Daily Lessons from Life 28 August 2013 - Striking Out on Your Own ...

Met a long time ex-colleague in Hong Kong at his office and then for a simple dinner at one of the many 'yu tan hor' places. He started his own business about 4 years ago after many years in the MNC. His concerns and aspirations are the common challenges of any budding entrepreneur. Lessons for me are: 1. there must be hope that the business will eventually take off; 2. there is NO substitute for hard work especially in the initial business development, demand creation, leads generation and cash management parts of running a business; 3. thinking constantly about how to put the products into applications that the clients or potential clients need and want is another must; 4. having a strong stomach for stress and anxiety of not having enough cash to pay the salaries of the hardworking employees is a must; 5. being creative and resilient are just par and nothing more!; 6. having a supporting spouse and family will be a big big motivational force to carry on; 7. have a contingency plan hidden in a sealed envelop when all else failed e.g. a substantial amount of money stashed away or a trusted headhunter's contacts.