Why Do I Still Do This Every Day?

Some of you will remember the slogan on the commute along the M40 into London (North to South) written on the fence line by a satirical graffiti artist "Why do I still do this every day". It always made me smile seeing this

When I was back in the music business I knew exactly why I was doing it. Back then we were pushing the boundaries of what was possible, developing entirely new tools (hardware and software) on a new platform that hadn't been done before whilst everyone else was jumping on the iPad as a development platform for musical instrumentation. As it turned out, in the very end, we also went to the iPad, such is life. Check out the DMA1 by Dark Matter Audio (DMA) if you want to know more.

The company (DMA) was exceedingly interesting to grow , we had a team of 15 at one point and around $1m in funding, and loads of (what I would consider fun) challenges. Some of the challenges included getting the audio programming community onboard so we could start building a developer base for the platform, or getting NAMM (in LA) organised, showing our product for the first time at Musikmesse in Frankfurt, maintaining enough fundraising exercises to keep going, finding the suppliers for the specialist components, mechanical design and readying for manufacture, legal, accounting, managing peoples egos! The list goes on and on, and as a small business owner or employee you will no doubt also recognise these as the day to day challenges that we live and breathe. Are these the reason you get out of bed in the morning? For some maybe, but once you get going and get to grips with the basics there needs to be a real passion for what you are doing to keep you motivated, I think. Money helps too of course but that's just the means to an end for many SME owner/shareholders.

I have been working with/on/in Bongo IT since late 2013, and we have certainly had our fair share of challenges. Some familiar and some new. Not least bootstrapping the company as we grow, and fervently steering ourselves away from external funding and borrowing. On day one we had one customer, and one lead, now we have ~160 customer and a CRM which is filling up. Lead generation is the greatest challenge we face as with many small businesses. We love technology, but cold calling and sales is not interesting or motivating to us. Yes we can do it, but its at the bottom of the list and often remains there. I'm sure Sandler Training employees would have something to say to us about that.

I recall my first session as a Business Mentor for Jennings (formerly: Oxford) Business Mentors. It was during training, it actually didn't go that well, but the chap I was talking to said a few things that stuck with me. He had a long list of complaints about the business and its performance in recent years, and when I asked him why he still did it (then?), he said because it was his baby. Even when we feel pissed off we weather it, and we keep going. Sometimes this feels like madness, friend may even comment as such; it definitely takes a certain sort of person to start their own business in the first place. Research on personality types says:

"Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Myers-Briggs research reveals that ENTPs, ESTJs, ENTJs, INTJs, and ISTJs are more likely to have higher incomes and either be self-employed or manage more people than other personality types. Of course, these are far from the only permutations that can successfully run businesses. For example, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Arianna Huffington, and (that guy) Donald Trump all have different Myers-Briggs types than the ones above. And just because you're predisposed to entrepreneurship doesn't mean you're prepared to start a company" ref: www.businessinsider.com.

So why do we do it? Are we just suckers for pain or "adventure", is it nature or nurture? My father (RIP) had his own classic and vintage car business, and from an early age I was involved if not by choice by the fact it permeated everyday living. Both my brothers (15+ years older) worked with my dad. Family holidays were often car rallies, for business. So for me at least there has been somewhat of a tradition of self-employment in the family.

Nb My brother still runs Malcolm C Elder and Son under the name of The Motor Shed at Bicester Heritage, worth a visit if not for the cars then for the lovingly restored airbase https://www.vintageandclassiccars.co.uk

I have considered many reasons why I keep getting involved in start-ups. I love the initial phase of designing the brand, getting the messaging right, creating the first deliverables. I love helping people, even when I was in the corporate world I was big on tech and helping people overcome its barriers. I gravitate towards intrigue and risk/opportunity, and people that are willing to put their heads above the parapet.

In short I keep doing it because I enjoy helping you to have something better, to work in a more efficient way, and to be safer when using technology. These sorts of results please me. A client recently said (I paraphrase) "since working with Bongo IT, our IT systems are a million miles away from where they were before and we are now moving in the right direction. Thanks for helping us get there and for being so responsive". That was unprompted, and that made me smile. That is all I need.

Please tell me why you run your business :-)