Every Entrepreneur Should Work a Low-Level Job Before Starting a Business

When you think of an entrepreneur, you probably picture a sharply dressed person running meetings, calling the shots, and steering their business to success. It’s easy to imagine entrepreneurs living the dream from day one—after all, that’s the side of the story we often see. But there’s another story that rarely gets told: the one where real business skills are learned in the trenches, doing what some might call "low-level" or unglamorous jobs. This may be a biased opinion based on my past but I believe this to be true.

I’m talking about the kind of work where you don’t sit behind a desk with a title that starts with "Chief." You know, the kind of job where you’re wearing a uniform, standing on your feet all day, or answering customer service calls. These roles are often dismissed as something you do just to "get by," but if you want to be an entrepreneur who truly understands what it takes to run a business, these experiences are invaluable. Here’s why.

1. Understanding Your Team Starts with Being in Their Shoes

As an entrepreneur, one of the biggest challenges you’ll face is leading a team. But how can you effectively lead people if you’ve never been in their shoes? Working in a low-level job before starting your business gives you firsthand insight into the daily grind your employees will experience. Whether it's dealing with difficult customers, managing high-pressure situations, or handling monotonous tasks, you’ll develop an empathy that can’t be learned from textbooks or leadership seminars.

When I worked in a butchery right after graduating, I wasn’t exactly living the entrepreneur dream. I spent long hours behind the counter, dealing with customers who weren’t always polite and bosses who had no time for excuses. But that experience gave me a solid understanding of how hard work looks and feels, not just from the top but from the bottom too. This helps in business because when your employees feel like you get them, it builds trust, loyalty, and a more engaged workforce.

2. Developing a Work Ethic that Can Weather Any Storm

Entrepreneurship isn’t easy. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and the work ethic you bring to your business will often determine whether it thrives or fails. Working a low-level job teaches you grit and perseverance—two qualities that every entrepreneur needs in spades. When you’re sweeping floors, serving tables, or dealing with a flood of customer complaints, there’s no glamorous reward at the end of the day, but you still have to show up and give it your best. That builds character.

Take it from me: when you’ve been in a job where the reward for working hard is simply surviving another day, you learn how to push through challenges without expecting immediate results. In the world of entrepreneurship, this is critical. When things get tough (and trust me, they will), you’ll know how to keep going because you’ve been there before, and you’ve built up the resilience to keep moving forward.

3. The Art of Customer Service: Learning How to Listen

If there’s one thing every successful entrepreneur needs, it’s a deep understanding of their customers. And there’s no better place to learn this than by working a customer-facing job. Whether you’re on the phone handling complaints or serving food at a restaurant, these roles force you to become attuned to people’s needs, desires, and pain points. In entrepreneurship, your customers are your lifeline. Knowing how to listen to them, anticipate their needs, and solve their problems is gold.

In my time at the butchery, I learned that the key to keeping customers happy wasn’t just in giving them what they asked for—it was in anticipating what they didn’t know they needed. That experience has shaped the way I approach business today. I realized that truly listening to your customers and going the extra mile to meet their needs can set you apart from the competition. This skill is essential when you're starting a business because your ability to build relationships with customers will be one of the biggest drivers of your success.

4. Learning Humility: Staying Grounded in Your Success

Another lesson that comes from low-level jobs is humility. When you’re running your own business, it’s easy to get caught up in the idea that you’re the boss, the one calling the shots. But when you’ve scrubbed floors or cleaned up after someone else, it’s a lot harder to let that ego run wild. You realize that every job has value, and every person in your company plays a role in its success. This humility will not only make you a better leader but also help you build a company culture where everyone feels respected and valued.

Working in a low-level job teaches you that success isn’t about having people work for you; it’s about working with people. And that’s a mindset every entrepreneur should carry with them as they build their business.

Conclusion: Grit, Empathy, and Customer Focus Are Built in the Trenches

Every entrepreneur should experience the grind of a low-level job before starting their business. It shapes you in ways that formal education or glamorous internships can’t. It builds the grit you’ll need to survive tough times, gives you empathy for your team, sharpens your customer service skills, and keeps you humble. These lessons, learned on the front lines of work, will become the foundation of your success as an entrepreneur. So, if you’re thinking about starting a business, don’t rush past the grunt work—it might just be the most valuable job you ever have.