Starting your own business is scary, but you’ll never learn more – or feel freer – at work, writes Laura Rennie
This time last year I was sitting at my desk, dealing with all things HR with my eyes closed (not literally), happily plodding away at my £36,000 job, with a final salary pension and occasional flexi days – when the boss allowed.
Fast-forward 12 months, and I’m still sitting at a desk – but it’s a very different one. A desk that is part of another world, a world of like-minded people who don’t want to plod along anymore. There’s no more secure salary, pension or benefits; I’m typing this on my old university laptop, listening to Madonna’s greatest 80s hits, drinking tea and working on today’s tasks, which will have a direct impact on tomorrow, and the next day, and the one after that. But guess what? I’m ridiculous fulfilled, positively glowing and full of excitement for what this new journey is teaching me.
I decided to enter a unique world – one that seemed full of mystery to me: that of being my own boss. You might think it’s a world full of people enjoying long lunches, lie-ins and stress-free lives, because you control the tasks, the objectives and the deadlines. Of course there are stresses, but they’re not the same as having an unpredictable boss, or an unrealistic workload than ensures ‘Mr Corporate’ gets his crust or ‘Mrs SuckAss’ gets her promotion. This is a different environment: you set the pressures, and you can create the stress that you can learn to love as it spurs on your own personal development.
The world of an entrepreneur is a bizarre concoction of extreme happiness when you pull off a deal, of sheer disappointment when you fail (and you will fail a lot) and lots and lots of satisfaction that you are just doing it – doing that thing you’ve thought about for years but were too scared of failure to try.
Yes, every entrepreneur will fail at some point, but not in the same sense as being an employee, when you ‘fail’ and are criticised for no good reason. Failing in entrepreneur world is more like falling down the hole that takes you into Alice’s Wonderland.
And here’s the addictive part: you grow immensely from each failure. You don’t worry about what happens the next time – you remember the pitfalls and make sure you do something truly wonderfully different.
I’m fortunate to be part of an accelerated business programme for entrepreneurs, called Entrepreneurial Spark, which I highly recommend to anyone who is already running their own business, or considering doing so. It gives assistance in the areas you need it most. That’s not money, by the way. For me it was confidence; for others it’s exporting, manufacturing, funding avenues or pitching for business. There are so many methods of support; the biggest for me is sharing an office with like-minded people. All positive people – dementors wouldn’t survive here! You don’t have to be ‘happy clappy’ to survive but you do need to be full of a ‘go do’ attitude to succeed.
It’s only you who can decide your own destiny. It’s only you who is stopping you from jumping straight in there and going for it. Professor Steve Peters once asked the audience of a large public sector conference: ‘What would you say to your great-granddaughter on your death bed?’ Every person said: ‘Be happy.’ That’s my mantra.
A lovely salary, pension and time off does make you happy, sort of – for the two weeks of the year when you are on holiday, or when you reach the end of your career and can finally draw that pension – but what about the time before the retirement date? What about a deeper sense of fulfilment? Why not be happy for your whole life? You’ve only got one, after all – so make an impact. My daily mantra as I walk into the office is: ‘Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.’ You can count me in for that ride.
Laura Rennie is director of Arena HR