Cover Photo by Maksim Goncharenok from Pexels (adapted)
Here’s how I’m redefining myself after my two businesses failed in 2020
Everywhere around me, I kept seeing businesses crumble. Some had been in operations for years. Where I live in Old Montreal, it seems as if every other shop on the street is closed permanently. Even the best restaurants had to shut down.
This week, the government even announced we’re in lockdown again. More businesses are about to shut down. This isn’t looking pretty.
So, needless to say, 2020 was a sucky year for entrepreneurship.
I’ve lived it full well, having shut down all operations on one of my businesses, and rushing another one to market with close to zero hope of success after working seven years on the project.
But now that reality has settled in, how can we flip the situation around?
This year was filled with hopelessness and negativity (with reason), but it doesn’t have to remain this way. It’s time we stop saying “I can’t…” and start thinking “how can I…”
I’m very close to rock bottom. My income went down by about 75 percent, my expenses went up by $1,100 per month (due to having a child mostly), I dealt with postpartum depression, and my wife is right in the middle of it now.
I was lost, and still am to some degree.
I kept brainstorming ideas on how to change my situation around, but there wasn’t even a single sexy option in my mind. I just wanted to keep doing what I was doing post-pandemic.
Of course, that was delusional.
So, when I received a message from a recruiter on LinkedIn for an interesting leadership position for a startup in AI and Education, I couldn’t help but reply. It was the first time in 10 years that I replied to a recruiter.
I did my call with the recruiter. The position was near perfect.
I was excited about it and was ready to charge ahead with the formalities. But, as experience as proven me time and again, better to sleep on it!
And so I did.
When I woke up, I found at least 10 reasons why I shouldn’t do it.
I ended up turning it down.
I turned it down because I’m an entrepreneur. This is who I am, and I’m just not able to sell my “integrity”. When you believe so much in something, it takes a lot to change your mind.
Do you feel like that too?
But of course, I had to do something about my situation. And I did.
Have you ever found yourself procrastinating on what you have to do with something else? Okay, I know the answer is yes. But have you thought about turning your procrastination into a lucrative activity?
Over the past 30 months, I’ve been finding myself writing instead of doing my work. Every time I’d have an idea of a topic to write about, I’d just jump on it right away, completely ignoring my schedule.
So, the answer was staring at my face the whole time: I should become a full-time writer. While that’s not “entrepreneurship” on the same scale I was used to, I’m still doing things on my terms.
What’s staring in your face and you’re not deciding on? Could it be a lucrative business?
Again, to make the rest of the year and 2021 better, you have to think “how can I…” That’s how crazy ideas that work pay off. Peter Diamandis said it best:
“The day before something is a breakthrough, it’s a crazy idea” — Peter Diamandis
Danny the writer, to me at least, was a crazy idea. I’m a tech entrepreneur — that’s how I saw myself.
How to bounce back from failed businesses
My clarity came from doing a routine Venn Diagram of Purpose— now commonly known as Ikigai. That’s how I bounced back from my sucky situation, and how I think you can do it too.
The diagram aims to find the intersection of what you love doing, what you’re good at, what you can get paid to do, and what the world needs. At the intersection of all four circles is your Ikigai — your purpose in life.
My Ikigai ended up being writing full-time.
How did I get there?
First, I brainstormed answers to the four questions above in a simple list form. Then, I analyzed the immediate intersections:
Passion = what you love + what you’re good at
Profession = what you’re good at + what you can be paid for
Vocation = what you can be paid for + what the world needs
Mission = what the world needs + what you love
Image by author. Click for interactive version
Of all the things I’ve listed in each of the four questions, there was one recurring theme in all four intersections.
Passion = writing
Profession = writing
Vocation = writing
Mission = writing
Other things that were in a few intersections, but “writing” was the only one in all four.
If I were to sum up the question you need to ask yourself in a single sentence, it would be something like that:
What do you love to do and are good at that the world needs and would pay you for it?
Answer this with certainty and you know what you have to do to get back on your feet.
Now, it all sounds easy when I do it, but it’s because it’s my twentieth time doing it. It also helps that I’ve started seven businesses in the past. The thing is, the more you do, the more you know what you want and don’t want to do.
Your first attempt will take time. You’ll reach what you think is your Ikigai — your life purpose — and you’ll try it for a while. Months later, your situation will likely be different. The key is to never be afraid of revisiting it. It’s a process that can take years.
The important thing is that you enjoy the process while you’re at it.
Conclusion
Technically, only two things changed in 2020: what you can get paid for and what the world needs. These are the two variables you couldn’t foresee changing so much. But now that reality has settled in, it’s time to revisit where you stand.
If you want to bounce back, you have to have a hard look around you and figure out where the money is going. How can you blend that with what you’re already good at and love to do?
That’s how you keep thriving as an entrepreneur.
You can do this!
— Danny