Don’t quit your day job. (yet!)
In a moment of inspiration, I wrote this post to all new learners of IDEOU’s Designing A Business course last year while the world was still in lockdown. Much has been reported about how the way we work has been completely disrupted and will never return to how it was pre-crises. And there is no shortage of news articles, commentaries and videos about workers doing some deep soul searching, questioning the reason they work and the purpose of work. A crisis or tragedy that affects us at a visceral level, both psychologically and emotionally, will cause us to ask questions about what we are doing with our lives. I experienced such an event well before The Great Resignation was even a thing. Disillusioned with work, I quit my job and left the corporate world searching for meaning. I shared some of the painful lessons I learned from my journey in the wilderness with the cohort, and I want to share them with you, who might be considering venturing out on your own.
As we embark on this learning journey together, I thought deeply about how I could contribute to your goals for taking this course. We all have our reasons for doing this course, but I think there's one thing that ties all of us together, a desire to strike it out on our own or curiosity about what it would be like to be the captain of our ship. This made me reflect deeply on my own entrepreneurial journey. The desire to start my own business was not the main reason I left my high-paying corporate job back in 2010. I had to take a sabbatical after a life-changing event in 2006 when doctors told me they could not save my 2-week-old son, and he had only a month to live. I will not go into the details here, but I experienced a miracle, and my son will be celebrating his 15th birthday this October. I could pinpoint the exact catalyst for my change in worldview, and I started questioning what I was doing and started to search for meaning and purpose in my life. This experience was it.
Fast forward to the period of 2012 - 2015. On the company registrar database, I was now the director or co-director of 3 start-ups, which were all eventually wound up when I ran out of money and had to return to the corporate world to provide for my family. I want to let you all know that you have invested in a great course. I can only wonder what my entrepreneurial life would be like if I had the education and guidance to start a business like the one created by IDEO when I needed it most. It is also in this setting that I want to share with you some of the most important lessons from my adventure and hope that it will be a blessing to you:
Get to execution
I spent way too much time planning my business and not getting out there and executing. I don't mean launching a full-blown business but just get out there, talk to people or test your ideas. Execute some of the ideas you have and see how your "target customers" respond. In executing, you will learn so much more, and it is an invaluable source of information as you design your business.
Find a mentor
Find a mentor if you can. Learn from them. They will be able to guide you and give you perspectives that you have not experienced. This can create a shortcut for your own endeavours.
Focus & do what you are good at
One of my big mistakes was starting 3 different businesses. Doing 3 things meant I was not really doing anything. I was constantly distracted. In hindsight, I should have focused on what I was most passionate about and what I knew I was good at. I loved teaching and sharing my knowledge, and I firmly believed that creativity was lying dormant in most people. That should have been the only core business idea I needed to focus on. Instead, I was also a co-director of an eCommerce business (it was the in thing) and another business development consultancy.
Embrace the wisdom of failure
This is closely linked to "get to execution". I was nurtured to believe that failure is wrong, which kept me from getting out into the world. This belief system was all in my head. I didn't want to confront finding out that my ideas won't work. Now I embrace failure as life's most excellent teacher.
Communicate Communicate Communicate
The failure to communicate was the nail in the coffin for my business. It buried it and almost destroyed my friendship with my business partner. If you are going to start a business with someone else, make communication, transparency and honesty your top priority. Nip all problems in the bud by talking about them from the start. Don't sweep it under the rug because it will metastasise and eventually kill you.
Know your "WHY" and let it be your guide
Why are you starting this business? What are your core values and core beliefs? This is not part of the DAB course, but it is a critical component. As you start your business and things get hectic or face overwhelming success, it is easy to get lost. Having a clear purpose and vision for your business will help you get back on track, and it will also help you decide what you should do and not do. Write it down and lock it away, so you know where to find it when you need it.
Lastly.......
Don't be afraid to pivot and press pause
You are not a failure if you press pause. Most of the time, life doesn't always go your way and if you are one of the lucky few with all the right cards dealt to you, congratulations. The core purpose and vision of the business I worked on when I did DAB remains intact, but the HOW has pivoted several times and continues to pivot as I "execute". Due to unforeseen circumstances like Covid and layoffs at my workplace, I have had to press the pause button again. Will I ever get to launch my business? I don't know, but I hope I can press play again.
