The Realities of Starting Your Own Business

We live in a time where it is not only relatively easy to start a business, but it has also become trendy to do so. Here are some of the realities of starting your own business which I have personally experienced so far:

You Work Every day

Contrary to what Instagram would have you believe, working for yourself or running a company is not "living your best life" as it is depicted in photos taken in Bali, LA, Dubai or wherever. The reality is that if you are lucky enough to have the time to travel, you are working while you are there. Weekends also do not exist and overdoing it on a night out gives you anxiety that is not even worth it, due to the lost hours in productivity.

You are to Blame for Everything

For almost 2 years now with Signature, we have struggled to find a supplier who can 1. Create our product correctly and 2. Offer it at a cost that makes our product feasible for our market niche. I take 100% responsibility for the fact that it has taken us this long. The reality is that we now live in a world where travel is cheap, you can freelance procurement experts on Upwork, or crowdsource information online.

Two things have held me back: 1. Overplanning and under executing 2. Procrastination, due to being intimidated by the process.

The light at the end of the tunnel though is that the penny has dropped and that being to blame for everything, is the most liberating truth I have learned. It means that I am in the driver's seat and as long as I confront these two shortcomings, I can overcome any roadblock we are facing.

You Have to not give a F**k about anyone else's opinion

When I first started explaining Signature I faced a lot of skepticism from both personal and professional contacts. When those same people actually saw and felt our prototypes, they all of a sudden started taking me more seriously. I have had enough ideas shot down at this point which eventually came true, for me to ever self-defeat myself again based on other people's off the cuff opinions. The truth is that most people don't have the context to fully comprehend the world you live in 24/7 and a market opportunity that you have been studying over months or years.

Not giving a f**k is not built by reading this, or a self-help book. It is built through continuously putting yourself within the crosshairs of judgment, speaking completely honestly and eventually over time you become stronger at handling the opinions of others.

The 3x rule

Pretty much anything you will do in business will take you about three times longer than you plan, despite working every day. Realizing this and the need for patience will allow you to work extremely hard, yet be extremely patient. This is important because if you are constantly rushing and anxious about timelines, this rubs off on everyone else around you and ultimately will be very visible to the market. As the owner of the business, it is your responsibility to move fast in your world, but invest time in everyone else who works with you.

You have to move really fast

Not to contradict the previous rule, but you need to be fast to make decisions and get your own work done quickly. Any work which is outsourced or trusted in other people will inevitably take longer than expected. I believe that the best way to drive on other people around you is to lead by example. If you want your team members to work quicker, then you need to be the shining example of how it's done.

You Meet the Most Amazing People

When you make a public statement that you are working on building a business, you will inevitably receive a bunch of offers for coffees and meetings to talk through other people's ideas. This is without a doubt one of the most rewarding aspects of business for me. You begin to attract like-minded people who share your passion and sense of purpose.

You Never Work Ever Again

Back to my first point. You work every day but, really you never work again. And that is the reason why you persevere through most of what has been described in this article.