10 Lessons from 10 Years as a Founder: #10 Don't Get Bored
Let’s imagine you’ve gone through the tough start-up phase and built a successful business. It might be hard to imagine now, but one day – that will feel normal. You might even take it for granted at times. When you are an employee, its easy to change jobs or even change companies – if you feel yourself getting bored. I had 3 jobs before starting Hable; each of them for 5 years. For me, the pattern was that between years 3 and 4 – I started wondering what would come next. I craved change. I got a bit bored.
During last few years on my journey as Founder, I have come to realise that allowing yourself to get bored when you run your own business can be costly, and put everything you have worked for at risk.
Starting a business in Dubai
I want to take you back to a few years ago and share a story; one that came with an important lesson and has ultimately made me a better Founder and CEO. And it all happened because I got bored.
Hable was always a UK-based business, but we had a few customers in Dubai and other countries. The UK business had reached a stage where it was not just successful and growing, but was also able to run without me being fully focused on it day-to-day. I had teams and systems in place; we were making money and some days it felt as if the UK business didn’t really need me any more. For some of you, I guess this would be a dream scenario; years of hard work finally paying off, allowing some degree of stepping back and enjoying the success. Yet, for me, I ended up feeling a bit lost – and a bit bored. I had only ever worked somewhere for 5 years – and for Hable I was now at 7 years plus.
I found myself restless, seeking new challenges and wanting excitement in my working life.
So what did I do? I decided to explore the idea of expanding Hable and setting up Hable Middle East, with the HQ in Dubai. We had customers there already, there is a lot of money in the region – and I enjoyed my visits there. So the idea really did excite me. Then came a period of flights to and from Heathrow to Dubai and back again, jumping from meeting to meeting in various skyscrapers, getting my UAE visa and hiring a team there to run it. I poured time, energy, and resources into researching, planning, and executing this global expansion.
The UK business (which was paying for all this) no longer had my undivided attention. But that was okay, right? It was working well and didn’t really need me.
Until it did.
After 12 months or so, it was clear that the Middle East venture wasn’t working. We had always – and still do to this day – work with a number of customers in the region. But we were not landing new customers, even with physical presence in the country. I learnt a huge amount about the culture and the market there, things I should have learnt before we started.
Back in the UK, we were struggling to build on our growth during COVID. And I had taken my eye off the ball. I had stopped being grateful for what I had built and allowed this new, shiny thing, to consume my attention. So not only was Hable losing money in Dubai, the growth had also stalled in the UK, too.
Better. Stronger. Wiser.
I closed the Dubai office down in the summer of 2022.
It was a big dent to my pride and a big financial loss. But I knew it was the right thing to do. This was a humbling time – given that for a year or so, it was all anybody asked me about when we caught up. But I knew I had an important job to do: refocus on the UK and get back to the business that had been suffering because I got bored.
Looking back now, it seems obvious what happened. And I sometimes feel like an idiot for doing it. But as the cliché goes – you learn way more from failure than you do from success. 3 years on, our UK business is stronger than it has ever been and I am grateful every day for the success we enjoy.
Like everything in life – doing the basics well always brings you results. Of course I still get excited about the idea of change, or new ventures – but I know what I need to do first: look after what I’ve got.
The key to long-term success in business lies in consistently finding inspiration and excitement in your day-to-day work. Enjoying your time with your staff and your customers. Looking at the numbers and feeling proud and grateful when you’re on target and have money in the bank.
Getting bored with that is dangerous and I won’t let it happen again.
This is the last of my “10 lessons from 10 years as a Founder” blog series. You can read the others on our blog. I’d be grateful if you shared them with someone who might be about to embark on the journey of starting a business.
