Reflections on a Year of Business

One year ago today (June 18th) I launched full-time into Torrent Consulting and a life of entrepreneurship. When I left the 9 to 5 job to pursue my own business, I had no idea if I would make it past the end of 2012 or if I would be updating my resume and looking for the next salaried position. I am a deliberate risk taker and this was a huge jump for me and my family, but it has turned out to be one of the best decisions that we've ever made.

It has been amazing year and time of growth, both for me personally and for the business. I've learned a lot throughout this first year and I thought I would share a few of my thoughts about those learnings.

• Support - I have an amazing wife that has supported me and has been understanding to the challenges and energy involved in starting a business! I could not have done it without her support and encouragement. 
• Business Partner - Very early on in the business it became clear that having a business partner was a smart and wise move. Phil Brabbs and I joined forces to get Torrent launched and off the ground. Phil is an amazing man and I am blessed to spend each day working side-by-side with him! (For anyone starting a business, I would never recommend starting alone. Always try and find someone to partner with you!)
• Start Small, but Dream Big - I've seen others who either think really really small about their business and it never gets anywhere, or they dream really really big and never get anywhere because they don't break the work down and execute day in and day out. I've learned you have to dream big so you will have forward momentum, but if you can't execute every day, then you will not get anywhere. 
• One Shot at a Time - We had wise former NCAA golfer give us advice that he learned from a golf instructor, "take one shot at a time." On the golf course you can't think about 2 or 3 shots ahead, you have to be completely focused on the shot you are taking. In business, it's easy to look ahead and dream, which you need to do, but you can also over analyze and lose focus. From time to time we'll remind ourselves to take one shot a time and just focus on the day at hand. 
• Team of Advisors - We've built an informal team of advisors that we go to for advice about our business. These are people that we can have lunch or coffee with and throw ideas out and get feedback. It's amazing to me how many people are willing to provide advice and guidance to us. We've been able to tap into a lot of knowledge, especially in areas where we have short-comings. We've certainly been able to create a better business because we've had this team around us. 

These are just a few of the learnings that I've had along the way. There are plenty more, so maybe I'll share in another blog post.