Battle Scars of an Entrepreneur

My wife was mocking me today for never posting on my blog. The problem is I've been so busy. This last year has been crazy busy trying to merge two existing companies and create a new up and coming digital marketing agency.

This last year has been full of ups and downs as we've grown from a core group of only four to a total of 12 employees. Someday when I'll detail some of the battle stories of this start-up (of which there are many) and provide some of the lessons learned. Stories of mergers and acquisitions planned that never came to be, stories of raising and attempting to raise money from angel investors, venture capitalists and private equity firms. The thrill of believing you would be acquired and the bitter sweet realization that the proposed deal wasn't in the best interest of our young company.

These last twelve months have been filled with many sleepless nights from fear, excitement, anticipation, and concern for employees and partners. My wife and children have been extremely understanding beyond even my wildest hopes. I try to spend time each day with them to eat dinner, read them a story before bed, and play with them when we have time. Sometimes that has been easier than others.

We have now assembled a very capable and dynamic team and once we add an accountant/controller I should be able to relax a bit more, and cut back my hours to a more manageable amount. Maybe I can get some hobbies, exercise, or just spend more time with my family. The next twelve months will be very exciting as we bring on more clients and continue to grow our business.

I'm keeping notes and will someday change the focus of this blog from random personal thoughts to a tightly themed blog on lessons for entrepreneurs. Not that I'm some wise sage, but because I have seen some interesting things in this whole start-up phase that I believe would be of interest to other entrepreneurs.