Part 1: A PORTRAIT OF ENTREPRENEURS

I will always remember how it felt to resign from my job for the first time to ‘step out into the market’ do business on a large scale (just kidding) The feeling is rather funny, like this: “Yeah! I'm free! From now on, I can stay up late or get up early as I please, with no need to report to anyone at 8:30!”

You know what? Life always gives us what we truly want. And after that moment, my life unfolded exactly as I had just declared!

I failed in that so-called “startup” attempt!

Nevertheless, I gained some valuable lessons. You may already know them, but hearing them again as a reminder is never unnecessary, especially when ‘life's currents continually carry us away from our original understanding and dreams.’

Running your own business means working long hours, keeping an irregular schedule and thinking constantly, day after day and month after month, until you recover your investment and begin making a profit. This can take several years.

Therefore, to start a business successfully, you need to:

First lesson: Passion – If you do not love your business, it will not support you

Starting a business is a truly difficult decision, as you will realize if you take it seriously. It is the moment when you accept:

1. Work continuously. Remember that thinking is also 1 form of work
2. Irregular working hours: When you first “strike out on your own” and acquire your first customers, you put in so much blood, sweat and tears that, for their sake, you often do not hesitate to work “overtime” whenever needed.
3. Your emotions will act like a ‘barometer’ of your business situation

I say this to show that if you start a business for ‘freedom,’ as I described above, or solely for money, I hope you will reconsider by this point. Business is a long journey filled with obstacles and challenges. If you are not passionate about what you do, you will easily become discouraged and give up whenever difficulties arise.

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So What Role Does Passion Really Play in Starting a Business and Building Wealth?

Nature gave humans 2 cerebral hemispheres, left and right, separately oriented toward logic and emotion. And from this come all sorts of problems.

I can only speak for myself: when I decided to start a business, I used reason to compare the reality of working for someone else with the dream of successfully starting and owning a business. I think everyone knows which side came out ahead.

Yet the true nature of business is giving others the VALUE you create, and creating that value is extremely difficult; giving it is not easy either. Without passion acting as a flame that continually supplies energy and drives you forward, you will gradually be persuaded by YOURSELF once again and see the “dream of entrepreneurial success & enjoyment” drift away and fade, while the reality of daily losses and having to contribute more money from your own pocket takes over.

Moreover, if you start a business for money rather than passion, you will not recognize the outstanding advantages, your own unique values that no one else possesses – can do an extremely effective competitive advantage to help your business stand out and rise above the crowd. This is a secret to building core competitiveness that people too easily overlook.

Lesson 2: Business is Life, complete with Emotion and Spirit

Of course, you are always living, whether or not you are running a business or starting one! But during entrepreneurship, you live a very different chapter of life.

1. You are your own boss—nobody will supervise you or monitor your results anymore. Honestly, it was only that day, when I realized this, that I became grateful for what my former boss had done for me
2. ‘We posted another loss this month!’ Normally, hearing someone else say that does not stir much feeling. But when you say it yourself, it truly sinks in. You bear 100% of the risk for everything you did for your business over the past month. Never has the ‘cycle of rebirth and cause and effect’ revealed itself so quickly!
3. Emotions — ‘Why must I work so hard?’ You will work a hundred times harder than others, doing tiny, fussy tasks you have never done before. Why? Because this business is now yours, and no one will worry about it for you!
4. Sacrifice, sacrifice and sacrifice—time is the first “sacrificial offering.” Personal interests come next, because we must save for our “darling” company. Cut back on gatherings and drinking with friends, do not waste any capital, and sometimes even time for family must take second place. In short, simplify life as much as possible

At This Point, Raise Your Hand If You Still Want to Start a Business!

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Lesson 3: Manage risks and see risks “hidden” everywhere in a business with fewer than 5 people!

The first risks I had to face usually involved money!

Starting a business means no one pays you a salary anymore. What will you bring home to your wife at the end of the month?

Starting a business means needing capital, and making a profit at first is hardly easy. Remember, this can last several months or more than a year, so where will the money to keep the company going come from?

Fundraising? Back then, I didn’t know the 6 or 7 fundraising methods I know now from working at YUP, so I really talked until my throat was dry while investors still shook their heads!

These are the initial issues connected with “Where will the money come from?”

Below are issues that remain risks even after you have money!

Investment cash flow & effectiveness: After 5 months of losses, Dylan’s original business began to earn “a little something.” Dylan invested more of his own capital, stepped up marketing, and hired additional help.

The mistake was failing to compare the breadth of the market with current service capacity, making additional investments ineffective.

The mistake was having no model to clearly map how cash, products, and information flowed through my business. How embarrassing for someone with an economics background! Dylan only realized this lesson when studying the Business Model Canvas with teacher Trần Bằng Việt!

The ‘Owner's Salary’ Trap: During a long wait, you tighten spending and live on the bare minimum while, deep down, still feeling that your status is that of an owner. Meanwhile, new needs arise in life.

Like an animal starved for too long, when it is time to spend, business owners can easily allow themselves to use the capital and profits newly earned from a young business indiscriminately. Why does this seem so perfectly reasonable to them?

Simply because the business is his, so naturally all the profits belong to him. Why should he not spend them however he wants?

Another mistake! Clearly define your own salary, even if you own the business! Keep your capital and personal spending separate so you can truly manage business finances well!

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Lesson 4: Patience and Persistence

Let me ask you: ‘How many times have you seen someone start a business and succeed immediately?’ With the difficulties just discussed and countless large and small issues that can arise in running a business, Dylan is certain that many people have often had ‘thoughts of giving up’ lingering in their minds.

Dylan nhớ, trong 1 seminar UNLIMITED SUCCESS – THÀNH CÔNG KHÔNG GIỚI HẠN, anh Tạ Minh Tuấn từng nói: “Starting a business is like swimming from one bank to the other. The hardest part is not deciding to jump in at the beginning; it is reaching midstream, looking back to see the bank far behind, looking ahead to see the other bank still out of reach, and looking around to find no one beside you.”

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“The Finest Warrior needs two things,

that is Time and Patience.’

– Leo Tolstoy (from ‘War and Peace’)

‘Every beginning is difficult’ is a process every entrepreneur must go through. Therefore, Perseverance and Persistence are among the most essential qualities of a successful entrepreneur. 

Above, Dylan has briefly reviewed the lessons he has personally experienced and the conclusions he has drawn to date while working in an entrepreneurship training environment.

Although these insights are few, I hope readers can draw some value for their chosen path. You can also come and listen to and learn from entrepreneurship experts here at YUP. You do not have to immediately believe what I have said above.

Please look forward to the next article:

“Essential Skills for Building a Successful Startup – My Proposal.”

From Dylan @ YUP Institute with love.

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Chương trình liên quan tại YUP Education: X-Startup – khóa học khởi nghiệp «Khởi Chánh Nghiệp» · The Journey – lộ trình phát triển doanh nhân