Reflections on a Slow-Lane Business

[E-Sharp]

I was online today filing last year's state tax return for my first business. The Department of Revenue's website has all my info laid out on one page, and seeing it there this morning spurred some reflections on the growth,the mistakes, and the lessons in starting my first business 13 years ago.

This is a fee-for-service business where income is based on face-to-face hours. I set it up while I was working a FT job. A lot of work happened nights and weekends, but the revenue-generating activity required that I cut down to 4 days of work at the FT job. I had a supportive employer (and providing big value to this employer was why they allowed me to cut down to 4 days, then 3.)

This is what I was looking at today on the Dept of Revenue's website, a snapshot of the growth pattern over the years:

Year 1 $4K (working one day a week in the business, FT at the job)
Year 2 - 9K (still working one day, plus nights after the FT job)
Year 3 - 16K (two days a week now, plus nights/weekends, cut down to PT hours at the job)
Year 4 - 37K (went all-in this year, quit the job)
Year 5 - 36K
Year 6 - 42K
then finally:
Year 7 - 91K
....and so on

I know, these are not impressive figures. Frankly, I didn't know WTF I was doing. I just wanted more control over my work and my life, I wanted to not be an employee any longer, and I was willing to put up with a few years of suck to make it happen.

It was quite painful in years 4-6, and yet I couldn't bring myself to throw in the towel and go apply for some job. I would get panicky and do things the "easy-then-hard" way, to borrow @biophase's term, rather than do the hard thing that would have better long-term payoff.

Still, I learned a lot about how to be creative and cut expenses, and over the years I built systems and processes that led to improvements.

Looking back, a huge mistake I made was creating a job for myself. This is not a business that I can sell, as I am the main product. I could have taken a different direction with it early on, adding scalability. Years ago - though I didn't realize it then - I was well-positioned to capitalize on a trend which was then in its infancy and is now so popular the market is saturated. I missed the boat because I was focused on a trade-time-for-dollars framework. I knew nothing of CENTS or fastlane principles.

So I have taken this slow-lane business as far as I want to. And due to sea-changes within the industry, it has an approaching expiration date anyway. In the process of making mistakes I learned so much, and I became a resourceful person.

I started an e-comm business this year, and things will be done very differently this time. I feel a little wistful looking back, but so grateful that I stuck it out.

 

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