Welcome to the roller coaster that is entrepreneurship. Well, in reality, welcome to this blog where I hope to blog about what it is like to be a real life entrepreneur. By real life, I mean one who doesn't have $25million of venture capital funding behind them and are simply starting out in the basement/garage with a hope and an idea.
Why does there need to be a blog about this? Well, need is a strong word but after scouring the net I haven't been able to find too much information for the super-small business owner. There's lots of information out there encouraging folks to go into business for themselves and even plenty of information about the pitfalls of owning your own business, but there doesn't appear to be a blow-by-blow account of what it takes, the failures and the victories, to run a small business. And, if for no other reason, this is cathartic for me as I go through the process.
So what gives me the right to blog about this? I'm going to try and maintain a small veil of anonymity so I won't tell you the name of my business or what we do specifically (plus, that way I can't be accused of simply using this blog to sell my wares). In a nutshell however, I technically started up this very small business last year while finishing up my MBA. Now that I've graduated, I'm working on it full time with my two Vice Presidents (my dogs, they're unpaid which is a good thing since they're asleep on the couch right now) as my coworkers. My company produces a handmade luxury good here in the United States (no outsourcing) for a growing niche market. Right now I have one major retailer and a handful of boutiques who carry the product.
For what it's worth, I am a woman which makes me one of approximately 10 million female small business owners. Historically women business owners do not necessarily go after the majority of venture-capital funded new businesses and instead tend to start up smaller community businesses which don't typically break the $1million in revenue mark.
At the end of the day what do I hope to gain by this blog? Like I said, this is cathartic and right now it's the only therapy I can afford. I'd also ideally like to create an online community made up of small business owners where we can share ideas, thoughts, and resources. I should add that this blog isn't just for entrepreneurs but for anyone who has ever deamt of owning their own business at some point in time. Join in and share your thoughts and ideas too! In the meantime, hold tight cause this is one heck of a roller coaster.
6 comments:
Get back to work!!!
- Love your CFO
What kind of dogs do you have?
Welcome to the Blogosphere, lady!
Well done! A needed blog. Your diary of your start-up's journey, your successes and things you'd have done diffenently with 20-20 hindsight will be useful to you, others who are on a similar journey, and those who haven't put their dreams into gear.
lol. my dog jak comes to work with me everyday. he's the main street mascot!
Nice work! Finally, a look at starting a business from the ground up. We are always reading success stories and ways people have made it big, but rarely do we see the day to day thoughts of those taking the plunge. What a great way to share and learn. Now we can all celebrate and struggle together!
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