Life’s A Beach When You’re An Entrepreneur…Or Is It?

It’s the entrepreneurial dream…

To make your startup so successful you make money whilst you sleep.

Or whilst sipping a cocktail on a relaxing beach in Hawaii, with your only concern being that you may run out of sun tan lotion (you can never be too careful).

Which is precisely what the photo below shows Pete doing on his recent European break, right?

Not quite (it’s not actually Hawaii, but that’s not my point).

Let me add a little context.

Pete, system admin at Tap, was trying to enjoy a relaxing trip around Europe with his wife (wishful thinking there, Pete).

It’s almost impossible for Pete to really relax.

Your work/life balance becomes distorted.

And WIFI becomes your oxygen.

A ‘let’s deal with that later’ mentality isn’t going to cut it.

Which is why Pete had to go and sit on the beach at 9pm at night, with rubbish Wi-Fi and try and fix an urgent support issue – before it starts to rain. This is what it takes.

Our entrepreneurial journey has taught us some valuable life lessons so far…

Stay true to your values

Offering amazing support is what separates Tap from the next WordPress hosting company; it’s one of our core values.

You need to weave your values into your startup’s DNA and as you grow it’s more important than ever to remain true to what you believe in. At Tap we’ve set the bar high for how we deal with support requests and our team are empowered to deliver user satisfaction.

onTap Tip: The minute you start slipping on your values, you need to urgently reassess and get back on track.

Flexibility means inflexibility

With the joys of flexibility comes the burden of pressure.

Sure you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to, nobody is going to make you – but much like having your freedom constricted by a big corporate company, as an entrepreneur you’re pretty much at the mercy of your product and its users.

And your users will be using your product on the weekend too and whilst you are sleeping.

OnTap Tip: Accept that you will need to incorporate work into your life, don’t try and split the two.

You need money to live

Having a great product means little if it can’t make you money to live; we started out paying ourselves about £400.00 per month in the early days. Not much.

Ultimately you have to pay the bills and money inevitably becomes a worry, so if you want an easy ride (in your new Ferrari) right away  – maybe don’t become an entrepreneur.; you’re probably better of buying lottery tickets.

onTap Tip: save at least 6 months pay before making the leap.

You’re always connected

I hate my phone sometimes. Whats’app, Gmail, Facebook messenger… leave me alone!

When everything is accessible from your mobile device there is a strong and looming expectation to always be available. Always.

This can be damaging to friendships and relationships.

onTap Tip: spend 30 minutes each day without your mobile phone on you.

It feels like ‘you’ and ‘them’

People will ask you everyday and it’s difficult to detect the sincerity of their question ‘so how’s business’? It could be literally interpreted but at times I can’t help but detect undertones of ‘you idiot, why don’t you just get a real job’.

When you’re an entrepreneur it feels like it’s ‘you’ and ‘them’ (being everyone else who has a ‘real job’). Other entrepreneurs will likely ‘get it’ but because it requires such a significant shift in beliefs and attitudes, it can feel like a lonely place to be sometimes.

onTap Tip: surround yourself with likeminded individuals, this will really boost your motivation.

Live in the ‘now’

Try and keep an eye on the future but don’t let your self-projected expectations take over and fill you with anxiety. Remember you’re doing this to be free from the conventional chains of society.

onTap Tip: try and remain mindful and focus on the ‘why’ you’re doing what you do.

Define your success criteria

For me it’s the thought of being able to pick my kids up from school one day, and to live and work hard – on my terms. For you it could be money, public recognition or to travel the world. Figure out what your definition of success is (I wouldn’t mind a Maserati one day but it’s not what gets me out of bed in the morning).

onTap Tip: try writing your life goals down, or print a picture of what your aspirations look like and stick in on your desk.

There’s still a lot of work to do for us, we’re not founders of a billion dollar startup (yet) but we can afford to travel and work from our MacBook’s (wifi dependent).

Being a startup founder is bit of a slow burner with glimmers of hope, but knowing there are people benefiting from and using your product around the world makes it worth every minute.

Would we go back given the chance? Hell no. It’s gritty, relentless and unforgiving – just the way we like it.

Tell us about your entrepreneurial journey.