Monika Joshi, Founder of Art of Pure, shares with The Savvy Entrepreneur her quest to source and sell sustainable health and beauty products.
A former New York City investment banker, she grew tired of the long hours and time away from her young family. When she and her family moved back to Chicago, Monika knew it was time to do something different,
When her daughter began struggling with eczema and other skin issues, the dermatologist suggested putting her on steroids. Monika felt there must be other, more natural alternatives to try first.
That led her on a journey to find truly natural products but all types and health and beauty needs –something that sounds like it should be easy, but definitely is not! And at that point, Art of Pure was born.
Below is a transcript of our interview. But you can also go here if you’d prefer to listen to the original interview!
Doris Nagel 0:42
Good morning, everybody. Welcome to The Savvy Entrepreneur show.
Thanks so much for being with us today. I’m Doris Nagel, your host for the next hour. The show has two goals: first, to share helpful information and resources. If I can help just one of you entrepreneurs out there not make some of the mistakes I’ve made, or what some of my guests are going to candidly share they’ve made along the way, I’ll be very happy. The second goal of the show is to inspire. Being an entrepreneur is — I think—confusing and lonely. Often you don’t know who to turn to, or what the right answer is, or whether you’re even on the right track.
I have guests on the show every week who are willing to share their stories and their advice.
My guest this week is Monika Joshi. She is the founder and president of “Art of Pure,” a line of sustainable beauty products. Monika is on a mission to prove that beauty can be synonymous with sustainability.
I think that’s an interesting topic, because a lot of us use health and beauty products, and I know that I’m not sure I really know what goes into some of those products that I put on my body. Maybe some of you out there wonder the same thing.
Monika is going to share the story of how she took that on as a cause and has grown a business around it. So Monika, thanks so much for being on the show today. Welcome to The Savvy Entrepreneur!
Monika Joshi 2:52
Thank you, Doris. How are you today?
Doris Nagel 2:56
I am absolutely great. It is a gorgeous day here in the north Chicago suburbs.
Monika Joshi
Thank you for having me on.
Doris Nagel
Tell us a little bit about yourself, and what led you down this path of entrepreneurship?
Monika Joshi 4:22
I’ve lived here in Chicago for about six years or so. Before that, I used to live in New York, and I used to be an investment banker for a very long time.
So I’d been working in finance for forever, but, at a certain point I was just working too much. I had very little kids that I wasn’t spending enough time with, and I was just burned out.
My husband’s originally from Chicago and grew up here, so we decided to make the move to Chicago and start a different chapter of our life. so we moved here and you know, we’ve been obviously happy to have a lot more time with my kids but so yeah, this is this is where it all began I mean I had an itch to do something and I’ve always been one of those people who do like to lead a healthy lifestyle you know, I like to eat healthy exercise kind of take care of, of not just me but my kids and my husband as well. And there was a time when my younger daughter was experiencing a lot of eczema and other skin issues. That made me go on to this hunt for more natural products, because her dermatologist was suggesting we put her on steroids, which I was really not in favor of.
So I just had to figure something out. I thought there had to be a way to cure it with some natural products or something else without any strong steroids.
Doris Nagel
It’s interesting, isn’t it, that in our in our style of medicine here in the U.S., the first reaction is to write a prescription for what’s wrong with us, right?
Monika Joshi 5:47
Yes, that is true. There are other alternatives, but I think the doctors always think that there’s nothing else. I mean if you’re coming to me, I should write a prescription. But it’s never explored whether there’s a more natural way to fix or cure any issues. Which I find kind of sad, unfortunately.
Doris Nagel
I personally find it a bit arrogant, because there are so many ways the body and the mind are connected that we don’t even know about.
Monika Joshi 6:20
I agree. You know, I have an Indian background, and I lived in India for a long time when I was little. There, the doctor was always the last choice. That was the last thing that you did, the last person that you visit. Otherwise, you always were trying to help your body heal on its own with various different remedies and natural products. If that didn’t work, then you get go to the doctor.
But here in the U.S., I think it’s the other way around for a lot of people.
Doris Nagel
But fortunately it is changing, and I think that will be good for your business. For example, the supplements business is just exploding, so I think there are lots of people who care about what they put into their body and are looking to find natural solutions.
So, how did your concern about your daughter skin problems lead to the Art of Pure?
Monika Joshi 7:07
As I was searching, I just wasn’t able to find too many places where I could find those products. I would research ingredients or research products that would actually help with certain conditions, and there were just very few.
I didn’t want to go to the health food store and buy those ingredients. I wanted to feel nicer. It had to feel good. And I needed to have a transparent list of ingredients that I could refer to, because I wanted to make sure that anything that went into those products was natural and in most cases of organic.
I eventually stumbled upon a couple of brands that actually work for my daughter, and so I was converted at that point. with the kind of products I was looking for and then coincidentally that was also one of the brands that I also brought into my business online selling them and they’re doing phenomenally well, but that’s how basically I started.
I wanted to share these kinds of products with anybody who was looking for natural products. I also wanted to be very transparent, trying to share what goes into these products, and trying to share how they are manufactured. Because a lot of these natural organic products are made in small batches and not necessarily produced in large labs.
Doris Nagel
Like Procter and Gamble – not to single them out, but just as an example.
Monika Joshi 8:16
Exactly. So a lot of these products are made in small little labs, not by huge factories. And that really tells us how much care and how much thought really goes behind producing all these products, because the sourcing has to be impeccable.
