Friday 11 May 2012

The Entrepreneurial Rabbit



I've just begun my first business venture since I was 17 (when I had my own jewellery business and made over £300 in profits selling made-to-order pieces in the office I temped at).

It's really early days but today was market research day and things are looking really positive. I guess I've always been an entrepreneur in some ways since that teen venture (as pompous and Dragons' Den as that noun sounds!) - I've had so many ideas for businesses, but I've never had the guts to see any of them through. I'm an overly cautious person that always sees the downsides in things and I'm very scared of taking risks.

Luckily, Bartimaeus is pretty much my opposite in this respect. When I had this recent idea (more on it when I've got started!) he encouraged, wheedled and badgered me into taking it seriously. Even earlier this week, as I prepped for my market research, I was totally terrified. It's really quite nervewracking going up to random people you don't know asking them if they'd want to try something out and fill in a questionaire.

But, I am so glad I did. The basically-anonymous feedback has been so glowingly positive, I'm beaming from ear to ear. I can't remember the last time I got a buzz like it. My mind is buzzing with ways to improve, build, develop what I've begun.

I'm sure a lot of you also have ideas like mine - things you don't see out there, or, just as importantly, things that could be just that little bit better (one of the most eye-opening things I realised was that you don't have to reinvent the wheel. If something's already been done - it's actually better because it proves there's a market). But too often perhaps we are that Rabbit in the headlights - discouraged by all the possible downsides, terrified into not moving.

So the moral of the story is: listen to your inner Bartimaeus sometimes.*



*when he reads this he is going to be absolutely INSUFFERABLE to live with...

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About Me

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Rabbit-like in a nose that twitches when I laugh and front teeth not 100% rectified by 7 years of braces, postcolonial in being of British-Bangladeshi heritage (and reading many many books thereon). Books, tea and dresses: these are some of my favourite things.