Diary of a Start-Up: The First Negativity

It had to happen at one point or another. A problem of being educated and looking at developing a start-up is the potential opportunity cost. Take my fiancée for example who is rapidly becoming one of Accenture’s most valuable employees. She is leading a team three years before she should and knows that if she stays on the path she has chosen she will be making six figures well before the time she is 30. She’s a shining light towards tenacity and commitment to a corporate and the rewards it can bring if you play the game correctly. I’m incredibly lucky to have her but not sure she’s so lucky to be with me!

But I digress. As you may expect of someone that wants to start a business, I have an inherent restlessness built into me that is, to be frank, frustrating. Like many people, I’m never happy with what I’ve got and suffer horribly from ‘grass is greener’ syndrome.

The first negativity that I felt towards the business was from a family member who felt I should be focusing on a corporate career, seeing this as a distraction from a ‘proper job’. In many ways, I agree totally. This is far more risky and on all probabilities, will fail. The problem is that the more negativity I receive, the more it compels me to travel the ‘narrow road’!

A great quote sums up all I need to remember on this journey:

‘Entrepreneurship is doing things that people don’t, to lead a lifestyle they can’t have’

JW