My First Birthday!
Yeah! I am going to write about my first year of life. Not only did I open my eyes in a new world, from tasting the unknown to recognizing the right & wrong – I have grown up to a certain bit in my first year of entrepreneurship.
The Birth:
The idea was conceived few years back but it got life only a year back. Like every birth it was painful & challenging and all I tried was to avoid any complications. Initially it was difficult to take up the challenge and convince my family that I am quitting a job (which was paying me quite decently) for I am going to start on my own. But, like it’s been said – it’s only the first step. Yes, we launched 30TH FEB on November 17, 2009 and I was born as an entrepreneur.
The Inception:
The inception, the observations, the test runs were at times positive, at times negative and weird at others. Some dint like the logo, others failed to love the idea. Some were worried about the complications attached…some failed to understand that it’s equally difficult to kill an idea like it is to a newborn. Some raised eyebrows & others raised fingers. Few were positive about me and others laughed it out.
All this – made me jittery at times but eventually made me stronger.
My First Lesson!
Learning started from the very beginning. While during the inception only I had started developing business. Interestingly, the first project was bagged out of a job interview. Before launching my venture – I had been appearing at the job interviews – to say that I was still double minded and because of which I had not given them an answer on my joining within a week as expected and so when I had sent the launch mail about my venture, my interviewer, the founder CEO of a new venture called me to meet the VP-Marketing for a Brand Development task. Bingo! I felt. And soon I realized that one shall not let the client treat you a novice, desperate start-up who is just looking to perform. I truly felt that people try to exploit their level best only If you allow them to. That led me to my first rule – “Value your own time”. ‘Be professional. Promise results. Stay Confident and remember – No one is doing a favor by giving you a task. Business is all about mutual benefits.'
First time in the Playground!
When a child gets out from home to the playground, he learns about the competition, the society and makes contacts. He starts making his own identity in the playfield. Now the point – is not about playing the game but it is more about staying in the filed.
My first boost came when work started coming & people valued my ideas and hence approached me to work with them. Yes. That helped me raise my spirits and slowly I was getting into a Brand boosted number game. Earlier the chase was to sustain and now I was growing & realizing competition. The idea now was to stay here and to make my presence felt.
With Brand projects dwelling and events happening side by side… I was assured of sustainability but every time I had the same fear – What next? To some extent that still is the case…..
Be-fitting the New Shoes!
Good Brand projects came in. Friends trusted me & clients agreed to the concepts & the caliber. Many agreed to my point – that you need to give us projects to see the portfolio of 30TH FEB and you need to offer the projects based on my personal portfolio.
In simple words, Issue the bill to see me fit the bill.
A Difficult One!
Things started churning and in no time, I was hopeful against all hopes. People who we had pitched in April….called us and we fetched a project in June. As challenges were growing and we realized that we need to grow in terms of team, people and power.
What I thought of as an Ambitious project turned out as the most difficult project in this one year. Certain execution problems cropped in, my personal life asked attention – leaving me in a real fix at instances. Here I was lucky as my client took charge for few hours and actually made my team work up to her expectations. But again I learnt a lesson – I need to delegate and I can’t be there at all the places at all the times. I knew it was the time to think of expansion.
No Effort is a Waste Effort
We worked we our soul and our dreams survived. We are now working with more diligence & better plans. We plan expansion & we are growing. We are growing in number and we are growing in hopes.
I am Team 30TH FEB. And November 17th,2010 is my first Birthday.
