Hello Roses,

“Lying in a gutter aiming for the moon, trying to empty out the ocean with a spoon” Those are lyrics in a Coldplay song called Up & Up. I listened to it recently and it really struck a chord.

I thought about what I am trying to achieve (building a brand from scratch with the aim of going global) and I imagined myself lying in a gutter somewhere and wanting to be on the moon. That is how far away my dream seems. I then pictured myself on a beach with a spoon. One spoonful at a time, trying to empty the ocean!

It seems crazy right. I left the corporate world where I was getting a weekly pay check – yes weekly! I was comfortable, had my colleagues around me and above all security. I threw this all in to aim for the moon. Many people I spoke to before I left my job were telling me how brave and courageous I was to jump ship and live in the city of uncertainty. But for me, there was never another option. I sit here today writing this, with grand visions in my head of how the future will play out, still without a single product or a single customer. Very much uncertain.

One of the main motivating factors for me always has and always will be the words “what if”. What if I never find out where the business could have gone, the life I could be living if I don’t give it a try. I used to sit at work thinking this is great and easy, but I have so much more in me. A life that could go in so many different directions. I think education streams everyone into getting prepared for being minions in a corporate world. For some people that is fine, but there are others (myself included) that want to push life’s boundaries, see what can be achieved and how soon.

Life however, does not make it easy to become an entrepreneur. It’s very much programmed for the minions. Pay cheques are not a given, banks like to see consistency hence not being eligible for anything, and boy does your mind go into overdrive. Everyday is a rollercoaster of emotions. An email could either make or break your day and you are constantly reminded of the risks you have taken. But I keep on coming back to my “what if”. What if I fly, what if I succeed, what if I make it to the moon? To me, that makes it all worth it.

At the very end of the Coldplay song, it says “When you’re in pain, when you think you’ve had enough. Don’t ever give up”. So with that in mind I hope you too have the courage to aim for the moon and don’t ever give up until you have set foot on the surface.

Lots of Love,

Emily x