28th March 2020-A Page from the diary of Solopreneur

Covid-19 has appeared in my life as an opportunity to reset my life.

It is helping me reignite my passion and rekindle my romance with my myriad hobbies and interest.

Though it is an unfortunate time for the world during the lockdown, my positive side tells me that it is God’s design of telling me Rashi move on…your Mom and I are watching you from above. Move your ass and just don’t look back.

It’s time to march Forward Forward Forward ….

You have no choice, summon up your strength, conviction and courage.

Hey, By the way, I am Rashi Bhargava, a solopreneur by accident. The seed of entrepreneurship were sowed on 3rd Oct 2012 when I was handed the pink slip by my organization/my second home of 5 years. I was rudely shaken from my comfort zone. At first, I was in the denial mode, then accepted the new normal in my life and started thinking what was next…That’s how my baby SBS was born.

The idea was inside me for 9 months before it manifested into something physical…my first baby. I was often told by people in my environment that how will I know the pain of Motherhood or married life when I haven’t experienced it first-hand.😊I know people can be insensitive…Like a pinch of salt I have taken it all.

I guess very few people know living with your parents after a certain age is like living with in laws and running a start-up is like raising your own baby. Like an expectant mother I went through roller coaster of emotions, sleepless nights, excitement and fear of being a new mother…how will I handle the stress of handling a baby. On top of that I was the primary care giver for my mother.

“Parenting is the easiest thing in the world to have an opinion about, but the hardest thing in the world to do.”

I don’t proclaim that I am an authority in parenting…I haven’t experienced it firsthand but running a start-up has been like raising a child right from the birth to growing years of a child.

There are lot of parallel. Sharing few:

• Initial conception is so much fun-there is creativity and passion. The birth of an idea, naming, conceptualizing… The hard work and struggle come later, once you have committed.😉 Planning a child in today’s world is not an easy decision. Neither is the decision to start your own venture. Both need financial muscle power, lifelong commitment and absolute dedication.
• Every child is different. You can’t use same strategies you used in raising your firstborn with your second born. So is the case with running a start-up. Every now and then you feel you have figured out everything and you have the secret sauce to run your start-up successfully, life will throw challenges and it will be back to Board room to brainstorm on the latest challenge.
• ‘Juggling’ isn’t just a metaphor. In the initial phase you do everything. And in a business like mine, the phase can be a little long since our margins are thin. Even after 7 years, I can’t think of hiring a resource. I am a one-woman army. A mother’s job is pretty similar to an entrepreneur’s. She is a master juggler donning different roles each day. You will do everything for your baby/startup, whether it entails taking the garbage out, cleaning the floor, marketing, sales, you name it.
• It never feels like enough. No matter how much your life partner is doing and how much your co-founders/support system is doing, no one ever gets to the end of their task list for the day. That’s just a feeling you have to get comfortable with. That feeling of never being done…For a perfectionist like me, it took some time to learn this hard way.
• Raising your business/baby is not easy as it sounds. It takes every ounce of your energy, mental space. You have to be in it to experience it. It is not a course, a degree it’s an experience – the one of a kind.
• You can’t take a break. It requires constant attention. I am in the business of managing money. Daily market movements keep me on my toes. Ask any mother if she can take a break?
• There will be time when you will find yourself alone. Friends & family that don’t have start-ups/kids will find it difficult to relate to your excitement, exuberance, and passion.
• You start glowing like a proud parent when your start-ups enter growth phase.

And even after all this the challenges keep coming like the present phase of Covid19 and lockdown. Apparently, this phase added up to the perspective of being an entrepreneur. Nevertheless, like my other long-lost hobbies, I am trying to develop writing too.

This is one of the heartfelt & honest write-up! Do share how did you like it in the comments.

As a mother to start-up I can firmly say both start-up and kids are good for the soul. Balancing their needs is taxing and stressful but worth the pain and effort that goes into them. You are constantly learning, evolving as a parent, and learning 24*7. Both of these experiences completely change you and your perspective, and you have to be ready for that change. The biggest change in me has been that I am more patient. Children teach you patience.