Je moet geloof hebben in je opstartreis.

Als je niet gelooft in je startup, zal het niet lukken.

Ik heb onlangs de stad verplaatst en moet nu naar het werk gaan. Het is een spelbreker.

Mijn werkplaats bevindt zich in een oud bakstenen gebouw. Het heeft een paar lekken in het dak. Er is geen verwarming en zelfs in de zomermaanden kan het onaangenaam koud zijn.

Ik zweer het dat het de hitte eruit trekt en de kou binnen zuigt.

The water just got turned off because we are behind on bills.

The phone line went out a while back, shortly followed by the internet.

This month I am seriously short of money, and desperately awaiting clients to pay up on finished projects.

Why do I keep doing this to myself?

Why do I keep pursuing this?

Those are great questions.

The True Life Of An Entrepreneur

I can’t emphasise enough that the entrepreneurial life is not as glamorous as it seems.

Believe it or not, not everything you see on Instagram is true.

Shocking right?

I am all smiles on the outside. You have to be. In the retail and hospitality world they call this your ‘customer face’.

No matter what is going on in the inside, it is important to show confidence and happiness on the outside. It helps to get clients. It helps to get work.

But behind the scenes, there is a lot of blood, sweat and tears, with the odd dose of stress, depression and anxiety thrown in.

The hardest part is learning to live without security.

It is so hard to plan your life around this choice of work.

I recently booked to go away on holiday. I was booked to go a few weeks after a massive job we were going to be doing would be concluding.

A job that would be paying for the holiday.

A job that hasn’t started at all.

Looks at the holiday bill. Gulps.

This is just how it is. It’s difficult and it’s testing.

It causes you to pivot and change course regularly.

It causes you to stay up at night, sick to the stomach with worry.

It leaves you scrambling to meet deadlines, or panicking for lack of work.

So Why Keep Pushing On?

I push through these barriers and continue trying to build my startup for several reasons.

It is unbelievably rewarding, both in a professional and personal sense.

To create a portfolio of great work, or to see your work out and about in the world, is amazing.

We sometimes build and fit bars, and to see people raving about a bar we built with our own hands? Sweet feeling.

It’s humbling to see people want your work, and enjoy what you produce. It’s amazing to help clients realise their dreams.

On a personal level, the development I have undergone in this journey is mind blowing.

It’s a learning curve so great I could not have gained this amount of knowledge and experience anywhere else.

And I still gain more every day.

That is why I get up and continue to push my startup. That is why, no matter how hard it gets, I don’t give up.

And other people see that determination in you.

Other people admire you for it.

Recently, we met up with students who wanted to hold an interview about our business experience. As we spoke it was apparent they had so much respect for what we had achieved. It felt like they understood our journey and commended the courage and guts we had showed in doing this.

It was such a reaffirming feeling that we are doing the right thing and that we need to keep pushing.

My advice is simple, yet difficult in practise.

Always believe.

Believe in yourself. Believe in your team. Believe in your journey, and believe that it will all be worth it in the end.

If you loose the belief you will fail. Keep the faith no matter how hard it gets.

Read my story. Read the story of those who have made it already. You will quickly realise that these struggles are faced by everyone.

You have chosen the hardest path of all.

To create something from nothing, is nothing short of incredible.

Keep pushing, and keep on believing.

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