Tag: entrepreneur - Page 8

When I was younger, things were so much easier. I started my first business, Insomnia, when I was just 25 years old. I didn't have a care in the world and I had way more confidence in my capabilities than what perhaps was a reality. I truly believed that I could do anything, go anywhere and achieve what others may think is unachievable.

As you ride the wave of being an entrepreneur, one thing sticks out. No matter how enthusiastic and positive you are, there is a wave of excitement that at times diminishes. That does not mean that you give up or even want to give up - but it does mean that life is not all a rosy 100% of the time.

As one door closed late last week, another opened minutes later.

I sat on the beach, looking out at the stars and soaking up a warm summers night in Palm Beach. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. I had had a run of bad luck. Fortunately, not in business. It was more little things like parking fines and delayed flights. Things that don't matter too much but all together seem like a big deal. I also had the anniversary of my father's passing, which is never a great time for anyone.

But sitting on that beach, I had a moment of clarity. And then everything changed.

I don't know about you, but my year started fairly ordinary. I had the worse New Years' Eve I can remember for some years, and then the next few days followed suit. It just kept on going on. I was in unfamiliar terriority so I couldn't really vent my frustration or the fact that I had a strong distaste for the continual negative elements that kept creeping into what had been a 'perfect' life.  In fact, I cannot say whether or not I have had a worse start to a year before and given that I tend to put so much hope in starting a new year - it was a tad disappointing. Actually, it felt quite soul destroying and as a fairly positive person, that's saying something.

We all have expectations and big occasions like New Years' Eve don't help. Isn't that the date for the most suicides and I am sure it is the same date that sends people to Xanax or whatever their choice of anti-depression drugs might be? To me, it is suppose to be about a fresh start to the year and full of positivity. Unfortunately it wasn't the case and as much as I willed for good fortune and happiness to surround me, it did not occur quite like I would have wanted it to. I had such high expectations that fell apart fairly fast and furious over the new year but to sit here and continually complain would not be conducive to anyone or anything. After all, there are people starving in the world and I am worried about my expectations not being met on an occasion which is just a great excuse to drink too much champagne and surround yourself with people that you may not ever see again or may only see again next year.

Instead of having a 'fresh start to 2012', I was bombarded with a failing in circumstances and my expectations of what life should be and how others should behave fell down quick smart.

As I said to a friend of mine the other day, "everyone in small business has been there at one time or another".

If you think that as a small business owner that only you are going through tough times, employees leaving, cash flow issues, stress and sleepless nights - you are fooling yourself.

While you may be going through these things, so too are millions of other small businesses around the globe.

"What I gleaned from viewing “The Social Network” was bigger and more important than whether the scenes and details included in the script were accurate. After all, the movie was clearly intended to be entertainment and not a fact-based documentary. What struck me most was not what happened – and what did not – and who said what to whom and why. The true takeaway for me was that entrepreneurship and creativity, however complicated, difficult or tortured to execute, are perhaps the most important drivers of business today and the growth of our economy." Eduardo Saverin.

The perils of being an entrepreneur are many.

Not the most startling of revelations but something we are all reminded of from time to time. Being an entrepreneur is one of the craziest, yet most rewarding choices an individual can make – and I am so glad I made this decision at 25.

Having a go is very Australian and since my short stay in Paris, I have realised just how much Australian’s really are ‘having a go’.

I had a dream and it wasn’t to run the biggest company. It was to run a company that recreates the expectations of an industry and that is exactly what I am doing.

THE ENTREPRENEURS LIFE

 Helen Jarman is one of Australia’s most respected and awarded female entrepreneurs who against all odds, has built a multi-million dollar company in a male dominated industry. She is an advocate for woman making a difference not only in business but in the community and has worked hard in promoting the responsible disposal of e-Waste in Australia. Her tireless work towards ensuring that the community and corporates take responsibility for e-Waste and that we all work towards zero landfill from electronic waste disposal makes her one of Marketing Eye’s most favoured female entrepreneurs. Find out what makes Helen Jarman so great.