Day 1, Let's go!
Hi there, thanks for your interest in my newsletter. I truly appreciate it. And hope you find something useful after reading it.
Let's go.
Earlier this year (precisely in January), I was still at a 9-to-5 but longed for change.
The opportunity organically knocked on my door (more on this in an upcoming article) and here I am, as a startup founder, living the life I wanted and figuring out as I go.
The beauty of the entrepreneurial journey is that you learn more in 3 months than you could have learned in 10 years of working for someone else.
Why? Because you are in the driver's seat and making a million decisions every day, failing, getting up, failing again, and getting up again. It's chaotic but also so rewarding.
I am a girl who loves challenges. (I should do an article on that too...)
I don't like to go to bed thinking "huh, what did I achieve today? Was it an interesting day?"
Just like most computer scientists and engineers, I was stuck in a 9 to 5 job. I knew life meant more and that I was capable of much more.
So, in January, I went from being an employee to an entrepreneur, from working on someone else's dream to building my empire.
领英推荐
I now help businesses build highly engaged audiences that don't just visit but convert. I help them turn leads into revenue.
As expected, as a new entrepreneur on the block, I was in for some challenges and learnings. (I told you I like challenges...) I came dangerously close to making three critical mistakes in the first 3 months of my entrepreneurial journey.
Let's take a look...
1. Sprint Over Marathon - See, I am a runner (more on that later too...), so naturally, gravitate towards that analogy. When you sprint, you focus on speed due to the short distance. In a marathon though, you focus on endurance since you are going a long way. As I was brainstorming ideas and market-validating them, I got so tempted to invest, test, and see results quickly. This wasn't a good idea because while failing fast is a good idea, you also need to take time carving the path the business is going to take. Again, when you are an entrepreneur, the goal isn't to get to a destination fast, the goal is to get there and then sustain that level.
2. Hamster Wheel Syndrome - I almost forgot why I left my 9-to-5 job. I wanted to quit because the work wasn't aligning with my life. My husband and I are blessed with three wonderful kids and we are also raising two beautiful dogs. I didn't want to work a 9-to-5 because freedom of time was important to me. I wanted a life where I could take my kids to their dentist appointments, and soccer games, take three vacations a year, and not feel the need to ask anyone. I was so close to hiring 3-5 employees, which meant I needed to make sure I was bringing a certain MRR to be able to pay everyone. Taking a step back, and giving myself permission to strategize and decide how the rest of the quarters this year for my business will look like has helped immensely.
3. Building in a Vacuum - I come from a product leadership background. Designing and building products is at my core. Just like other product leaders, I have made all those mistakes that could have been avoided but as human beings, we trial and error and learn. No harm! This gets interesting because sometimes creating solutions without sufficient customer input is tempting. As I started to talk about my ideas, people got excited, and I almost invested in building a B2C product without much market validation. I was lucky because along the way I learned a powerful lesson which is “it's almost unethical to build without a customer”. WOW!
With articles like this, my goal is to connect with likeminded folks, share insights, and learn from each other.
Tell me, what lessons have shaped your journey?