Transition of worker to entrepreneur hard

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Many entrepreneurs get a bit of a rude awakening when they make the transition from someone else's employee to head of a company.

Suddenly they are in charge of a long list of chores that they can't just turn over to someone else -- there's no accounts receivables or human resources departments. And the security of a weekly or biweekly paycheck is gone.

Susan Wilson Solovic describes the shift from corporate marketing executive to business owner and jack of all trades as a culture shock that took about six months to wear off.

"When you're sitting in corporate America and the grass looks greener -- to be your own boss, manage your own schedule, maintaining control of your own creativity -- what you don't factor into the equation is all the support corporate America gives you," said Miss Solovic, president of SBTV.com, a St. Louis-based Web site that targets small businesses.

So, on starting her first company, Susan Says Inc., in 1999, she discovered, "I'm now the secretary, the receptionist, the bookkeeper, the sales team, the janitor."

The hardest part of the transition for Barbara Sheridan when she founded her human resources firm in 1999 was becoming a saleswoman.

Miss Sheridan had worked more than 18 years as a corporate human resources professional before starting Charlotte, N.C.-based HR Xcel Inc., and so she certainly knew how to provide HR services. But selling was something new for her, and particularly challenging because she was trying to persuade customers to sign with a company that had no track record.

"I had a strong resume that said, 'I've done it internally,' but to do it externally and charge money, it's a little different," Miss Sheridan said.

"I think people really underestimate, when starting a business, that sales aspect," said Miss Sheridan, whose company is now large enough to have a vice president for sales among its more than 50 employees.

The worry factor is the tough part for many new company owners.