We dreamt, we worked, we had massive wins and massive failures. We were resourceful – we never received any external funding, and have not once compromised on our purpose.
We have packed our 1000 days of experience into this August’s blog content, we’ll be sharing our learnings on how to move through the 4 phases of pre-1000 days startup which are;
Before Day 1: The dream
Day 1 – 333: The honeymoon period
Day 334 – 666: The hustle zone
Day 667- 1000: Swimming in the ocean
Building a business is not about your resources, but about being resourceful. In fact, every entrepreneur has the same four key resources available to them, that are required as inputs for building a thriving and sustainable business. Through our journey, we have focused on filling and re-filling these “tanks”, and in this month, we’ll share a key strategy for maximizing each of the four business development phases that make up your first 1000 days.
Key Resources available to every entrepreneur
- Time
- Energy
- Money
- Relationships
This blog post will be focusing on the first phase of the pre-1000 days startup:
Before DAY 1: The Dream
There is no great gift you can give or receive than to honour your calling. It’s why you were born. And how you become most truly alive – Oprah Winfrey
This phase is like an awakening… when you start to challenge the status quo, to question the way things have ‘always been done’ or what you’ve been taught, and where you start to realize that you don’t want to spend your life building someone else’s dream, but rather, you’re ready to build your own. Typically in this phase, you’re starting to see opportunity everywhere, you’re thinking about not just what you can do, but who you are, and you’re building up the confidence to trust yourself to create your own path. You’re letting creativity wash through you, and feeling energized by the potential of new ideas!
Energy
Start with the right idea for YOU – one of the biggest things we’ve learnt is that entrepreneurship is not just a technical journey, but a personal one. And so the WHY you start WHAT you do is so important – this idea needs to motivate you not just on your good days, but also on the days where you just do not want to get out of bed (we all have them!). Take the time to do your inner work – to get clarity on the impact you want to have in the world, will ensure you build a sustainable, impactful business that as an individual, you feel perfectly aligned with.
Time
Give yourself a deadline – so many of us are used to having deadlines imposed on us from days in jobs or corporate, or even from our childhood – but with entrepreneurship, the buck stops with you. So set yourself a deadline – your ‘Do Day’ where you stop dreaming and start taking action. Procrastination is the true enemy of progress – do not let it slow you down.
Relationships
Find your entrepreneurial tribe – while entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey, it doesn’t mean it’s one you should try to walk alone. In the Future Females community alone there are 20,000 ‘dreamers’ – brainstorming, ideating, exploring – generally leading their days with curiosity, rather than fear. These are the types of conversations to tap into at this stage, that will support and carry you through your 1,000-day journey.
Money
Make your ‘side-hustle’ funding plan – it may be an unpopular opinion, but we would never suggest quitting your job to go ‘all in’ before you have your finances in order. Entrepreneurs are typically eternal optimists, so it’s important to plan for your business to take ‘twice as long, and cost twice as much’ as you think. Create your side-hustle strategy, and fund your business from a secure income, until you can comfortably replace this income and quit your job. Financial anxiety does not help you make good strategic decisions later on.