Today marks the day of me being an out of the ‘closet’ entrepreneur for one year, co-founder of fashion-forward.ca. It’s true, the only people who knew my business plan prior to launch was my business partner, web developer and immediate family. Two years of quietly researching and planning for what is now a real functioning, usable product. This past year has been an amazing journey, one I thought I’d share. First of all let me dispel any possible assumption that owning an online business doesn’t require much work – think again. I have been living a double life for the past year, balancing my full time job as a high school teacher in conjunction with discovering my new role as a full time startup entrepreneur. In essence, whenever I’m not working, I’m working. But so far it has been worth it. This is entrepreneurship 101…learning by doing. I had no official business background or knowledge – nor did my business partner. But I like to take risks, I believe in myself and I believe in the idea. Looking back, I guess I have always had the traits of an entrepreneur but just didn’t apply them as such. I have learned more in this past year than I ever did earning 2 University Degrees. A year ago I had no idea how to use twitter, facebook pages, pinterest, intagram, mailchimp, or other fashion-tech sites like wanelo. I also had no idea how to use a MAC, until I bought one last August. (Best investment ever). I had no idea what user engagement was or how to build brand awareness through social media marketing. Now I can use hashtags and understand open/click rates like nobody’s business. I understand what tagging is and how that helps increase your SEO. I know how to utilize pagemodo and various other programs/apps to create promotional graphics. I have learned how to utilize the sophistication of websites like eventbrite, mailchimp and vistaprint for event planning and creating promotional marketing material. I have learned how to write press releases and how to accumulate media contacts. I have learned to be really good at cross promotion, seeking sponsorships and partnerships. I have overcome the awkward feeling of going to a networking event alone. (I have an Ann Taylor shoebox full of business cards to prove it)…and from this, I have realized that networking IS your Net worth. I have practiced my pitch and put myself in risk taking opportunities to perfect it. I have learned the difference between a website and a web application; the difference between various coding platforms ie: Ruby, Python, .Net; the difference between Incorporating in Canada Vs. USA; the difference between Seed Funding, Angel Funding and Venture Capital; the difference between an Incubator and an Accelerator, etc. I have also learned the lingo of a tech startup entrepreneur: business plan, pitch deck, crowdfunding, traction, revenue, bootstrap, equity, SR&DS, BETA, etc. I have learned that an entrepreneur requires patience, flexibility and needs to allow serendipity to happen. An entrepreneur needs to surround themselves by positive, supportive people. (You will discover who your genuine supporters are quickly.) An entrepreneur will experience constant highs and lows…and start to question their confidence - or in some cases, mental stability, which is why you need to surround yourself by supporters! A startup entrepreneur will never forget their supporters! A startup entrepreneur will find themselves turning their living space into a makeshift video recording set, learn how to master carrying a trade show display all in one successful run from the car to the showroom (without breaking a nail or stubbing a toe) or suddenly audition for TV shows in hopes of getting some sort of national or international exposure. A startup entrepreneur will find themselves constantly refreshing facebook in hopes of seeing new likes, comments or shares after posting new content on their page. And then start to analyze their ‘reach potential’ on a different day/different time…then start to question if they have OCD. After which, spend 2 more hours researching facebook analytics - and another hour researching OCD (just in case). An entrepreneur never stops researching, thinking or developing. Being a startup entrepreneur is not a job, it is a lifestyle. The best part is, this is only the beginning. Soooooo cheers to my first year of being the co-founder of something that I think, quite frankly, is awesome.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 21:51:29 +0000
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