#EntrepreneurshipJourney #SmallBusinessStory
Hey there, entrepreneurs!
I’m eager to hear all about your entrepreneurial journeys. 🚀 Starting a business is no small feat, and I’m fascinated by the diverse paths people take to get there. Let’s kick off the conversation with a few questions:
– What inspired you to start your business?
– Was there a particular moment, experience, or idea that sparked your entrepreneurial spirit?
– What industry is your business in, and what does your business do?
– I’d love to learn more about the sector you’re in and the products or services you offer.
– What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when starting out?
– Every startup hits bumps in the road. What were some of yours, and how did you navigate through them?
– How did you fund your business in the beginning?
– Did you bootstrap, seek investors, or secure a loan? What was your funding strategy?
– What advice would you give to someone looking to start their own business?
– Based on your experiences, what tips or wisdom can you share with aspiring entrepreneurs?
Share your stories and insights – they could inspire others who are on a similar journey. Let’s learn from each other and grow together! 🌟💼🌱
1. I was a restaurant manager for high-end hospitality. We were shutdown due to covid but since we were in Canada, I was able to cover my household expenses. I basically spent that time writing a business plan.
2. I started a sailing school. We live in a rural tourist region on Lake Ontario. We offer day sailing experiences and multi-day education. We are expanding to charter in the future as well and also launched Caribbean certifications to expand from just a seasonal summer business.
3. Building brand recognition, knowing where to spend to get the best return, advertising. Also, familiarizing myself with regulations was a slight challenge but all the information was available. The operations weren’t a challenge for me as I had experience in running restaurants and setting up systems as a consultant as well.
4. We applied for a business loan and secured it using our home as security. While that was risky, it’s definitely a huge motivation to work had at making this succeed. We launched thinking the Covid upswing of tourism would continue which was not the case and now there’s a downturn in median income spending. It’s been a huge blow but we’ve managed to keep the business afloat while we wait for interest rates to come down.
5. My advice would be. Your projections for income and sales to present to the lender and investor are fine but for your personal planning, it’s going to be way lower so be prepared to work your ass off. Borrow enough to operate for more than just your first year. Don’t make any purchases that aren’t mission critical. Do not quit your day job if possible.
I’m the founder of a marketing agency, and I started my business about 5 years ago. I’ve always been passionate about helping small businesses grow, and I saw an opportunity to offer services that would help them reach their target audience more effectively.
I started out solo, working with a few clients on a part-time basis while I still had a full-time job. As the business grew, I was able to quit my job and focus on it full-time. I hired a few freelancers to help me with the workload, and eventually, I was able to build a team of full-time employees.
It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s also been incredibly rewarding to see my business grow and thrive. I love being my own boss and having the freedom to pursue my passions.
Honestly, starting my business was a total leap of faith! I had no idea what I was doing, but I was sick of working for someone else and wanted to take a chance on myself. I’ve always been interested in marketing, so I started offering services to friends and family, and it slowly grew from there.
It’s been a wild ride, let me tell you. There have been plenty of late nights, stressful moments, and times when I thought about throwing in the towel. But, I’ve also had some amazing moments of triumph and pride in what I’ve built.
If I’m being totally honest, there are still days when I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’ve learned to embrace the uncertainty and just figure it out as I go. And, I’ve been lucky to have an amazing support system of fellow entrepreneurs and mentors who have helped me along the way.
So, I say go for it! It’s scary, but it’s also incredibly liberating. Just be prepared to put in the work and take the leap.
Im thinking of starting one of my own so all this here is very helpfull 🙏
I started my small tech startup about 2 years ago, and it’s been a wild ride. I had an idea, but no tech skills, so I used Webflow and Figma to design and prototype my product. Then, I found dev partners through rocketdevs and turing for cheap. Rocketdevs is a non-profit so it was way cheaper for me.
I’ve learned a lot along the way, like validating my idea with potential customers and finding the right dev partner.
And, yeah, I’ve made some mistakes too, lol. But, my business is growing, and I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. If you have any questions or want to chat about starting a business, hit me up. I’m always down to help fellow entrepreneurs out.
My husband and I had our daughter so I have to stay home. He was tired of being paid crap money being a mechanic so he decided to start up his auto detailing business again. He says its worth it even if he’s only making as much as he made as a mechanic. We offer auto detailing, RV detailing, boat detailing, paint corrections and ceramic coatings. Biggest challenges was trying to figure out our pricing and packages. With detailing, there is very little overhead. We also already had all of the tools and products since it’s his hobby so there was no funding needed.
I’m in the very beginning stages of starting my business! I’m a FTM and while I would say I’ve loved being a parent so far I never particularly love children. One night I was laying in bed, sleep deprived while feeding baby and I was speaking with my partner about how much easier cloth diapering had been than we expected and how we never saw ourselves as “those types of people”. I mentioned how I though the barrier for most was the ick factor. Then I quietly mused to myself about how it wouldn’t be hard to do and how there must be a market for it.
I thought more and more about it and this little excited spark started to grow inside me. I had a moment where I asked myself, “is this that ‘ah-ha’ moment business owners always talk about? I literally couldn’t get the though out of my mind. I was excited and nervous everytime I though about it. Honestly those feelings are what pushed me to really lean in and start to feel it out!
I haven’t launched yet but I’ve been working though the initial steps of R&D, analyzing the market, deciding on products, and now I’m starting to look at the tech side of it. I’ll need a website/app, and then to create social media to help boost visibility.
Funding wise, due to the type of business, I will likely be self funding or small loan to begin and work to grow from there!
I don’t have any advice to offer you, just inspiration from an everyday average Joe who’s excited about this potential upcoming change to my life! I hope you get to experience that “ah-ha” moment as well!