What I Learned In 2018

2018 was a very tough year for oGoing. Whereas our B2B community grew to over 60K members "BIG YEA", our platform and network got hacked really bad early on in the year, and we were down for extended periods on two separate instances. We had to really dig deep and go back to the proverbial drawing board. For a while, we could neither find a meaningful solution nor we could restart our network. However, our team eventually solved the problem after days of non-stop work. This was a very hard lesson for us. We came really close to shutting down. Hence in 2018, we spent most of our time making our systems tighter and better, increasing our security and scalability, and improving our availability. What we now have is a much improved oGoing, and we plan on making our B2B community even stronger in 2019 and beyond.

Apple co-founder and leader Steve Jobs' timeless quote keeps us sane when things go wrong:

"Sometimes life is going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith." - Steve Jobs

In 2018, we hit another big milestone: our 25th Business Owners Roundtable. Back in 2011, we started Social Media Bootcamps, Fireside Chat Dinners and subsequently Business Owners Roundtable in Tustin, Newport Beach and Irvine to engage, inspire and connect our local business community. Over the last 8 years, oGoing has hosted over 50 major seminars, events and roundtables in OC. We believe that face-to-face networking, storytelling and learning is paramount towards connecting our community. We are quite grateful for the support provided by our business owners, customers, partners, entrepreneurs and chambers. 

On my family front, we celebrated many important occasions in 2018; my wife and I celebrated our 25th marriage anniversary (albeit we have known each other since our UT Austin days, 29 years and counting), I turned 50 years old (all downhill from here ??), our daughter graduated from University High School in Irvine, and turned 18 (she keeps reminding us "I'm 18 now"), and started her college at University of Washington in Seattle, and our son finished one year at SpaceX (and has now overseen about a dozen launches). We were most excited on my daughter's graduation when my parents flew from India to attend and spend some quality time with our family. The photo that I shared above is after her graduation ceremony at UC Irvine. We are quite happy and grateful that all these life events went rather well.

The life of an entrepreneur is indeed a roller coaster ride, except the ride could go on for years and not minutes... it's certainly not for the faint of heart, nor for someone who is looking for short-term results. S/he has to withstand so many twists and turns along the way, and many upside down moments too. Patience is warranted at every step of the way and the risk-taker who keeps their head above water, enjoys the small wins, learns quietly from the losses, figures out how to survive on scraps, finds a way to optimize and thrive, leads and inspires a team, and asks for support from family, friends and mentors as often as needed eventually emerges victorious. Many a times, I have had "what the eff was I thinking?" moments along the way... Your partner's support is absolutely critical, both financial and psychological.

Looking Forward To 2019

2019 will mark our 10th year in existence, and we couldn't be more excited about reaching the Big 10. We are looking forward to scaling new heights, innovating and growing our B2B community to over 100K small business members... One important goal this year is to create tangible value through our network for which our members would be willing to pay an annual membership fee. We have shied away from charging a membership fee in the past for a variety of reasons. However, we believe that at present, oGoing provides superior value compared to many other platforms and our new members should be willing to pay for the affordable annual membership.

Our oGoing journey started back in June of 2009; we have been patiently evolving, always mindful of creating better value for our SMB community and taking the slow-and-steady approach. We have been bootstrapping all along, and the lack of additional dollars have made us acutely aware of how we analyze, prioritize and utilize our scant resources. 

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' quote about frugality and innovation is etched in our DNA, so to speak:

"Frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do. One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out." - Jeff Bezos

Where will oGoing journey take us in 2019? We are both eager and enthused to keep going. We will certainly keep you posted... 

Life's a journey. Enjoy the ride ?? 

Happy New Year everyone ??????????

(sharing a few selfies and photos from our latest Business Owners Roundtable on December 19, 2018)

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." - Lao Tzu

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