When someone asks me what my advice is on starting their own business, I usually say don’t. For most it’s not the right option. You will have a far better standard of life working for someone else: you’ll work fewer hours for more pay; flexible and remote working has become the norm; and with so many vegan and ethical organisations hiring now, you can still have a job that makes an impact.
However, if you are reading this then I suspect you are like me. There’s something that drives you beyond just having a job. There’s an itch that can’t be scratched by working for someone else. For me that’s always been autonomy – the ability to be in control of what I do and when.
So that’s why as you are reading this, myself, my wife Lisa and our daughter Awen will be on the plane to Berlin, Germany. You may have seen in my incubator video diaries that Vegan Business Tribe got through to the final part of the ProVeg Kickstarting For Good Incubator. So when we found out that I’d be returning to Berlin for two weeks, we decided to go as a family this time. I can work at the incubator offices, Lisa and Awen can explore a new city and we can all go to sleep and wake up together instead of being continents apart.
Having your own business is incredibly hard, especially in the first few years. So if you decide to do it then work just as hard to find the benefits. Benefits that aren’t just down to how much you earn, but how you live. Give yourself permission to build a business outside of the 9-5 model that works better for you – you bloody deserve it after all the time and effort you’re putting in.
It’s also why we’re planning to homeschool our daughter Awen (watch out for Lisa’s new Vegan Homeschoolers Podcast next year!) so that our family life is built around our own timetable and not a school’s.
So expect more diary updates from me from Berlin over the next two weeks. On the last day of the incubator, we get to pitch (Dragon’s Den style!) to potential funders and donors who may choose to back Vegan Business Tribe. We’re going to be up against stiff competition, so if you haven’t already then please fill out our recent member survey so I can show the (vegan) dragons how much demand there is for us to expand Vegan Business Tribe.
David 💚🐷🌍
David’s thoughts from the week, published every weekend for members only.
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