I failed so hard, that the only way to survive was to learn. If you are an entrepreneur or are just starting off, my experience can help.
An entrepreneur is someone who jumps out of an airplane and figures how to build a parachute on the way down.
I had heard that saying before, but being young and brash, I didnt bother much about learning how to build that parachute.
Most of the business ideas we get are driven by impulse.
We get struck by a thought, which converts into an idea and boom, next thing we know it we are at our comp researching how we can make that idea work.
Human beings are creators, we like to invent stuff and when we are not inventing stuff, we try to figure out better ways to do what is already being done.
That is how entrepreneurship works.
Which is why you hear of guys starting a bus ticketing app because they couldnāt go home for Christmas, or another guy starting a cab service aggregator because he couldnāt find a cab.
If you think about it, everything around us, that is man-made was first created out of thought.
The thought converted into an idea.
That idea was pursued tirelessly and it is probably something we use to this day, which includes the toilet seat.
If you are someone who is driven by the passion to bring their idea to life, it is good to move fast and break things, as Steve Jobs said, but, reading these personal experiences might help you keep things in check.
Let's understand something, most of the ideas which we get are driven by the 'me' attitude.
We think we need something and assume that others will need or want the same thing.
This is one of the biggest mistakes I made.
I am an event manager, and for the first Big Festival I planned, I figured getting A-List artists to perform at a festivalĀ would sell. I went about the tedious task of finding investors and making sure the artists block the dates. Pumped in all resources to ensure the concert goes ahead as planned.
There was a problem though, those were artists whose music I used to love, not necessarily those who were trending at that time.
I got so involved in creating something which I thought would sell, that I didnāt bother to ask people about what they thought. I could pitch well enough to convince an investor though.
Long story short, The event did do well, but could have done soo much better in terms of conversions if had programmed a few current trending artists as well and created a good mix as I found out from the audience reviews written after the event.
It is important, that once you are struck by your business idea, you canvass around like crazy to understand if people within your network feel the same way. If they do then you might be able to draw up a somewhat accurate conclusion.
That will not only give you a good understanding of where you stand, but it will also tell you who your audience is.
A Good Product still doesn't sell itself.
Moving forward from my earlier point. The profile of the artists that I had did to a large extent contribute to us getting an audience for the event. But, it was no where near what we couldve got.
And for audiences to come find us, we needed to tell them more about it, which we fell short on. Any amount of marketing and networking you can do when you are starting is welcome.
As an entrepreneur 75% of your time when starting off needs to be spent telling people about what you do and networking.
My colleagues and I had gotten so involved with the nitty gritties of the festival and how we wanted everything to be the best that we fell short on marketing. It was like a cocoon we created for ourselves and when we came out of the cocoon, the event date had arrived.
If you are an entrepreneur who tends to be an introvert and focus on people finding you, you might learn the hard way that the world moves quick.
Make sure you meet and talk to as many people as possible about what you are doing.
I was arrogant enough to not ask for help from Industry Colleagues. Asking them and accepting their help would have taught me lessons I probably didnāt need to learn by myself.
You might generally shy away from asking for help or you could be too arrogant to ask for help and guidance.
But, if you do find someone experienced, who has been there and done that and is willing to help, then, my god that is a big advantage
An idiot with a plan can beat a genius without a plan - Warren Buffet.
When you are starting a business, it is important that you have a plan to get the show on the road.
We had a plan that we kept changing,and at the end of it we found our selves torn in all directions with everything being important and not knowing where to start.
You have a limited amount of time during the day.
Make a list of the most important tasks you have to complete during your day. Prioritize that list and reduce it further according to their importance.
I wanted to do everything ! Its a personality flaw I deal with on a daily basis, and it is irritating because it affects everything.
Warren Buffets' 5/25 rule would help here. If you have a list of 25 things on your schedule, figure out which 5 are the most important and do those, forget the remaining 20 until they become as important.
Also, some of the most successful people in the world schedule their most difficult tasks for the day as the first thing in the morning.
Choosing Who You Talk to and Work with
You might have tremendous and supportive friends and Touchwood to that.
You will probably have friends who would want to partner with you on your venture.
It is easy to get caught up with the idea that friends working together will be great.
Treat it objectively, friends working together can go very wrong.
The business might not be a priority for them.
They might be too negative.
Me and my colleagues had reached a point where we needed to address the reality that if we were to still meet up for drinks on evenings then we could not work together any longer.
If you think of yourself as a mobile phone, imagine you wake up every morning with a 100% charge and you get to work and you have to deal with this every day.
Now stop and think, if who you are working with right now aligns with your thought process.
You will make mistakes. You need to make sure you do not get dejected and learn from those mistakes.
While planning that event I would find out something new everyday, every evening I would realize I couldve approached something in a better way.Ā
I learnt things the hard way, but I can take pride in the fact that I nurtured those learnings which have helped me evolve.
However big and great your idea is, what is most important from a growth perspective is that you never stop learning.
You will have days that you will want to give up.
People are going to shoot you down and some of your best friends are going to try to find cracks in your armor and poke fun at you.
You are going to find people who are at the same level as you telling you it's not going to work, because they have a hunch.
Advice is the cheapest commodity on earth and most people you meet have tons of it.
Find others who believe in your idea.
I learnt these things the hard way, I lost quite a lot of money at that event, but that was the best learning I received. It made me stronger.Ā
It has been 4 years, I am still here and I continue to run 2 very successful companies in
Digital marketing services for small businesses, We follow a digital first approach and integrate that with other media to help you leverage
http://www.pegasusevents.in
The part where building a parachute comes in after jumping out is you identifying red flags and replacing what doesn't work with what does work.
Just make sure you show up every day and are ready to go.
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