Half a year as an Ecopreneur. Did I make the right choice?

It's been half a year since I started my ecopreneur journey. It has been a rollercoaster ride.?

So did I make the right choice in leaving my secure and fantastic 9-5 job??

Yes.?

No matter what happens from now on, I know that I would have regretted this my entire life if I wouldn't have taken this jump into the unknown.?

Yes, this journey consumes time and energy like a black hole, but wow, it is incredibly rewarding.?

The half year in 1 word: foundation.

Before we dive in.

I am building?Wildya?&?Wild Business Mates?transparently.

First, so that you can see if this road would be for you.

Second, so that you have a blueprint of how to start & to get to your first paying/donating supporters.

So here are my 3 challenges & victories of half a year of ecopreneurship.?

?? 3 Challenges:

1. Everything takes longer than expected?

In my old job, we were 200 people and frequently, I got frustrated that we didn't move quickly enough. So when I started this journey, I thought I would launch the Wildya app within a month.??

Jokes on me.?

Yes, you can execute much faster than in bigger companies, but if you start this ecopreneur journey alone, you must do everything yourself. Product, sales, marketing, website creation, etc.?

?? How I will try to overcome it:

Ross Patman joined me early in this journey, and we are looking for another co-founder. Building up a team of superheroes that share the same values & mission will accelerate this adventure massively.?

2. Money, money, money?

It is one thing for people to like you. It is one thing for people to like your product. Yet it is still another story for people to buy your product or service.?

We didn't launch the Wildya app yet, so I couldn't create a revenue stream there, but I thought that Wild Business Mates would be an easy sell.?

Nope, it isn't.?

Just because your target audience needs your services doesn't automatically mean they are willing or capable of paying for them.?

So before you quit your job, make sure you have some buffer.

??

?? How I will try to overcome it:?

The Wildya app will launch this month in the app store, so my primary focus will be to create the highest possible value for our users.?

For Wild Business Mates , I will continue to pay forward and provide massive value for biodiversity heroes. + I have some digital products in mind + another consulting product up my sleeves.?

3. Black hole of resources?

This probably depends on you & your idea. I am somebody that can get lost in my work.?

Black hole of energy: my entire life energy is going into this right now, and my mood is going up and down based on the progress I make.

Black hole of time: I am spending a minimum 55h per week on this. I love what I do. I just want to prepare you that there will always be a next action to accomplish.?

Black hole of money: Before you can make money, you need to invest it. It has become very cheap to launch all sorts of products, but as long as your revenues are lower than your expenses, you are burning cash.?

??

?? How I will try to overcome it:?

Energy - will do more sports again + have to create a bit of a barrier to not let things affect me too much emotionally

Time - I am ok with this right now and don't feel that I miss out on something.?

Money: Increase my revenue stream so that I get cost even asap and soon after profitable?

?? 3 Victories:

1. Inspiring people everywhere

Working 24/7 on my own projects allows me to do whatever I want.?

So I spend some time getting to know other inspiring biodiversity heroes that want to create a wilder planet.?

Meeting them gives me hope and energy that we can still turn this biodiversity crisis around.?

Try to find your balance between executing and making time to connect with others who share your mission.

?? What I learned:

I am not alone in fighting for a wilder planet and can't fix this by myself. Let's collaborate so we make this dream a reality.

2. People actually get it

When I came up with the idea, I struggled to explain it, so people had no clue what I was mumbling about. People started to love the idea as soon as I got more clarity on what I was building.?

Last week I had my personal highlight when Mikael, one of the beta testers, told me that thanks to my courses, he learned plenty about himself and now sees pigeons in a totally different light.?

Exactly why I created this app to begin with.?

?? What I learned:

Don't be secretive about your idea but talk with as many people as possible because it provides you with the needed clarity to get your idea off the ground.

3. Get something out there asap

Looking back, I made the mistake of talking mostly about my idea, instead of building it. My ratio was probably talking 80%, building 20%.?

Now it is still not perfect I would say talking 40% and building 60%, but what a difference this makes.

Since I focused more on building, I automatically got more people interested, so I didn't need to talk so much about the idea.?

What a great feeling it is to finally put the Wildya app into people's hands.?

?? What I learned: Execute. Learn from my mistakes, focus on building first, launch quickly and work with your first users to improve your product or service.?

And that's 6 months.?

I want to thank plenty of people for the past 6 months because each of you inspired me to keep pushing. But it would become very spammy to tag you all here.?

So this time, only the 3 people I couldn't have done it without.?

Ross Patman thank you for joining this adventure and pushing me to hold on to my app idea and actually build it with me.?

Marion Murvine , for believing in Wildya before anyone and giving it such a professional look, which inspires me daily to live up to the brand feeling you created.?

Paulyne Dauert , having you in my corner 24/7 is unbelievable. I wouldn't have lasted a month without your support.?

In July, we will launch the Wildya app in the app store + we will start the beta phase for Android users.

Let me know in the comments what your challenges were this month and how you managed to overcome them. Through this, we can crowdsource solutions for our obstacles.?

P.S. I have the tendency to talk about work too much and don't reveal much about my personal life. So once a month, at the bottom of this reflection, I will share something, let's call it, unique about me.?

I am a water rat. When I am not working, I love to spend my time in the water. Surfing, swimming, snorkeling, diving or just pretending to be a whale and splashing around.?

#ecopreneur #ecopreneurship #entrepreneurshipjourney #entrepreneurship #biodiversity