1550: [Part 1] What I’ve Learned From Owning A Company by Marc Bilodeau on Entrepreneurship

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Work Daily. What Ive Learned From Owning A Company, Part 1 by Marc Bilodeau of MarcBilodeau.com.

[00:00:09] I, like many other ambitious entrepreneurs, ventured forth to seek fortune and glory in the name of capitalism.

[00:00:16] Although the entire journey of owning a company changes you, and not all changes are good.

[00:00:21] Regardless, everyone's experiences from owning a company will be unique.

[00:00:25] You certainly grow as a person from the whole endeavor no matter what happens to the business.

[00:00:30] I first thought about owning my own company towards the end of my teenage years.

[00:00:34] The idea of creating something never before seen in the world appeals to me at my core.

[00:00:39] However, at the time, my skills were limited and had to be nurtured.

[00:00:43] Thankfully, my opportunity to do so happened in the mid-1990s.

[00:00:47] Later in the early 2000s, the opportunity to start a company presented itself,

[00:00:52] and my business partner and I set off on an adventure to fulfill the dream of fortune and glory.

[00:00:57] Then, yada yada yada, and we sold the company.

[00:01:00] It's such a cliché to say, but we achieved the American dream through bootstrapping the business and grit.

[00:01:07] Yada yada yada.

[00:01:09] In a certain Seinfeld episode, one of George's many girlfriends liked to say,

[00:01:14] yada yada yada, to shorten her stories.

[00:01:16] However, there are a lot of events and emotional ups and downs within my yada yada yada years that are stories for another time.

[00:01:24] Regardless, each experience brings new enlightenment, as both good and bad results are opportunities to reflect on what works and what doesn't work.

[00:01:33] Everything is a learning experience that helps move the company forward.

[00:01:37] Also within this time, I learned that using data, facts, and reasoning yielded better results than gut feelings and emotions.

[00:01:45] Surround yourself with a great team and build a trusted network of people.

[00:01:49] A good network is great for discussing ideas, getting feedback, and learning from others.

[00:01:54] Selling the company.

[00:01:55] The entire process to sell the company took nine months and many hours working through contracts, phone calls, and financial reports for the buyer.

[00:02:04] Thankfully, the legal skill sets I learned during the yada yada yada years really helped.

[00:02:09] It was invaluable when reading contracts and working with lawyers throughout the process.

[00:02:13] In the end, my legal team was nice enough to bundle all the contracts together into a beautifully bound book to read at my leisure.

[00:02:20] In truth, I hope I never have to reference it again.

[00:02:24] Now it is six months after the acquisition.

[00:02:27] My business partner and I are no longer in control of all decisions.

[00:02:30] Now there are other people to run the company.

[00:02:33] However, I do have key responsibilities in my new role.

[00:02:36] Although, instead of turning the crank to move the gears, I'm another cog in this finely tuned machine.

[00:02:42] As an owner who is now an employee, I find myself searching for happiness in my new role.

[00:02:48] Either I'll find it or move on to the next adventure.

[00:02:50] Regardless, there are always new opportunities to learn new skills and explore new ideas.

[00:02:56] This is a big part of my personal mantra in life.

[00:02:58] As long as I'm learning and growing, I'm happy.

[00:03:02] The good of owning a company

[00:03:04] Two words sum this up nicely.

[00:03:07] Mad skills.

[00:03:08] Many of these skills will be in areas that you would never have tried on your own.

[00:03:12] I have a technical background.

[00:03:14] I love technology and to build software products and services.

[00:03:18] However, there are many other skills one learns such as business management, addressing human resource issues, reading and modifying contracts, work with lawyers, manage meetings, delegating tasks, speaking and presenting, organizing teams, and much more.

[00:03:33] I use these skills almost every day. As a result, I've become quite competent in these skill sets.

[00:03:39] Additionally, other skills such as critical thinking, taking calculated risks, working through failure, trying new things, and organization are strengthened through trial and error.

[00:03:49] Furthermore, these skills are not only useful professionally, but improve personal life too.

[00:03:55] Last but not least, it's very rewarding being your own boss while making money and growing your personal wealth.

[00:04:01] Ultimately, you have freedom, which makes your time flexible when necessary.

[00:04:05] The bad of owning a company

[00:04:08] Unfortunately, there is a dark side to owning a business.

[00:04:11] It becomes part of your everyday life.

[00:04:13] You check your email many times a day, all day, every day, even weekends and holidays.

[00:04:19] It's not uncommon to work 60 or more hours a week.

[00:04:22] However, you can take time off since you make your own hours.

[00:04:25] Unfortunately, you always wonder if everything is okay at the office while you're away.

[00:04:29] There are talented people at the company capable of solving real problems.

[00:04:34] Regardless, you always want to be aware of any situation that could hurt the business.

[00:04:38] One inescapable truth is the company is in your thoughts every day.

[00:04:43] In time, the fun stuff that you love doing becomes other people's responsibilities.

[00:04:47] Then you find yourself managing the business, putting out fires, and dealing with tasks that, frankly, only can be done by you as a business owner.

[00:04:54] It's possible to retain some of the fun tasks.

[00:04:58] However, as the company grows, it's necessary to share these responsibilities.

[00:05:02] Otherwise, some key milestones and objectives will either be late or never completed on time.

[00:05:08] Balancing what must be done and what's fun becomes increasingly difficult.

[00:05:12] Even a successful company still requires a lot of time, energy, and attention.

[00:05:17] As a business owner, your finances and emotional well-being are attached to the company's success.

[00:05:22] Even when the money is flowing, you still worry that at any time, fortune can reverse.

[00:05:28] To be continued.

[00:05:33] You just listened to part one of the post titled,

[00:05:36] What I've Learned from Owning a Company by Mark Bilodeau of markbilodeau.com

[00:05:42] And thank you to Mark, who's a long-time listener of our podcasts,

[00:05:45] shortly after Optimal Living Daily began five years ago.

[00:05:49] So show him some support by coming by his site, which I have linked in this episode's description.

[00:05:54] Mark is a lifelong learner, always improving himself and sharing what he knows.

[00:05:59] And had contributed back, actually, by letting us know when things with our podcasts weren't functioning correctly.

[00:06:04] He's into running, healthy living, tiny houses, home automation, Esperanto, beautiful data, writing code, and minimalism.

[00:06:12] Come by markbilodeau.com to learn more.

[00:06:16] Mark is spelled with a C, and bilodeau is spelled B-I-L-O-D-E-A-U.

[00:06:22] And again, I have that linked in this episode's description.

[00:06:25] But that'll do it for today.

[00:06:26] Hope you're having a great weekend so far.

[00:06:28] If you're listening in real time, I, of course, thank you for being here, as always.

[00:06:32] Come on back tomorrow, where we're going to finish up this post.

[00:06:34] We'll have part two for you, and that's where your optimal life awaits.

[00:06:38] I come to you with what's there, which is destroyed.

[00:06:38] You came back.