Being an Entrepreneur

Being an entrepreneur!

This streak I suppose started when I was a school going child. I still recall lending out books from my well stocked library to my friends for 20 ps, 50 ps and so on.

At college too, every time there was a Cultural Fest, I would book for a stall and somehow with friends we would set up a game stall. The stalls were simple to run, we had games that required just a few props. Holding up a brick, that was soaked in water overnight for at least 60 seconds ! Not many could do it.

Nine pins using a ball and some coke tins seemed a great way of having fun and making money. I must mention that by the fact of being in "Mount Carmel College" ensured a steady line at the stalls;). We would make tons of money, some of which would fund a treat and most of it would go into the bank.

For most part of my career, I loved my job and every aspect of growth, the stable income, the annual bonuses, the team outings & camaraderie, the highs of achieving few metrics and statistics and just the fact that I was well employed at a "reputable firm".

I enjoyed my stint at the corporate and sometimes do miss them, especially the texts from the bank at the end of every month, where we would go with that typical grin on our faces at "Salary aa gayi yaar":)!

I am a first generation entrepreneur.What made me take a call to jump off the rails and start something on my own? I think the bug just bit me one fine day and although I took my time to weigh the pros and cons, I found myself losing the ability to wake up and go back to office until it became mechanical and a chore to me. 

Mostly I think I found myself in being an entrepreneur. 

The decision was not easy, but the support from family has been tremendous.

There is a lot of glory to the word "Entrepreneur" and a considerable number of people do produce the Ooohs and Aahs when they hear about what I do.

What is not so obvious is all the work behind the scenes. From being peon, fetching food, cleaning up, planning for the next meeting, the thank you email, the cold calling, meeting clients, managing the accounts, doing the payroll, marketing activities - every little thing that you took for granted and thought happened automatically, you realize that you are now the CEO doing it all (At least in the beginning)!

I hung up my boots in the corporate rat race a year ago. I enjoy being my own boss, planning work by myself and doing things that help the business grow. Being an entrepreneur has its share of going through troughs and crests of emotions and feelings that you probably did not even know existed.

To quote Tim Ferris - An entrepreneur is not someone who owns a business, It is someone who makes them happen.

What happens, What does not happen, what happens to you when things do not happen? All of that and a lot more from my thoughts every week on "Making things happen!"