I Am Invincible! … Apparently

Hi all,

I’m Danielle and I’m a rookie entrepreneur.

I have lost my serenity and possibly my sanity, so I’ve decided to blog about it.

It is true to say that I followed my gut into business. Some might argue, and perhaps quite rightly so, that it wasn’t a very bright thing to do. The word “lemming” comes to mind…

From what I understand, smart business people start small and have a working knowledge of the market they’re entering. Not me. Why do it the smart way and make it easier for myself when I can set myself a REAL challenge? Yep, I’ll take the hard road thanks. I’ll just follow my gut gleefully into creating something that I have no solid evidence for that anyone is going to want. I’ll pour my heart and soul into creating it, then I’ll “learn as I go” on the business front, throw money at it, and hope like hell someone wants to buy it. Voila, I’m an entrepreneur!

Of course, there is the school of thought that recommends biting off more than you can chew, and then chewing like hell. Well, I’m their star pupil because I’ve got a gobfull here!

Speaking to someone recently I asked, “am I nuts?” She answered, “yes, Danielle, let’s get this straight right now – you ARE nuts!” Thank heavens for that. At least now I know for sure.

In all seriousness, I have, at times, wondered about my sanity. Not to mention my stupidity in a number of instances. But the truth is, the feeling from my gut is so compelling that I can’t not do it. Pablo Picasso said, “It is your work in life that is the ultimate seduction. For all those who succeed, however difficult the road, not to have done it would have been more difficult.”

Perhaps his quote could have read, “for all those who tried…” because I can relate totally to what he means, even though I haven’t yet succeeded. When my business idea originally came to me about 18 months ago, I HAD to do it. It was completely compelling. I’d say that it’s an obsession. From its inception, I thought about it day and night, and I worked on designing my game every spare minute that I had. Since then, “leisure time” has been almost non-existent for me. Sometimes when I’m with friends and they’re chatting about all the activities they’ve been up to, or planning, I find myself thinking things like: Oh gee, that’s right, normal people have a life where they just take a day or two off, sometimes even a week (gasp), and do fun stuff.

Another quote that comes to mind is, “Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.” I don’t regret my decision for a minute, but in making the choice to take this route I have given up both quality of life and financial stability. From where I stand now, success would taste rather sweet.

In the face of what seems like an impenetrable market, the only thing fuelling me is the passion I feel for my vision. If our lives really do have a purpose, then this is mine. Or perhaps more accurately, it’s central to it.

Lately I keep coming across messages of perseverance and persistence (funny how that happens isn’t it) – which, apparently, is often the determining factor to successful outcomes. But every now and again my “sensible” voice interrupts with the million dollar question: how long do you persist? Exactly what am I the captain of here? – an exciting new craft that will transport people to Cloud Nine, or the Spruce Goose?

And will I find answers to the endless questions in my mind before I send myself and everyone else insane?!

Market Position & Branding

In terms of marketing, although I find myself very often in a situation where I don’t know what the right answer is, one thing that I am grateful for is that as far as branding goes, I do know when something is wrong. This is most often an instinctual feeling, but it usually also requires a series of thought processes. For instance, I was recently given an idea for further developing my game, which at first I thought was terrific. But over about a week it dawned on me that in fact, it would be completely the wrong thing to do because it would actually detract from what the essence of the game is about. The integrity of the product’s purpose would be significantly weakened. In future posts I’ll discuss further examples of finding my way through the evolutionary maze of product development.

From my experiences to date, branding is something that is also very much an evolutionary process – a combination of my vision and the way in which people respond to various elements of that vision. I see my role as managing the dance between these two factors; carefully choreographing them so as to ensure the integrity of my brand while also catering to the needs of my customers.

On the flip side of how customers respond are those who want to “add” or contribute to your vision, such as the example above. Along with market research, I put this one in the “mine field” category. These are two topics I will also take a closer look at.

I will need at least one full post to cover my adventures in market research. It’s a fascinating area, and, as I understand it, a somewhat contentious one. My experiences to date relate to the focus groups (or trials) that I held while developing my game, listening to all and sundry about their personal dating experiences, feedback from customers and business associates, and through selling my merchandise at the weekend markets.

While I won’t offer marketing advice per se (I’ll leave that to the professionals!), I will share with you my experiences, insights and lessons to date.

The one thing that really does scare me is “death by marketing”.

Other topics I’d like to cover include the “between the cracks” insights that I have discovered can be lethal traps for young players, and other stuff that might just be handy to know.

Mettle

There are tough days, and there are even tougher ones. I think new businesses are like children – they will test you to your absolute limits.

Winston Churchill’s famous quote, “If you’re going through hell, keep going” comes to mind.

Recently I was faced with a major business decision that had the potential to make me or break me financially. It was an adrenaline-pumping period that was both very exciting and very confusing. One morning I woke up feeling like I’d done a few rounds with Mike Tyson (well actually, there’s been a few mornings like that…), and ironically the song playing on the radio from their “variety vault” was Helen Reddy’s classic, I Am Woman. Lying there, barely able to lift my head, I started to giggle. After Helen’s sweet voice managed to convince me that “I am invincible”, I hauled myself out of bed and started the day with a smile.

Years ago I joined the Army Reserve (as nuts do) and I thought surviving basic training at Kapooka was tough. In fact, I always thought that if they sold t-shirts that read “I SURVIVED KAPOOKA” on the way out, they’d have a 100% strike rate. But I have to say, this start-up gig is rivalling for first place on the “tough” front.

In his post Graduating “Screw U”…With Honors copywriter Ben Settle eloquently captures the journey which those of us who are chasing the dream must necessarily travel.

It’s likely that I’m going to have an anecdote or two in this department.

Blog? Who Me?

When Yaro first suggested I write for his blog I was quite taken aback. Moi? What could a rookie possibly offer readers? Certainly the one thing I’ve never been short on during this amazing journey is lessons. For me it’s been both fascinating and valuable, but not yet having made a success of my business, I didn’t think I’d have anything to bring to the table as such. Then Yaro offered some insights which got me thinking, and the more I thought about it, the more I realised that articulating some of my experiences and insights may actually be helpful to other start-ups. Particularly those who are trying to create something new. Those people who are going down the same difficult, amazing, and often lonely road that I am. The aspect of it which has made it a particularly lonely journey for me is not having anyone in my inner circle who can relate to what I’m going through. My friends – who try to understand, but don’t really – are going about their lives as normal. Meanwhile, I feel like I’ve emigrated to another planet and don’t yet understand the customs.

My other concerns were that, from a personal perspective I would feel vulnerable and exposed, and from a technical point of view, finding the right voice. It’s one thing to write about other people’s experiences – their tragedies and triumphs (which is one of my all-time favourite things to do) and another thing entirely to write about your own experiences. Particularly from a vulnerable vantage point.

However, given that one of the things I have personally yearned for is to hear about other people’s experiences and lessons – people who have done it and what they encountered en route – I realised that others may feel the same way. There’s a plethora of information offered by people who are willing to tell you how to do it technically, which is fantastic, and is a huge help, but what I have craved is the human touch. The real life examples and stories of all the bits and pieces that made their particular puzzle come together. The good, the bad, and the… let’s just stop there.

So here I am. Hear me roar!

Danielle