My Entrepreneurship Reflection Journal

I’m going to use this article as an ongoing reflection journey that I hope will bring together like minded entrepreneurs by outlining my business believes and values.

I quite like this analogy to summaries my business experience to date.

A car with one gear will burn itself out. A gear box that goes from neutral to gear 3 will struggle to gain momentum yet alone getting of the start line.

Lesson 1 – Start-up with a failure

My first business mistake that I hate to admit is common to other entrepreneurs that I have come across in the last few years. They are usually the ones going from a full time job, seeing money going through their employer believing they can do something similar. I was under the illusion that I would have a line of customers, all I had to do was make an investment which entitled me to success. Boy was I wrong, instead, I was given a ￡8k business lesson. Fairly competitive if I compare it against a business degree.

I batted full out on an online business going with a digital marketing agency to produce a all singing and dancing website based on a hunch. I then decided to be well stocked on top notch materials products because after all I couldn’t afford to receive negative reviews for being sold on – But the sales never came.

What do I now do different?- Test and look to develop my product / services with my experience in the market.

Lesson 2 - Listen well and choose when to follow

I sometimes hear large successful business leaders gloating they have a real business where as smaller businesses have glorified jobs because the business can not operate without time. Meaning they are trading time for money. To that suggestion I’d say “On your bike Assho**”

Learning the ropes in various business departments is invaluable. If I had to choose been a well paid job over a business that was dependant on my time, I would choose the latter because:

- I choose my position

- I choose the direction of the business

- I build my business network connections

Lesson 3 – Sometimes more equals more

90% of businesses fail. So I aim to get through 10 businesses, after all atleast 1 should succeed with them stats. I believe testing, experimenting and innovation is important as an entrepreneur. After all it’s the creativity that injects joy into our veins.

 Traditional business leaders will get snobby with those who have multiple ventures as there is a common rule, you can only truly focus on one thing. The idea is, ff you chase more than 1 rabbit you’ll end up with nothing or in other words all your efforts will be mediocre.

My believe is that a business journey has more than one gear. More businesses fail because of cash flow, not because an idea was crap. For this reason, Business idea 1 must be a low gear idea that provides instant cash for survival. If you stick in this gear, you’ll go nuts running around burning energy.

Therefore there must be a business 2 for the medium term that gives greater margin, however if you shift straight into gear two from neutral, you’ll stall your business career – Patients is a virtue.

For a start up business, your focus should not be the end goal, but surviving, being in the game long enough to move up a gear.

This basically means, be in the game and make cash for survival. If you go all in with a venture that is on a high gear, you’ll choke yourself dry – No wonder businesses fail because of cash flow.