Series 1: Rise, Fall, Rise: The intermittent insanity of entrepreneurship

Many in the field of IT have personal stories of their own temporary or permanent foray into entrepreneurship or consulting, and the variety of experiences nearly matches the number of accounts. It's a huge decision. An enormous, incomparable, exhilarating possibility that captures the imagination of those who have not yet taken the leap, and possesses the memories and dreams (or nightmares) of those that have.

If you're reading this, you're hearing from someone who has taken the chance on themselves, placing everything they hold dear at great risk, to see where the gamble ultimately leads them. It has not always been great. It has not always been terrible. The highs are higher than any high I ever had working for an organization as an employee. The depths are far greater than any experienced before and, what's worse, you often find yourself in the abyss alone. Often with only yourself to blame (which I'll get to later).

When you do find yourself considering the merits of consulting or embarking on a new venture outside of steady employment, the stories of those who have gone before can be enlightening, hopeful, entertaining, and instructive. As I find myself finally making a website after five years into the adventure, it was on my heart and mind to share some of these nuggets with anyone that has a web browser.

Nugget One: If you start a consulting business, your own health will reflect the health of the business you run.

I learned this one the hard way. Not all of the projects that I have taken on have been overwhelmingly successful. In fact, I have on more than one occasion been dismissed from a project when this has gotten out of hand. As a small business, the lifeblood of the firm is more or less your own blood. If you are physically and mentally fit, then your business is likely to be fiscally fit, and vice versa. When you run into hardship beyond your control and the business is at risk, it will be essential that you maintain a steady hand on your mental and emotional health so you can guide the business up and out of the hardship. The business will not, in most cases, guide itself out of hardship. You will be the one, and most likely the only one, to right the ship and stay the course. I have been, in the past, not given enough to discipline and have been far too caught up in guilt, shame, and worry; and the projects at that time suffered as I did.

The takeaway? Suffer only as long as you wish. Long enough to learn how you got there, but not a moment longer. Escape it with all your might and strength.

Nugget Two: Discern what you can control, make plans for the rest

I suppose you may have heard a saying similar to "Let go of what you can't control" or "Control only what you're able to". This advice, I believe, has its place in fleeting moments when you need to stay mission-focused. Repeating the adage might remind you to turn away from the distractions of things beyond your immediate control. Beyond that though, I would argue that the daily events that make up our work and personal lives fall into one of two categories of control: those that we have direct control of, and those things we have yet to develop a discipline of control over (note that this is the second time I have used the term "discipline"). I do realize that there are things truly outside of our control, such as the weather, natural disasters, and other natural elements. In this case I am only thinking of those things that affect the course of business and success or failure of the engagements we find ourselves in the midst of. Some examples to clarify my point:

When you send a quote, estimate, or scope of work to someone for consideration: In this scenario, you don't have all control, but you have more than you may think. Discerning what level of control you have will be indispensable for more predictable outcomes. There are things you can do to have more control over the outcome, but doing too much will shut the door to that opportunity and likely any more to come.

How other people treat you: One could arguably presume that a majority of the population assumes they have no control over how they're treated by others. I am of the mind that this assumption, as a blanket statement, is shallow and irrational. You cannot, of course, directly control how someone is treating you right now; but can you do more to steer that interpersonal engagement in a more positive and encouraging direction? Absolutely.

Being fired from a project: The worst of the worst for a consultant. They've had enough of your lack of communication, or lack of punctuality, or attitude, or... whatever it might be, but they've decided to cancel the rest of the project. Can you control what just happened? No. The opportunity you had to maintain control and steer the health of the project has long passed. Now, what you can control is the aftermath of what just happened and whether or not they'll think of you in a year when they're looking at new projects. Your reaction to rejection will heavily influence how far the ripples of that rejection go.

The takeaway? If you're going to steer the ship, you'd better be prepared to have the heaviest hand on the wheel.

Looking for more? Stay tuned for another entry in the series next week.