Driving on an empty tank is my type of risk
I’m not a risk taker. I don’t jump on trampolines for fear of breaking something. I would never bungee jump or dive out of a plane. The biggest risk I take is probably driving with the gas light on in my car. (But… I know that my tank holds 19.1 gallons, and my car tells me my average miles per gallon, and luckily, I can do math… and if freaks my husband out.) Oh, and I only take practice golf shots when I know I really need them…that’s pretty risky, right? And I love telling bad Dad jokes, but I already know there will be no laughs.
So, why in the world would I ever start a company with a friend/co-worker/leader when I have a house payment, daycare costs, a car payment, the rising cost of college and healthcare? Because it was time.
I received a packaging degree because my high school golf coach said I would definitely get a job before I graduated. I moved back to Ann Arbor after 6 years away, to be closer to my family and because my Dad could come over in a heartbeat if there was something wrong in my house. I will only drive Toyotas because of my tenure there, learning how they plan, solve problems, treat their people, and their forever quest for amazing quality. I floss every single night, because I hate having my teeth scraped at the dentist, I fear needles and I love hearing them congratulate me on a job well done.
So, here I am, starting a company. How in the world can I sleep at night? Planning. Planning. And planning. And I’ve been thinking about this for at least 10 years. I’ve partnered with an AMAZING individual who complements and exceeds my abilities in the needed ways to make this work.
We’ve documented every single thing that we can do and translated it into value for almost any type of company.
We have wonderful support from our former organizations and loved ones.
We created a list of companies, friends, former co-workers who we are reaching out to so we can learn, hunt for business and land contracts.
We’ve challenged ourselves to get out of our comfort zones and are performing cold calls to win key meetings.
I also view my bank account daily and live in a spreadsheet of planned vs actual spending and have identified a Go/No Go date to make a decision on continuing with a startup.
I’ve also delayed various personal investments like new furniture, outdoor landscaping and a good cut & color.
I only have a few regrets in life, nothing major, but I know that if I didn’t take this leap now, I might regret it. Plus, it will be an amazing learning opportunity and a chance for me to get out of my comfort zone and add many more skills and competencies to my abilities.
More to come on topic…
