Entrepreneurship: My thoughts , My lessons

Hi there



  Ken is here again to reflect . 2014 has been a mentally exhausting year (oversized teen don't have much physical activity lar) . from starting out to involving myself in two businesses  , starting my own biz, the journey has been tough , but rewarding. This post is meant as an extension of my conversation with a friend of mine (Ryan , this is for you.) , also , it is meant for Branson , and possibly all of you out there who are unsure whether to embark or continue onto the road less trodden.


ps. this post shall be more coherent than many of the previous posts due to the use of more "standard" english rather than singlish. However, i'll still try to make it as palatable as possible.







So here goes my 6 lessons so far in the journey of entrepreneurship.



1) This is the path less trodden upon .

You possibly need to prepare yourself mentally , for the sleepless nights, wondering whether this path is worth it , whether your direction is right. In my own words:

"Entrepreneurship is a 200% thing. 99% shots in the dark , 1% success , 99% determination , 1% big break"

I'm still figuring my way around this path , without a mentor , this makes it twice as hard but twice as rewarding . 

2) You'll see the good , the bad , and the downright ugly.

Most of the public only know about the bright side , upside and glorious side of an entrepreneur , but do you truly know the rejections , stone walled and possibly even sarcasm laced "feedback" that you obtain from some of your closest ones when you first start , not everyone has the blessing of the entire village to start up , but you have got to do what you've got to do!

Often throughout the course of your journey , you'll have awesome clients , awesome friendship for life, then on the flipside , skeptics , reluctant investors sometimes , and worse , the snobbers , come to think of it , i should really thank these snobbers, for snobbing , if not , i wouldn't have made it today , i wouldn't even dare to make it today. My tip for you , soldier on , and possibly share with someone you trust , and know that you can find support and comfort and not solace in., because if you find solace , then you're still not prepared for what's next on the road! You really just have to suck it up and move on.

3) Don't make castles in the air , build it on land!

The quote below best explains the message that i'm trying to bring across.

Don't dream too much! Take that leap of FAITH , keep that FAITH , it is one of the few things that will keep the fire burning inside you.

4) You better know your stuff well, real well.

Now i'm not talking about steak here , so when s*** gets real , you better have your expertise to back you up and the guts to stand your ground if you're cornered by a venture capitalist or an investor , because afterall you wanna make it up to the big stage to share your idea and your stuff to the world, or for when ever you need to present.

5) School of hard knocks!

I was at a gathering back last month , then one of the lecturers in my school , fyi for those who don't know , i'm still a poly student, albeit an oversized one -.-  back to the story. The fella is a biz start-up module lect. so he was reading a book on entrepreneurship and i told him straight in the face: "the best book for that is not the one you're reading. The best school you could possibly go to for entrepreneurship or biz in general is the school of hard knocks!  so ditch that book and make your kids do more action rather than going back to the drawing board." 

I still remember till this day , someone once told me : "a product that has been through the drawing board 2-3 time will still be at the drawing board for more than 10 times if you don't throw caution to the wind and release it, only then will you tweak your product to suit the users "

6) LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND !

When you've made your mark and achieved enough to help people , do help , or even better , when your biz is well expanded and you wanna take a break , mentor a budding entrepreneur , INSPIRE someone :)

Here's a song for you to listen , just feel the emotions and read my post again. You'll have something more :)

Cheers, here's ken signing off , till next time 

Images from google :)