Entrepreneurial reality checks (part one)

Having resigned from my job, attended a very inspiring conference for entrepreneurs and set up office space in my spare room, I couldn't wait to start my company.

First came the honeymoon period. Not having to sit in rush hour traffic for 90 minutes every day was a smug luxury. Sleeping in a little late felt like a guilty pleasure. And doing my grocery shopping in a mostly-empty mall was bliss.

Then my new reality hit me and I discovered some of the less appealing aspects of being a new entrepreneur:

Yes, I could read my e-mail while eating breakfast in pyjamas - but this would take all of five minutes because there wasn't much e-mail to check. I caught myself testing that my phone was working because it just wasn't ringing. Everything was so quiet. There were no demanding clients to handle and no colleagues to laugh with about last night's TV programmes. I was feeling - sob! - lonely.

Most entrepreneurs will spend their first few months strategising; researching business models and competitors; planning marketing activities; creating their brand; writing specifications; and more. All very interesting but mostly the sort of things you have to do by yourself. Of course, this sense of isolation is less if you're going into business with someone else.

I found a great Web company to partner with that had a hard time getting me off the phone in those early days - I needed to talk to someone! Entrepreneurs at this stage will usually rely on family and friends to feed their need for contact.

Working entirely for myself for the first time, discipline became a problem. I could have a nap in the afternoon and nobody would know. I could always work later in the evening to make up for it. Ooh, Oprah was on at 4pm... and shouldn't I leave for the gym now to miss the rush hour traffic? Staying focused when you're suddenly without a routine - and a boss - is difficult.

After several months of indulgence, the novelty will probably wear off and you'll find that a more productive routine starts to evolve. When your phone starts ringing and e-mails begin flooding in, enforcing that routine will become even easier. Try to stick to 'working hours' as much as possible or set yourself (achievable) tasks for the day and work until you've ticked them all off.

Staying focused when you're suddenly without a routine - and a boss - is difficult.

Jo Duxbury is founder of <a href="http://www.freelancentral.co.za/">www.freelancentral.co.za</a>. Contact her at <a href="mailto:jo@freelancentral.co.za">jo@freelancentral.co.za</a>.

Without anyone to answer to, if I didn't achieve those tasks I set myself, I could carry them over to the next day with few consequences. Sometimes a task that would take just 10 minutes to do would be put off for a week. (I admit that I still do this. Sales calls, anyone?)

It's easy to become a master procrastinator - maybe not with everything, but with the tasks that are less interesting, or more scary. The result for me was that I wasn't being as productive as I could have been - and elements of my business were being neglected.

I had to find ways of making myself accountable to myself. A huge motivator was that if I didn't do the work, I wouldn't earn anything.

I wasn't one of those sensible people who saved up six months' salary before quitting their job. Instead I extended my bond and figured that would last me a good four months. After that my site would have launched and I'd be raking in the cash. I did ambitious projections and budgets which predicted multi-millionaire status before a year was out.

During the four-month planning period, watching my pennies made me feel quite virtuous. I thought it would be a temporary sacrifice so didn't mind passing up on dinners with friends and I shelved my shoe and handbag habit. Three years later, I still have to control my spending strictly!

Getting into the black takes time - usually two to five years for the average entrepreneur. Having a backup plan in place, another income stream or financial support from your spouse will really help get you through the initial lean years.

Eventually I realised that nobody else was going to pick up the slack. The control I'd so craved also meant responsibility. Being my own boss meant my success, failure, stress, achievements, action and inaction were all up to me. I could no longer blame stingy bosses for my current account's dismal balance, or an unmotivated sales team for a lack of interesting projects. I started feeling the pressure.

If I wanted to pay my bills I had to generate money myself. If I wanted the phone to ring, I had to go out and find clients myself. If I wanted people to talk to, I had to explore networks and put myself out there. It was time to grow up a bit and take charge.

* Jo Duxbury is founder of www.freelancentral.co.za. Contact her at jo@freelancentral.co.za.