Running your own business is, quite probably, the riskiest and most challenging thing that you could ever do. You may lose money, you may have to sell your car and the shirt off your back and you may have to re mortgage your house. Bad debts, customer complaints and cyber security fraud are just three of the threats that will keep you awake at night. So too, will the questioning voices in your head of friends and family, ‘Why don’t you get a proper job? One that has security? One that has a regular income with maternity leave and sick pay?’
But, if you truly believe that entrepreneurs are the life blood of society and the real catalysts for change and progress and if you are prepared to do the hard yards, then you will never give up and you won’t ever be deterred by the doubters.
So what qualities do you need to stay safely aboard that rollercoaster? My answer? Just five magic ingredients: unwavering self-belief, unstinting optimism, infectious hunger, unrelenting stamina and iron clad resilience.
Furthermore, ‘If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same,’ (Rudyard Kipling) then the adrenalin rush, the excitement and the rewards can turn the risky leap of faith you took into the most life-affirming experience in the world…