This week’s post is indulgent, raw, off-topic and, for some, way too personal - so feel free to skip right past this, although hopefully, sharing some of my true emotions this week will help other business owners.
This week, my main business, Crisp Accountancy, turned 10 (I had another business for two years before this, so it’s more like 12 years, but who’s counting).
A huge milestone. One that should be shouted about and celebrated from the rooftops, apparently.
This is what EVERYONE around me told me: clients, team members, family - everyone. If someone told me they were approaching 10 years, I would say exactly the same. Well done, what a great milestone.
Creating the content to put out on social naturally had me in a reflective mood. For the most part, I am a hugely positive person when it comes to my business, but the truth is this reflection made me feel like shit.
I thought back to day 1 and the initial 5-year plans I created and shared with my wife - we still haven’t hit those giddy heights 10 years later…
A lot happened in those 10 years. Change of tax legislation, 2 babies, Covid and a bucket load of mistakes to start. I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I should have done better. Every time someone congratulated me, it made me feel worse. I began to feel like an imposter (not something I usually struggle with).
It’s easy to read this and come up with “Look how far you have come though”, “so few businesses make it to 10 years”, or “Think of all the learning and how much you have developed as a person” - these are all things I would say if I were coaching a client!
I am both blessed and cursed by an insane level of drive and ambition. The drive has got me to this point and allows me to keep going every time I have experienced a new, previously unimaginable low, and there have been plenty of those. It’s what will drive me on to far greater success too.
A great book that I related to a lot, relevant here, is The Motivation Myth by Jeff Haden. He argues that Action is the key to motivation, not the other way around. In other words, power through, grind out the work and when results come, so will the motivation.
On the flip side, I find it impossible to acknowledge achievements and am painfully hard on myself. This is OK, but only when appreciated, understood, felt and accepted. Something I have worked on a lot over the last few years, with the help of a few key people, not least my coach Ruth (thank you!).
Why am I sharing this? Who cares?
As I said at the start, this is indulgent. Writing this has helped me process these emotions, but more importantly, for everyone reading, it is a rare view into the true journey of entrepreneurs and business owners that is not shown externally, particularly on social media.
The truth is that anyone in business for 10 years who claims not to have screwed up more times than they can count and not experienced the crushing lows on the emotional rollercoaster of business is flat-out lying. Lying to you or themselves.
10 Lessons
Whilst documenting the milestones and challenges of the last decade, I noticed some recurring themes. Once I grouped these as if by magic (honest…), I came up with a list of 10 lessons that I experienced first-hand but also saw regularly while working closely with other business owners and entrepreneurs.
Here are the 10 most important lessons from the last 10 years:
1) Never lose the scrappy startup mentality
No matter your size, always fight like you are the underdog. Never get cocky in your position. It will always bite you in the arse.
2) Treat your team as adults
Trust your team. If you don’t trust someone, get rid of them straight away. Provide clarity on the goals and expectations and then support them. Give them honest, direct feedback, and don’t skirt around the issue - providing it comes from a place of genuine care, that’s what matters. Proper Unlimited Holiday, total flexi-time etc., have been great for us.
3) Look after yourself
Burnout is not cool. It’s not a badge of honour (Yes, I did use to think this, yes, I was an idiot! It hit me hard!!). You are the most important person in your life (thanks again Ruth!), and unless you look after yourself, you will be no good to your family, team and clients. Thankfully mental health is a far more open topic now than when I started.
4) Accountability is everything
I will never stop banging on about how important this is, especially to single owners/founders. Finding the right person to hold you accountable will catapult you to another level of success.
5) It always takes longer than you think
This may be more relevant to me as an optimist (despite this post, we all have wobbles), but everything takes longer than planned. Every project, every team hire, becoming a billionaire (just kidding, far too much baggage with being a billionaire for me, I will settle just one level below).
6) Know when to hold, know when to pivot
One of the hardest things I have encountered in business is knowing when to hold your ground and dig in, even when everyone around you is wavering. On the flip side, when you know you need to make a change, don’t hesitate, don’t get caught in the sunk cost fallacy, pivot and speed off in a different direction.
7) Practice what you preach
During these 10 years, we bought a new house; the seller was a builder, and the house was a mess! Don’t fall foul of this yourself. I admit over the years, not following all the advice I dish out 100%, and every time, without fail, it has caused me problems. This is something the team helps to hold me to account for now. Follow our example!
8) Never settle
The second you start to feel comfortable for any length of time, be worried. This has been a huge red flag to me. Driven to be better. I have a poster behind me of 1% better every day that shows just how important this is to me.
9) Give Back
Aside from being the right thing to do, giving is so powerful from a business perspective. We support the UN global goals via B1G1, give to local charities, and give away a ton of educational content and support to non-clients. All of this has helped to grow the business.
10) It should be fun
OK, so not every day, but ultimately you must enjoy your work. If you don’t, then there are far easier ways to live your life and earn money. Ask yourself if this is what you really want and if it isn’t, make a change.
What Next?
Before sharing this with everyone publicly, I talked to a few people closest to me and was honest about the pain of reflection. Talking this through, combined with onboarding some great new clients this week, helped me take the positives from the last 10 years, ignore the rest and focus on what comes next.
At the risk of sounding cheesy, those 10 years really were the introduction chapter on this journey. What comes next will be unrecognisable from what came before.
So to wrap this up, once again, a huge thank you to everyone involved on this journey so far and to anyone watching from afar, now is the time to get on board!
About the author
Luke Desmond
Fractional CFO for Tech, eCommerce & SaaS. CEO @Crisp_Acc provides virtual finance functions. Co-Founder @getvaulta SaaS Startup for accountants.