I have always known deep down that I wanted to be my own boss and to own my own company. But going from that ideal to reality is a lot more challenging than I thought. I have been working on the business for a long time now, but I always had something else to achieve and complete before I could devote all my time to it. Like A-Levels, then four years at University. Those gave me clear goals, I had to submit a piece of coursework by x, had an exam on y, all working towards a clear overall goal of passing University. I was then in a job for a while, again with clear deadlines, clear reporting lines, clear goals for the day. That’s why when I left and decided to work on this full time, I had no idea where to begin. There were so many different hats in front of me and I didn’t know which one to pick up first.

I am now three months in of working full time on the business. I’ve had some significant wins; a prototype and talking to an investor. But I’ve also had some pretty shoddy days. Days where I literally do not know what to do next, flitting from tab to tab on the computer; marketing? Website? Pitch deck? Blogging? Branding? The list goes on! Chuck in the hoo-ha around GDPR and I nearly had a meltdown.

In my experience, it is not true if people said they knew exactly what they were doing when they start their own company for the first time. In the words of Alanis Morissette, ‘isn’t it ironic’ how you get the most advice from people who have spent their whole working life in a corporate environment!? Make sure you do this, and have you thought about that? Yes Jim, thank you I have thought about my target market.

Truth be told, no one knows what they are doing. But the ones that stick out from the rest are those that throw themselves into it and learn on the job. Despite the numerous books, blogs, podcasts and interviews with entrepreneurs, there is no one way of doing things. It’s a lot like becoming a parent for the first time (so I’ve been told…) in that people will tell you the success stories, the best bits compilation. No one ever tells you the daily breakdowns you’ll have, the moments of self doubt and asking yourself is it really worth it when only 9 people have signed up (this is literally me right now!). But I think the most important thing to remember is that you are not supposed to know everything right away.

I have only been going three months now, and in that time I have learnt so much, had so many experiences. The famous saying “If I knew then, what I know now” rings so true, for better and worse. There’s a certain amount of naivety that being an entrepreneur requires purely so you don’t get hung up on how difficult it COULD become. However, I can guarantee that most if not all entrepreneurs you talk to would not change it for the world.

So how did I start my start-up?! With great naivety, a splash of boldness and a whole heap of hope. Hope that people will like what I do and say, hope that there is an interest in what I am doing and hope that it will bring me a step closer to where I want to be. I was once told “Masters today were beginners yesterday. So start today”.

Until next week, lots of love

Em x