A slightly different one today.
One privilege of being an early employee at Antler was to witness the initial journey of hundreds of entrepreneurs up close, and get to walk alongside some of them.
The sacrifices made are immense - financial, relationships, time, hobbies. They do it because they believe in the potential impact and return.
Seeing it up close is one thing. Going through it is completely different
I’m not building a venture-backed, scalable tech startup.
I’m just starting a little coaching practice, with a little bit of consulting, some online events, tools and a fair bit of writing.
But it has its challenges.
I’m not afraid of working hard, if I have flexibility.
I knew it would be difficult, and there would be ups and downs - emotionally and financially.
These ups and downs - they’re full of micro moments of faith in something you can see but doesn’t exist, yet.
Then something happens that suggests that: hey that could be reality - objective reality.
3+ months in, here’s some of what has happened:
3 weeks ago:
I had 15 inbound leads in a fortnight - meaning, 15 people actually booked a coaching call with me, without me having reached out to them first. It’s not a super high number, but it’s about 1 a day. I teared. It was honestly the first time I thought this might work, and I wouldn’t have to go back to a typical job out of necessity. (While I’ve been coaching for a couple years, I only started my company end December.)
Of the calls I’ve had (some are scheduled but not done yet), 40% have converted into clients. I don’t pressure anyone; the measure is impact not income.
Last week:
Took the first break since starting (except for Lunar New Year Day 1) and promptly fell sick
Worried about finding partners, as I’d love to work with others with similar values, but wasn’t clear yet where to look, and what to partner around.
Crossed my mind to go back to being an employee, because I miss having a team, a steady paycheck, and I’d have to make fewer decisions.
This week:
2 more clients signing
3 potential partners reached out, unsolicited, but somehow a great fit in different ways (values, proposition). They might not result in anything. But they mean possibilities 1, 2, 5 years down the road that I’d never thought of
These ups and downs are exactly what I wanted to experience.
That entire journey of starting your own endeavour, realizing the work that is involved to get the fulfilment and impact that you want, seeing income and business with a completely different lens - this is the growth.
What I’ve learnt
1. External validation is the easy path
Confidence comes easily when it’s corroborated with what other people say, but much harder when you are building something that doesn’t exist yet, and have to trust yourself. That takes more energy.
Yes, we should be data-oriented and open to feedback and facts.
Drawing that distinction between what’s inside and outside your head, without veering into delusion or obstinacy is constant practice.
2. The ability to see the future but be in the present is critical
Related to the first point: it’s holding (at least) two timelines and possibilities at the same time, and switching between both.
I have to have faith in possibility, but recognize setbacks and market feedback (much harder than it sounds). It’s about building a future, but also building the bridge to that future.
It’s called vision for a reason. You need to see it.
3. Doing stuff alone is lonely
We trade different people challenges - in an organization we need to manage relationships. Working alone we need to manage ourselves more, because we don’t have inherent social structures to help us manage ourselves.
One solution is a community, or partnerships, which I’m looking to build over the coming months. I’d do it sooner, but am managing my time and energy to make sure coaching is a priority. Joining ready communities helps.
4. Regularity is more important than ever
Many people want to be founders for flexibility and autonomy.
You have to figure out if you’re actually ready for full flexibility and autonomy. I struggle to get anything done if my hours are completely random, even if it means I can work with clients in multiple timezones.
But - you get to determine what your own form of regularity is.
5. Abundance mindset works
Give value first, don’t focus on getting or selling.
I have to trust that there is enough for everyone, and that what I contribute will speak for itself.
Other coaches in a similar space have been support, not competition, for me.
Abundance also means trusting that things will work out, and creating rather than controlling opportunities will benefit everyone, including myself.
(Also - better for my general mood and sanity)
6. Humility - everything is relative
I get worried when I achieve anything - complacency is a warning sign.
Seeing what can be, and recognizing progress, are both necessary
7. Find advisors and mentors
Find people who have gone before you, who aren’t afraid to be honest and direct, but also who won’t impose their take on you
8. Say something out loud to start making it a reality
Take things outside of your head - if you’re building something, the first step is to articulate it out loud. Then, iterate from there.
Sounds weird, but it works. And it’s often less complex when written or said out.
9. Lagging indicators and compounding mean consistency + feedback on multiple timelines is key
At the start, a lot of things will not bear fruit. Because fruit takes time to grow 🍎🍐🍌🍋🍓
Some forms of data will be immediate feedback - and you’ll probably need to actively solicit this.
But at some point, things you did months ago that you almost gave up on will yield results, unexpectedly. Build feedback cycles on multiple timelines.
Consistency is a skill in itself.
I wanted to do this not just because I love it, but because I wanted to grow, and test myself.
The first dollar I earned, the first thousand, the first client I served, the first repeat client - all that felt hard won, like I’d seen and grown it from start to finish.
So - take from that what you will, but I just want to say:
Thank you for being here, and for being part of this journey in some way ❤️
Let me know what, if anything was helpful to you, and how 📩
𝗛𝗶, 𝗜'𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻 👋
𝗜 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲.
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