Are you an entrepreneur? Or do you long to take the leap and become one?
A disclaimer: I have only been at this for a year and realize I still have a TREMENDOUS amount to learn! Especially as I am now working on a new and completely different project and I feel like I am starting anew all over again. I offer up this post with the hope that others might share their experiences as well and we can all learn.
Some background info…
Almost exactly one year ago today a lifelong dream of mine to become a small business owner and entrepreneur was realized. Don’t get me wrong, I hold no misconceptions and I certainly do realize that I did not create a Microsoft like software dynasty, a dynamic online shoe business, or seek venture capital for a bio tech firm.
But, for me, jumping head first into small business ownership was a personal and financial risk taken and a goal heartily pursued and accomplished!
We didn’t officially open the business until September 1st but the day we signed the mortgage last June is the day that I considered myself no longer an employee but rather, a real business owner and a rookie entrepreneur.
Certainly, I can still remember walking on the tarmac in the Caribbean summertime heat and boarding the small plane from Tortola, BVI to San Juan, Puerto Rico. And that I wanted to savour every detail from the day that we signed the business mortgage and changed our lives. In fact, I vividly remember thinking, “the next time I am on the plane back to Tortola I will own my own business.”
Strangely enough, when we finished signing the papers and all was complete, like the culmination of so many goals, there really wasn’t any fanfare. Only the realization that within a couple of hour’s time we had just amassed a pile of mortgage debt and I had the throat constricting realization that we really had no idea what the hell we were doing…
My Most Important Lessons From the Past Year as an Entrepreneur
When I read about entrepreneurs and their experiences I always want to know two things:
- what has been their most important lesson?
- what keeps them going?
Instead of going through bookkeeping details, how I deal with customers, and other day to day business functions I thought that it would be most valuable to you if I focused on the key lessons that I have learned from the preceding year.
Listed, in no particular order they are:
- Passion – most likely the key element that got you through all of the hurdles just to be able to open your business or pursue your entrepreneurial goal. If you are not passionate it is going to be awfully hard to maintain focus and perspective when things go wrong.
- Patience – people will not necessarily work on your schedule and you will also encounter plenty of rude jerks [breath deeply].
- Persistence – it can be awfully hard to muster the resolve to call the same office for the fiftieth time for some permit or piece of equipment but you must persist.
- Online/Internet return on investment (ROI) can be hard to measure – this one is funny…for the business about 75% of our customers come directly from our website and TripAdvisor. What I am really referring to is online networking. A couple of months ago I was completely fed up with trying to promote our small business through various activities online. However, when not one but TWO international magazines (Conde Nast Traveler and Islands Magazine) contacted us completely out of the blue for interviews regarding our personal “cubicle to Caribbean” story I once again became a firm believer in the power of personal publishing and social networking. When I inquired as to how they found us, both of the magazine reps stated that they found us through our blog. (Note: I also run culebrablog.com)
- Some days are going to really SUCK – this one speaks for itself but, try to maintain your conviction and believe in yourself (also refer to passion, patience, and persistence).
- Expect criticism – from your customers, clients, and competition. If you expect criticism then dealing with it head on becomes much easier and you can move on quickly.
- You can’t do it all – you have to give in and hire people for projects that you can’t do.
- Bonus tip (thanks to marketer extraordinaire Seth Godin) - people will perceive you, your business, or your venture depending on the story that you tell.
Of course there are many more lessons that I have learned but I wanted to leave out the fluff and just get to the plain facts. I must say, that although this past year has required a tremendous amount of hard work, at the end of the day, I am my own boss. And when people ask me what I do for a living I can honesty answer, ‘I own a small hotel in the Caribbean’!
What do other entrepreneurs have to say?
Additionally, because I still have so much to learn and experience as an entrepreneur I decided to seek some words of wisdom from people who have been at this game longer than I have and asked for their input on the following question -
What has been your greatest lesson as an entrepreneur?
Darren Rowse - Internet Kingpin, ProBlogger, and VP of b5 Media
Stick at it, do something useful for people, do something you enjoy.
Tony Hsieh - Online Shoe Store Magnate & Zappos CEO
Follow your passion. Do something you’d love doing even if you never made any money from it.
Naomi Dunford - Home Business Marketing Mogul and Founder of IttyBiz
My biggest lesson has been one of scalability. When I started consulting, I was so enamored with the money I was making that I didn’t realize it was totally unsustainable. If I had a sick day — like the three I took last week — I was totally fucked. Based on the business model I’d created, there was absolutely zero room for error. I mean, hello? I’m home schooling for crying out loud. Things come up!
Now we’re in the process of creating numerous income streams — the SEO School book is one example — that give me some margin when it comes to time and money. Oh, and a bonus lesson: Start before you’re ready. Jump and the net will appear. Whatever cliche you want to use, it’s true. If you wait till you’re totally ready, you’ll be dead and buried before you hang up your shingle.
Terence Chang - Online Entrepreneur
Willing to admit failure and make significant change. Don’t follow the flow, make yourself different from others. Keep the faith.
Sharon Hurley Hall - Entrepreneur and Freelance Writer
Always keep a record of what you decide and what you have to do - memory is unreliable.
Soul Travelers3 - Global Nomad Family and former entrepreneurs
Be bold, fearless and commit 100%…think out of the box.
I have some other BIG entrepreneurial plans coming up soon, but for now it’s your turn. What has been your greatest lesson as an entrepreneur or aspiring entrepreneur?
