In 2023 I am resolving to reflect more on the past and provide insights into my business journey and life experiences.

I am challenging myself to post one video a week for the entirety of 2023 with reflections on the founding of my company Grove Technologies, an MSP that I started and took from inception to sale.

I invite you to follow along with me along the way, as I chronicle lessons learned and tough business decisions that I had to make.

One of the first things I thought of as I reflected on my time as a business owner, founder and operator was that it’s ok to start a business without really knowing how to run a business.

Too many people get hung up with needing to plan but overplanning is one of the things that has always stalled me from starting anything.

For me starting a business without knowing how to run a business was a huge risk that ultimately led to a huge reward.

Starting a business is no different from starting anything else, sometimes you just have to start somewhere and go from there.

One thing that was holding me back initially was that I feared that I would not have enough money to sustain running and operating a business. This is a pretty common fear that stops people from starting their own businesses.

Here are some of the choices I made early on in the founding of my company that worked well for me.

1. I waited to leave my current job until I had enough money saved in the bank to pay myself for 6 months.
2. I continued to work a full time job while I started my business, and slowly phased out my full time job(s) bit by bit.
3. I was honest with my clients that I was a new business operator and those initial clients I got early on were more interested and tied to my personal success than I ever could have imagined.
4. But ultimately I learned that it’s ok to start a business for yourself at your own pace without a plan and figure it out as you go.

Some people may criticize you and say this is not a business its a hobby, but a hobby or a lifestyle business is still a business. And I gained valuable life experience by starting it without overthinking it in a responsible way.