Fast Eats Big for Breakfast

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I was recently reading the Thankyou social enterprise story in a book called “Chapter 1.” One of the quotes that was repeated over and over again was the ability for a young, agile company to beat larger competitors with their speed i.e. “Fast Eats Big for Breakfast.”

Don’t get me wrong as my business isn’t even eating burnt toast yet. Still, when I look back to our start so far, I can see that we’re actually moving really fast now that I’m fully committed.

The first time I spoke to a potential investor about my idea was in a casual conversation was just two months ago – 3 April 2019 to be exact.

I applied for an ABN about three weeks later (23 April). Then, a fortnight after that I received some market research feedback that loudly confirmed the need for my products (6 May).

Late Monday, I received the CAD drawings from my designer (an uni student). And today, I just submitted them to one of the two Australian manufacturers that I am considering. I’m just waiting for the NDA to be signed before I send them to the second company.

I also confirmed today with Social Traders that my business model would qualify for certification under their process as a for-profit, social enterprise.

When I saw a friend tonight at a networking event, and I gave her an update she remarked about how much I have done since the last time I saw her. The reality is that I feel like this product development process is taking forever, and I’m always waiting for something to be done by someone else.

Looking back at my journal entries, I realise now that perhaps I’m being a little too hard on myself and others. Still, if fast beats big for breakfast… I don’t see a good reason to slow down now!

Personal Life vs Professional Life

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I think one of the most obvious differences between most jobs and being an entrepreneur is the blending of personal and professional life.  It’s not always easy to tell where a work day starts or ends when you own your own business.

In this way, I suppose that it’s similar to the job requirements of the CEO role I had at my last job.  However, since I work primarily from home at the moment, the roles are greyer than ever for me.

From a useful perspective, I noticed almost immediately when my 17 year old cat started showing signs of a health problem yesterday afternoon. It prompted me to take her to the vet right away. The vet knew me from my previous job, and before I knew it we were talking about my new business as the first product line deals with animals – blending the lines again.

Thankfully my cat is feeling better now after the vet visit.  I lost a good part of the afternoon worrying about her, but was able to make up for the lost time by working into the late night.  To be truthful, that too isn’t much different than my last job.

Maybe a work/life balance really is a myth.  It’s just called life.

Deloading Phase

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Right now, I’m mostly waiting – waiting for my product prototypes to be designed, waiting for the new Financial Year to formally incorporate my new social enterprise, waiting for certain deadlines to apply for grants, waiting, waiting, waiting. And I’m just not that good at waiting.

So rather than having a pity party, I’ve decided to spent as much time right now studying and planning for the future of the business.  As author Tim Ferris would say, this is my “deloading phase.”  I’m reading as many books on my “to read” list right now, and creating plans.

Plans for testing the product, plans for the product launch, plans for cashflow, plans for future employees, plans for marketing on a budget.  Many people would say that I’m rich to have some much “thinking time” on my hands right now.  So, I keep reminding myself not to waste this valuable resource.  Today I plan because soon I will be crazy busy again.