Is Your Business Built to Last?
I started my first business when I was 20 years old. Being raised in an entrepreneurial family, I thought I knew what it took to build a successful business.
I was right... for a while. Then everything fell apart.
Looking back much later, I realized that building a business requires far more than just having bright ideas, working hard, and networking. I learned that almost anyone can start a business, but not everyone can succeed. I learned that the intention driving you every day is more important than almost anything else. And I learned that without the right team—composed of equally strong yet contrasting players—a business is bound to fail.
If I’m being honest about my first few years in business, what drove my initial success and eventual failure was that I was building on the wrong foundation of intention. I was running my business fueled by personal needs—to be recognized, to be seen as successful, accomplished, and more.
For a time, those motivations served me well. But they were not the right foundations for a long-term, sustainable business. They were not the right base on which to make decisions. At the same time, I lacked the right team—people with brutal honesty who could hold me accountable and keep me on track.
Now, many years later, having worked in leadership and marketing across various businesses, I’m grateful to have found a place where I can both grow and drive growth, where I can give value and be valued, where I can push hard but also be held accountable. It is truly a rare thing.
One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned—both as a founder and through the challenges I’ve faced—is that we should always start with the end in mind: a vision so big it both excites and scares us. But with that, knowing that many elements along the journey are out of our control, we should let go of the ‘results’ while holding tight to the ‘processes’ that bring about results, walking each step with care and optimism, while treating ourselves and each other with kindness.
Perhaps it is truly as they say: the journey is more important than the start or the end.
I wish you all the best in your journey. May your intentions be as clear as day, lighting your way through the darkest of nights.
I started my first business when I was 20 years old. Being raised in an entrepreneurial family, I thought I knew what it took to build a successful business.
I was right... for a while. Then everything fell apart.
Looking back much later, I realized that building a business requires far more than just having bright ideas, working hard, and networking. I learned that almost anyone can start a business, but not everyone can succeed. I learned that the intention driving you every day is more important than almost anything else. And I learned that without the right team—composed of equally strong yet contrasting players—a business is bound to fail.
If I’m being honest about my first few years in business, what drove my initial success and eventual failure was that I was building on the wrong foundation of intention. I was running my business fueled by personal needs—to be recognized, to be seen as successful, accomplished, and more.
For a time, those motivations served me well. But they were not the right foundations for a long-term, sustainable business. They were not the right base on which to make decisions. At the same time, I lacked the right team—people with brutal honesty who could hold me accountable and keep me on track.
Now, many years later, having worked in leadership and marketing across various businesses, I’m grateful to have found a place where I can both grow and drive growth, where I can give value and be valued, where I can push hard but also be held accountable. It is truly a rare thing.
One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned—both as a founder and through the challenges I’ve faced—is that we should always start with the end in mind: a vision so big it both excites and scares us. But with that, knowing that many elements along the journey are out of our control, we should let go of the ‘results’ while holding tight to the ‘processes’ that bring about results, walking each step with care and optimism, while treating ourselves and each other with kindness.
Perhaps it is truly as they say: the journey is more important than the start or the end.
I wish you all the best in your journey. May your intentions be as clear as day, lighting your way through the darkest of nights.
I started my first business when I was 20 years old. Being raised in an entrepreneurial family, I thought I knew what it took to build a successful business.
I was right... for a while. Then everything fell apart.
Looking back much later, I realized that building a business requires far more than just having bright ideas, working hard, and networking. I learned that almost anyone can start a business, but not everyone can succeed. I learned that the intention driving you every day is more important than almost anything else. And I learned that without the right team—composed of equally strong yet contrasting players—a business is bound to fail.
If I’m being honest about my first few years in business, what drove my initial success and eventual failure was that I was building on the wrong foundation of intention. I was running my business fueled by personal needs—to be recognized, to be seen as successful, accomplished, and more.
For a time, those motivations served me well. But they were not the right foundations for a long-term, sustainable business. They were not the right base on which to make decisions. At the same time, I lacked the right team—people with brutal honesty who could hold me accountable and keep me on track.
Now, many years later, having worked in leadership and marketing across various businesses, I’m grateful to have found a place where I can both grow and drive growth, where I can give value and be valued, where I can push hard but also be held accountable. It is truly a rare thing.
One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned—both as a founder and through the challenges I’ve faced—is that we should always start with the end in mind: a vision so big it both excites and scares us. But with that, knowing that many elements along the journey are out of our control, we should let go of the ‘results’ while holding tight to the ‘processes’ that bring about results, walking each step with care and optimism, while treating ourselves and each other with kindness.
Perhaps it is truly as they say: the journey is more important than the start or the end.
I wish you all the best in your journey. May your intentions be as clear as day, lighting your way through the darkest of nights.
Mar 13, 2025
