Motivated by a passionate belief that the Internet was the future of communication and community, I left my secure state government job to do something about it. Little thought was given to how I would do it or how I would survive financially. I was in love! During the first year that I was in business, I taught myself everything that I could about the web, but didn’t even get a DBA until the second year. That was when it finally dawned on me that I had a business, and I’d better get “legit.” I simply learned what I needed as I needed it, and often learned the hard way, never fully understanding the essential components of business operations. That is not to say I wasn’t successful with it – I simply didn’t realize at the time how much of my own momentum could be attributed to outside forces.
When I was offered a substantial contract requiring a full time commitment, I had no option but to shut down my business completely. As with so many solo entrepreneurs, I WAS the business and if I was gone, the business was gone. When the economy shifted, and the contract ended, I realized the huge mistake I had made. The successful business I’d built up for over five years had died from my abandonment.
For a brief moment, I considered employment, and even tried it for a spell. It was then that the full force of my entrepreneurial spirit kicked in. I realized that my independence, creativity, persistence, and frankly, attitude, marked me as clearly as if I’d had a big bold E stamped on my head. There could be no other way for me, ever again.
When that thunderbolt hit me, I set out to do it all over again – and do it right from the moment of conception. Contrary to the belief that most micro businesses can survive without a business plan, the very first thing I did was write one. This time, because of that sense that it HAD to sustain me for life, I was aiming at a vision of the future with very clear goals that needed to be achieved. Even more invaluable was the marketing plan I wrote, which included a monthly calendar for the first year of the business, outlining every single step I was going to take from naming and branding the business, to promotion, networking, and marketing. Following that religiously has provided me with a well marked runway to get the business off the ground.
As I plunged into writing those documents, it struck me that my first phase of business ownership really was a wave that I got on at the right moment and rode out. Where I was headed or what I would do when I got there was never really ever on my mind. I suddenly realized that I had the opportunity to review and replace any blunders I may have made with the first business, and a clean slate upon which to write with a more seasoned pen.