Where did your entrepreneurial journey start? My entrepreneurial story - part 1

Let’s see. Where does one start one’s entrepreneurial story? I’m guessing probably at the beginning...but let me not take you back to my childhood and tell you about three-year-old me who started her first entrepreneurial venture selling painted rocks door to door... Let’s start maybe at the beginning of my first official entrepreneurial venture as a fully grown adult…

I was turning 26 that year. It was a hot summer’s night in Cape Town when I walked up to my, now ex-husband, who was working in the garage at the time, and spilled the beans. “I’m going to resign,” I said. “You can’t do that,” he said. “How will we live?”

“I’ll make a plan,” I said. “Everything will be fine. I’m resigning and starting a business. I’ve always wanted a business and if I work half as hard for myself as I’ve worked for the people I’m currently working for...how can it not be a success?” At that point in time, my now ex-husband was unemployed, had been for a long time, and wasn’t at all planning on/ able to get a job or create another way of earning an income. It was up to me to keep the two of us, my two dogs and his three guinea pigs alive, fed, and well.

He looked at me skeptically, uncertain. I felt sick to the pit of my stomach. I wasn’t at all sure that we were going to be okay, but at the same time, I knew I couldn’t stay on lecturing at the university where I taught auditing to second and third-year chartered accountancy students. Things had gone horribly wrong in the workplace for me and not only was I exhausted, but I was also having to deal with the fact that I was being forced out of my dream career. One that I had worked very (insanely) hard at getting into and that I had done nothing to deserve to lose!

This happened during the #feesmustfall movement in South Africa. Universities were under pressure, government funding was being cut and student protests were creating unsafe, uncertain conditions on campus. About three months earlier I had been hospitalized for burnout, amongst other things.

I had gone to see a labor lawyer that day, in the last hopes of saving my dream career from being flushed down the toilet by a peculiar set of circumstances that had come together to wreak havoc in my life.

The lawyer listened to my story, made some notes, told me what he could do for me, and then pushed his files aside, looked me straight in the eyes, and told me what I had heard from so many others during that time - the advice I struggled to take, like a bitter pill I just couldn’t bring myself to swallow.

“Resign,” he said. “You’re young. You’re a qualified Chartered Accountant and Registered Auditor. There are many places out there that would be lucky to have you. Yes, your circumstances are unfair and yes, I can see how hard you’ve had to work to get into this career, but circumstances on campus are not safe or healthy and you’ve got to ask yourself - is this really the best way to fight this battle?”

This was the advice I didn’t want to take. I didn’t want to be the person that had the dream job, the perfect career, and then lost all of it. I didn’t want to find another job - probably in corporate or at another university. I didn’t want to...and I didn’t have the energy to…

The only way I could bring myself to swallow that pill was to promise myself something better. I had to promise myself that this would not be my greatest failure, but the hurdle in my path that would lead to my greatest victory. And the only way I could go about that at that stage and in my mind was to promise myself that I would take the path of entrepreneurship, work double as hard for myself as I had worked for the ungrateful people that I was about to leave behind, and I would make a success out of it.

I would create my own future - the way I wanted it to look. And all of this would be worth it. And no one would ever be able to take this future away from me because it would not be the property of an employment contract, it would be mine because I would’ve created it from scratch.

“Please just reconsider.” my now ex-husband said. “At least stay until the end of your contract.”

I looked at him with all the love in my heart and a sinking feeling in my chest and I answered him the only way I knew how. “I can’t. You know if I could I would, but I can’t.”

The next day I handed in my resignation letter to an obviously surprised and very relieved now ex-employer. I started packing up my desk and wrapping up projects that were due before I left and I started thinking for the first time...how does one even get a person to become one’s accounting client?”

That is how my small accounting firm started. Ever since then it’s been a hard and rocky, but insanely rewarding road, that I’ll tell you all about in future blog posts as and when I get a chance, but for now - I’m keen to know. Where did your entrepreneurial journey start? Is your story similar or completely different to mine? Can you relate or not at all?

Please pop your stories into the comments section - I’m dying to hear your stories! And I’ve learned the hard way that reflection is such an important part of the entrepreneurial journey so do yourself and me a favor and take a few minutes to remember...where did your entrepreneurial journey start?

Yours in Business, Entrepreneurship & Networking,

Nestene

About Me

Hi, I'm Nestene - one of the co-founders of Explore ProTech Entrepreneurial Haven. I am also the co-creator and co-host of The Coffee Shop Conversations Show - a show where entrepreneurs from across the globe get a chance to ASK their burning entrepreneurial questions and receive REAL ANSWERS from REAL ENTREPRENEURS in a safe space.

Join us every Friday at 13:00 LIVE on Facebook for The Coffee Shop Conversations Show to get REAL ANSWERS from REAL ENTREPRENEURS.

Join our Email List to get notified when we go LIVE and to receive exclusive invites to all our events. :)