While many would agree that being an entrepreneur is the best job in the world, we often forget that it is also one of the hardest. It is fraught with difficulties and quickly becomes all consuming. Having invested in more than 100 start-ups, I have witnessed every entrepreneur reach a point of saturation. A point when they felt like they are drinking from a hose that could not be turned off.
In my experience, this is a bad place to be.
In the thick of things, nose down in the trials of being an entrepreneur we often forget to look up and see the big picture. Most entrepreneurs describe this phenomenon as a regular occurrence, one that happens when you least expect it and one that leads to the same unmistakable result: you loose focus and make poor decisions.
Yet it is often at exactly this moment that you need to stop and get some perspective. Perspective provides a vantage point from which you can critically look at what they are doing. So how do you get perspective?
In some cases, entrepreneurs recognise themselves that they are in need of perspective - these are the lucky few. For most others, my advice is that you surround yourself with advisors you trust and who will 1) help you recognise when you are approaching the point of saturation and 2) provide meaningful advice on how to navigate these treacherous waters.
This could require you to expand your board of directors, while in other cases it could be as simple as having a go-to advisor. My personal preference is the board of directors - this is one of its most fundamental roles.
Either way, make sure you avoid the most awful of situations: denial.
* This post was first published on LinkedIn.