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Yes, running your own business is rewarding, but no one ever tells you when it gets to be rewarding and that before that happens its a confusing and difficult time of transition.

Even the rat race, while we all hate to be in it, is at least comforting in its predictability. As an entrepreneur, there are now two processes I have to habitualise and develop to keep doing what I’m doing. These are:

• The Will To Act, &
• The Endurance of Risk

The Will To Act

As straight forward as it may seem, it is the first one that has been a nightmare to come to terms with. To get up and to set a plan for the day and to then go on and complete the tasks listed is perhaps the single greatest challenge I have ever come across. People in jobs find this much easier to do for two reasons. First of all they have momentum. For the most part they have been doing what they do for a long time so, going to work and “working” carries a very strong inertia. Employees also know that if they are ill or lazy or hung over or need to take a holiday, for the most part the company they work for will not shut down and die in their absence.

Running your own business, there is no momentum (at least not at first), the business stops when you stop and there is no “Big Brother” watching – the will to act and the motivation to do this on a day to day, hour upon hour basis is a test of endurance and stamina – two things I will admit, I had in short supply at first, but I seem to be finally accumulating more and more of both.

The Endurance of Risk

I seem to be coping better with the risk element of being an entrepreneur than I had at first anticipated. Sure, the fact that my income now depends almost entirely on my own efforts and that it may take a while before these efforts are rewarded, did scare me at first, but I am at least no longer afraid of failing. After all, I have little commitments, no children and no credit card bills to pay; as long as I have a roof over my head for the next few months, success or failure, nothing much will change in my lifestyle as a student to that of being a poor entrepreneur.

“Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance.”

There is nothing quite as liberating and empowering as the simple realisation that we do hold our destiny in our hands and we are in fact masters of the universe.

Our business successes and failures become the ups and downs of a rollercoaster ride where in the end, no matter what rollercoaster you’re on, you still get off saying: “That was Fucking Awesome!”… and you’re off to find the next one!

As of today I am officially unemployed and super excited to be starting-up Rare Pink Limited – going live June 2011!

Like Dimitar Berbatov, I am Bulgarian. It’s not the easiest country to be proud and patriotic about. We are small, eastern European, involved in organised crime all around the world, classified as the most corrupt country in Europe, our lovely beaches and seaside support a recent explosion of alcohol-related tourism and most recently, we have been ranked as the most unhappy nation relative to the money we earn.

Despite all this I do like to feel proud about my people and birthplace, even though I have not lived there for most of my life. True, I like to feel proud about South Africa as well (another place often associated with more bad things than good), but when asked where I’m from, I always say “Bulgaria”.

Moments to be proud of my country include singularities such as the 1994 Football World Cup when Bulgaria reached the semi-finals and Hristo Stoichkov got the golden boot. More generally I am proud of things such as our beautiful mountains, forests and seaside and the world-famous Bulgarian yoghurt and cheese.

Compared to some countries, you would think that when we do have an opportunity to be proud of our nation, we take it by the horns. Well actually, no.

Take our most famous recent football export – Dimitar Berbatov, for example. He appears to be, at least in public, a modest guy and true professional. He carries himself well and I personally have not once seen a scandal relating to him in the press. He has had a topsy-turvy start to his Man United career but no one can dispute that this season, he has been one of the star players of not only United, but I dare say, the world. Look at the Bulgarian press and you see a different image. Hatemongers spew out one criticism after another; the press for the most part ignores his successes and only blurts out his short-comings and that all famous team of 1994 seems to be playing a major role in ensuring that no one, not Berbatov or any other rising star ever emulates their success.

Excuse me for generalising, and as someone who hasn’t lived his whole life in Bulgaria, I may make some assumptions that others will dispute. I do however know that a people’s shortcomings are often reflected in the jokes we say about them. It comes as no surprise that there are numerous jokes and anecdotes of this “if your friend is successful you better pull him right back down” mentality which is engraved in the Bulgarian condition.

From the moment Berbatov scored 3 against Liverpool to claim a late victory for United, or when he almost made a new record by scoring 5 against Blackburn, or even last night when his 2 goals helped us stage a dramatic comeback against Blackpool, people around the world have talked about this man, this Bulgarian who lead Manchester United to victory. Football fan or not, United fan or not… Berbatov is another reason to be proud of our country and I personally hope he goes on to become the most famous and well-regarded Bulgarian footballer of all time.