Here's some challenges you'll face after a few years on your business - from first-hand experience

I've been working on @EnterpriseDNA (www.enterprisedna.co) for 5 years and here are some insights after being in the game for quite a while and facing many wins & challenges along the way.

1. What used to work around marketing just doesn't get the traction at once did

The issue with being an online business is that everything is relatively visible and everyone just starts copying you and stealing your ideas. Any competitive advantage around marketing gets eaten up very quickly in a lot of cases. The only way to solve this is to keep innovating and trying to stay one step ahead of anyone else.

2. Some months you have wins and some months you plateau and start questioning everything you're doing

I think everyone wishes that you have these hockey stick growth charts that are always up to the right but the reality is it just never happens like that for pretty much everyone. The hardest thing about this is honestly the mental side of it where you think you're onto something one month and then it doesn't work for the next month or the next few months and you start to question everything that you're working on and all of the growth strategies that you've implemented

3. You set off in a strategic direction and then it takes you too long to realize that you need to pivot and stop it or do something different

This can happen with new products, new features, employees, new processes, and many other things. Because you have to make so many decisions all the time it's hard to know if you're doing the right thing or not. So you're always questioning yourself and working out of your right or wrong on something. Honestly, sometimes it's just worth not even worrying about it and just accepting it as part of the journey.

4. Competition can suck the life out of you sometimes and can give you some sleepless nights

Everyone wishes they could follow Peter Thiel's advice and play in a field where there's no competition but the reality is it's not actually that easy and we're all fighting it out in a marketplace where anyone can copy you or duplicate what you have done in a lot of cases. The mind frame to use I think to get around this, is always try to think about how can you play a different game. How can you play on a different field to those around you with some small innovations around your product or service.

What do you all think about these?

Share your insights.......