I am not entitled to it. I said that he can bring me in one of his expeditions in exchange for my camera. I'm not gonna ask him money right now because I know his situation. Deep down, I feel like I have to be careful not to look better here. It seems that a man wants that you just listen to their frustrations and that's all. Don't be the hero because the payback time is quite harsh. Mind you, I am actually tired of this whole ego trip.

Then recently, I asked him if he could take my potential guests on a big tour. I didn't get any response from him for days. I have other suppliers okay. I just thought this is going to help him more since he is the one who proposed his service in the first place. Finally, I messaged him, out of annoyance, asking how can he earn if he is not responding. He just said that 'I just love reading your messages'.

I am so disappointed, in the end, he turned out to be such an A too. When it comes to business, never deal with friends, otherwise, you'll lose them. And if you lose them, they are not probably your friends anyway. It's probably better to test it straight away. The owner of the dive shop called me yesterday, he was also the one who proposed to me that they can handle the tours for me. He said it is okay that you give those bookings to someone else. And he really believes that our friend didn't intentionally lose my camera. He also said that our friend has to deal with a lot of issues at the moment - family issues, issues with his girlfriend in Japan, his unfinished boat, his lack of money for food. And that I have to be the big girl here. Sure I understand, I have my own problems too. I also cannot afford to deal with personal issues of another person. Given our incapability to even meet our own basic needs at the moment, it is downright mentally-taxing to deal with other people's feelings.

So I thought that I can pay the rent next month without relying fully on STEEM, given the disappointing price of cryptos at the moment. I am losing hope because now the group is unsure if they are going to book with me today despite me going the extra mile to craft their itinerary. After all the calls back and forth this week. All the little extras that I will add to the package because one will celebrate his birthday here. And this is not due to my unreliable friend. I just think that the group just wants to go cheap or that they think I am ripping them off. That is a common notion here. It's very last minute and my other supplier was asking me about it so they can prepare the boat and all the logistics. Sure, it is expensive. You are giving me all the stress and hassle. That is actually the point here. I will make you feel special from start to finish. And not be treated like shit after the tour. But, I am not going to lower my standards or the price of my skills. I want to attract those who recognize that and those who deserve more. Do you want to skip all the amazing little extras? Book everything on your own. In the grand scheme of things, it might even turn out to be more expensive. Good luck not getting overcharged out there.

There are many inevitable bumps in the road ahead, all kinds of frustrations - you name it. You will get continually frustrated with suppliers, customers, friends, and partners. Most of them will not really understand you or follow through with their actions. They have their own agendas. They have their own objectives and priorities. Self-interests matter here more. The clients don't care if you need to pay the rent, they just want cheap. The friend does not care if he is dying of hunger, the male ego comes first. The suppliers need your payment ahead of time it does not matter. I am probably just overanalyzing everything but please, don't give me your positivity formula here, that ticks me off big time. Anxiety is part of the journey. There's no other way to make it less painful than just to face and understand the negative realities, focus on the solution and keep moving forward.