Editor’s note: if you enjoyed this post please consider signing up for the MyTropicalEscape RSS feed, following me on Twitter, and check out some of these other popular posts:
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June 9th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Mark:
Great thanks! We all have something to learn from other people. It’s great to discover other entrepreneurs and how they succeeded in their fields.
I can’t wait to see your new projects. keep it up!
June 9th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Great article Mark.
I think you need extra patience to deal with the majority of the things here in Puerto Rico :o).
Like your new theme also.
June 9th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Congrats Mark,
I didn’t know you had only been at this for a year. Now I feel some more pressure to kick some a** and get out of the rat race.
Sheesh. Only one year in myself and I’m already behind!
June 10th, 2008 at 12:20 am
I thought you were referring to this website when talking about business, nice little property you have there :)
Congrats on the first year out of the way, I hope the second one brings more success
June 10th, 2008 at 3:10 am
Excellent post, Mark. I can see that you’ve got some strong stuff ahead. But look at that. You’ve taken a moment to look back, and leave a trail for others to follow. Good for you!
June 10th, 2008 at 4:26 am
Good article the hotel bussines can be rewarding and frustrating, I always try to use any situation to our advantage, Like turning complaints into praise for the way we handle them. And always remain calm.
June 10th, 2008 at 8:51 am
*Hi Terence - speaking about learning…I started following the Zappos CEO on Twitter after your recommendation, so thanks for sharing!
*Hi Brian - thanks for stopping by! I think bureaucratic red tape can sometimes be the same no matter what country you find yourself in…
June 10th, 2008 at 9:25 am
*Hi Stephen - I have sort of been escaping the rat race for over 12 years by living overseas. And I have always had the goal to become a full time entrepreneur, which was realized a year ago.
The guesthouse is really one part of my equation to keep on “designing my life.” I consider it my initial stepping stone toward even bigger and better projects!
Where are you looking to escape to?
*Hi Glenn - I thought about trying to make money from this site but I just don’t think I have it in me to try it here…I would rather just ramble about certain thoughts and ideas that I have. :)
When are you launching your new site??
June 10th, 2008 at 9:50 am
*Hi Chris - thank you for stopping by! Really, your recent post on “Self Branding” and Jeff Pulver’s article on “Fearless Passion” are what got me thinking and reflecting upon the past year!
June 10th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
My wife and I were looking to escape to Key West, but Maine is pretty nice. We can always visit in the winter…
Anyway, I need to start cranking on my media properties and start getting some income streams flowing!
June 11th, 2008 at 7:14 am
One of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned is taking criticism and learning from it. Not only taking it, but asking for it. Ask other experts or those with experience in your field what they think you’re doing wrong or could be doing better. The only key is to stay authentic and take the advice with a grain of salt. Use your common sense, what worked for them may not be the best idea from you. But you can still learn from it.
June 11th, 2008 at 7:17 am
*Hi Jonathan - absolutely fantastic advice! There certainly is nothing better than learning from other people who are where you want to be. Thanks for stopping by. :)
June 15th, 2008 at 4:40 am
Great post! This is something that I always recommend to people who are thinking of starting their own business.
Find something that you are passionate about and love doing.This way your business will not seem work and your naturally motivated all of the time.
Keep up the great work, and keep us posted.
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:33 am
I was just wasting time stumbling, and came across this post and thought “Hey, that’s my wife Naomi!”. As I was reading the post I thought of what I wanted to say in comments, only to find that Naomi already said it. So not surprisingly, I’m going to second her opinion.
If you are thinking of starting your own business, don’t wait until you think you are 100% ready. No matter how long you wait before you start, you are almost guaranteed to make mistakes as you go along. Learn from them and remember that you’re an intelligent person, you’ll be able to figure it out.
June 25th, 2008 at 2:31 am
Mark, you are a man after my own heart. I totally agree with what you said about passion and persistence. I guess in some ways we have experienced similar things only ended up in different parts of the world altogether.
I also never knew you barely celebrate one year. Good on you and your wife. I know how hard it was but look what you have created. If we ever come to your lovely corner of the world we will stop by.
Your hotel looks way cool, could be in Australia. :-)
June 25th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Nice read. I am close to becoming a full time freelancer (Web) but have yet to take the plunge. I have a decent 9-5 but have wanted to work for myself for a long time. I’m tired of the 9-5 corporate BS. :) This article has inspired me and I need to become more prepared for the journey I am about to take. Thanks.
June 26th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Wow, that is really an inspiring tale.
I know first hand how hard it is to get a ball rolling with small business. Congrats.
BTW, I looked at the blog, I really like the images of the big turtle.
June 29th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
This article is fabulous. It’s clear, straightforward style resonates.
Your lesson “Some days are really going to suck” brought up a flashback to an incidient in my life. I blogged about it and referenced my readers back to this article.
June 29th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Oops! I just noticed I said It’s when I meant Its. (Can you tell that I’m a teacher? Sh-h-h. Don’t tell my students.)
February 12th, 2009 at 6:58 am
Thanks for posting this. My entrepreneurial career is literally in line with yours..almost to the day.
I took my coaching/speaking business full time on Jan.11 of 2008 and I have literally experienced EVERYTHING you mention.
PERSISTENCE is most certainly the name of the game and I have often relied on the fact that I know in my heart, I will persist through whatever it takes to reach my ultimate goals.
Keep up the great work
Justin
March 22nd, 2009 at 11:14 pm
This article is a great bookmark to look back on. A year of everything you described will happen over and over again.