
Chapter 1: My own experience
I always dreamed about building a meaningful business with a noble purpose, a company that provides value to others. That' s why, with the birth of my second son, I decided to steer away from my corporate career path as a marketing manager, follow my dream, and become a coach and entrepreneur.
It sounds inspiring, right? Well, the reality looks slightly different.
Here is what really happened: I had a great job and solid monthly income! I was steadily climbing up the career ladder with an incredible team. However, the company was acquired by a private equity firm, and their first undertaking was to close operations in Germany, where I was based. And BAM! I lost my job!
Of course, I could have applied for an equivalent position, but there was a strong calling inside, pulling me towards Womenpreneurship.
With the substantial support of my husband, I started qualifying myself anew. I accomplished some excellent Coach training programs with reputable coaching institutes and finally became a certified and accredited professional, executive and team coach. Fulfilled and satisfied, I made my dream come true, yet unaware of the massive amount of work I would face for founding my own company.
Overnight I became an accountant, marketing officer, sales director, new business developer, IT specialist, Web designer… And the mirage of having flexible working hours and more time with my young kids and family vanished very quickly.
With time, research, perseverance and a massive number of errors and money - not well spent - I finally learned how to delegate and outsource different tasks and manage my time in a more effective way.
It would have been valuable if someone had previously shared her experiences with me in a similar situation.
Being privileged to go through all the ups and downs, failures, and setbacks, I decided to share my learnings with those of you planning to become an entrepreneur.
Chapter 2: Takeaways
If you are planning to start your own business, you might want to consider the following 7 points:
Starting a new business is a great thing, especially if you have a decent purpose. But be mindful, to have a successful business, you need to invest MONEY and, most importantly, a LOAD OF TIME. So, plan it ahead!
Make sure you have a clean and neat ROADMAP. Then, stay on track by answering these three questions:Where am I now? Where am I heading to and why? What do I need to get me there? The roadmap establishes your vision and helps you design your strategies.
Once you have it start PLANNING your journey. What do you need in your backpack? Who can you approach to get advice? What skills do you need? What resources do you have? Make sure you get all relevant information and guidance required.
Even if it is a small business, think COOPERATION. Draw your organigram and write down each function's name and the responsible person. I know, having your name everywhere does look funny! But it is a great way to see the many different responsibilities you need to take on. Once you have it in front of you, you can decide how to MANAGE them and what to DELEGATE.
Now that you know who's in charge of each function, DEFINE THE GOALS, ACTIVITIES, AND TASKS. Note that having scheduled tasks prevents you from getting lost in the workload.
Ask for SUPPORT. If you can, join a network of like-minded people to support you on this journey. Work with a coach or a mentor. They can help you develop a vision; help achieve SMART goals to enable the company to flourish.
As you dream big, be PATIENT and always keep the process and growth in mind. Remember that success rarely comes overnight. The growth journey is rewarding, but it requires HARD WORK, PERSEVERANCE, and SELF-DISCIPLINE.
Essential: My last recommendation to you, take good care of yourself, your health, and your wellbeing! You can best steer your ship only if you're mentally, emotionally, or physically fit!
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