"My story doesn't pertain to my business in particular, but has to do with the life of an entrepreneur: the ups and downs, the great ideas and bad execution, the persistence needed to keep going. In addition to my day job, I have been working on side projects for two years now. Throughout those two years, I knew I needed a business coach: a mentor who would sit with me and tell me the ugly truth. I got advice from a friend who is a business executive, but he was too busy to be sorting through the weeds of my business. So for two years, I researched and implemented ideas and talked to a number of people, doing everything I could to keep my entrepreneurial spirit going.I finally incorporated back in April for a generic IT consulting company. I did my first pro-bono work, free of charge in order to get my name, branding and quality of work out there. Then I saw an opportunity with the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) non-profit to receive coaching from veteran entrepreneurs (you know the type - guys who've hustled money for the last 30+ years, people you'd recognize from Inc., ex-CEO's, CFO's who have sold companies for fifty times the value of your house). It was the inaugural class of the NVTC FastTrac TechVenture entrepreneurship program. I wanted in, badly. So badly, in fact, that I applied twice; one application for my IT consulting company, and a second application for an idea I had for software that would benefit the architecture and interior design industry. But I didn't get in. The feedback I got was that the selection committee liked my entrepreneurial spirit, but did not like the fact that I submitted two applications. It made me look unfocused. Their advice was that I should take the coming months to develop my ideas further, and then apply again when the coaching program was about to restart.
That's when I landed on my most recent project, TeenBusinessForum.com, an online community where teen entrepreneurs connect to discuss business and share stories. I looked at it and thought, 'this has potential'. So I acquired the site, then talked to various people to see if there were any synergies. I found a retired business exec who was willing to contribute to the site as an expert, and another person who was a teen entrepreneur coach. I continued to brainstorm on how to grow the forum and make it unique. Soon after, I was notified that the entrepreneurship program was going to start again. So I applied. This time, I only submitted one application, and it was for TeenBusinessForum.com. I also submitted a partial business and marketing plan. A week later, I got the email; I got in.
Why do I tell you this story? Because entrepreneurs need to be persistent. I knew from the start that I needed a coach, and I sought after it with determination. When I got rejected the first time (and believe me, you will hear 'no' plenty of times), it just meant that I needed to work on myself and my business more. I never in the last two years ever said entrepreneurship was not for me. Frankly, the alternative wasn't much better. I'd rather take the harder approach, knowing that it's as much a journey in personal growth as it is in business. And it has been. In two years, I have become a better public speaker, networker, and leader. Don't we all want to be that? Who knows what the next five, ten, thirty years will bring; life is more interesting that way."
Make sure to check out Jack's website at TeenBusinessForum.com, and connect with him at his blog, OffTheBeaconPath.com.
Health and happiness,
Abbey
0 comments:
Post a Comment