I think for me, it’s always been important that I know exactly where the ingredients are sourced from for these products and the brands that I do bring in. Sourcing of the ingredients is important, as is the way they’re manufactured.
I’ve learned that a lot of these products that we use conventionally have a ton of fillers. I mean a lot of them are Just basically 70% water and maybe 10% of the ingredients that we actually want and will benefit our skin.
Doris Nagel
How do you go about finding these products? I’m just trying to put myself in your shoes and figure out how in the world would I even would I even get started. You found these couple of products from this one company, but it’s hard to build the whole business around just that. I’m imaging your goal was to have a whole range of products, meaning you’ve got to find a bunch of these kinds of companies out there
Monika Joshi 9:40
Right. Initially it was just a lot of Google and Instagram. Instagram is great for so many different products and so many different categories to explore. So I was able to find that way a bunch of brands that totally met the values and the ethos that I wanted to bring in as far as brands go.
And then I stumbled upon a few brands by going to a number of trade expos. Those actually were great. Obvioiusly, a lot of these brands are smaller. They don’t have much budget for ads and public relations and other marketing, so they’re kind of are under the radar. But their products are just phenomenal. And when people do try them out and actually use them for a while, they are converted fans.
Doris Nagel
Are most of these companies receptive to having you help market the and sell their products? Or do some of them say, ”No, we have our secrets and our own distribution, and we’re doing fine, thank you very much?”
Monika Joshi 11:00
You know there’s always a mixed bag. There are some that are more than happy to partner with you. It’s a mutual relationship after all, right? Through my business, I’m trying to get their products into the hands of the final consumer, and the same for me: they’re willing to take a chance on somebody like me. So it’s obviously a two-way street.
But there are some brands who don’t want to necessarily work with either an online business. That’s one thing. Or somebody who is just too small, right?
So those are obviously two challenges that I’ve always faced from day one because my business was always an online only. It’s been an e commerce business, and some suppliers prefer to work with brick-and-mortar stores and want to have their products been showcased in stores where people come and discover – where they can feel and touch and try on the product.
Doris Nagel
And smell them. Because there’s a very tactile aspect to these products, right?
Monika Joshi 12:15
Yes. The more people interact with the products, the better it is for the brand because it’s then easier to convince people to buy those products. But those were the challenges that I’ve always had from day one.
Doris Nagel
It’s a bit humorous, because at some point they’re going to worry that you’re too big.
Monika Joshi
Right. We’re either too small or too big!
Doris Nagel
The “Goldilocks” problem, right?
Along those lines, I’m guessing that at some point, companies are going to start approaching you. Has that happened yet?
Monika Joshi 12:47
Yes, it has. After I think the first year or so — I mean I’ve been doing this for about three and a half four years now — but after the first year I saw many more brands approach us and try to get us to work with them, and list those brands and products on our website.
and you know, it’s also a catch 22 situation for us because as much as sometimes I love the brands and products, sometimes they just are either not the right fit or there’s just something that they still need to work on or to fine tune in order to be able to attract the kind of customers and sales that would make it worthwhile for us.
Doris Nagel
Speaking of customers had to know that there was a market for these products. I mean, you knew you wanted them, but how did you know that lots of other people did as well?
Monika Joshi 13:47
You know, at the point when I finally did start the business, it was the time when the whole health scene was really, really starting to become big. Everybody was into yoga and Pilates and spinning, and things like that. Everybody also already was pretty good about eating healthy, I think a majority of people in the cities are healthy. They like taking walks, they work out, they eat healthy, they’re really conscious and thoughtful about what they’re eating and the quality of their foods. And, you know, this whole locally grown and consuming movement was going on.
So I think it was just a progression. If people are really thoughtful about where their food is coming from, it was only a matter of time before people started to really think and wonder and question what was in their skincare and personal care products.
Doris Nagel
How did they find you though? Well, I guess the first question is how you built the e-commerce machinery to offer this? You’re an investment banker, so you know a lot about funding and some aspects of business, but I’m guessing you never had to build an e commerce platform before.
Monika Joshi 15:17
You’re right. I never had anything to do with IT or retail or those aspects of business. But, you know, there’s a platform called Shopify – I’m sure a lot of people have heard of it – it’s a very popular e commerce platform.
Doris Nagel
In fact, I’ve had entrepreneurs on the show who swear that it is the only way to go, I don’t know about that. But it sounds like they do a lot of things right.
Monika Joshi 15:46
It definitely worked for us. For somebody like me, who really had no clue nor experience, it was completely dummy proof. You really could not make a mistake. It was very easy to set up the store, very easy to populate all the products and make it aesthetically pleasing. And also get all the information and other stuff that you needed to in there.
And it was quick. I didn’t have to hire anybody. It was just pretty much me getting the website all set up. So it didn’t take me too long. It probably was like about three to three months until maybe I was up and running, from start to finish. But it was frankly very easy.
So I would recommend Shopify to anybody who wants to just get it done cheaply and get it done quickly. And that by someone who doesn’t have any experience with IT or coding or making websites?
Doris Nagel
That is quite a testimonial. I should consider having somebody on the show to walk through how easy it is.
So you’ve got the platform. But still you need customers to find you. How did you accomplish that?
Monika Joshi 17:06
I will say that from the time we were open up until now, we really do rely on Google for a lot of the customers that come to the website. We use Google Ads, and Facebook and Instagram marketing somewhat.
I will say that that has become pretty expensive recently so that has it that percentage of any ad dollars. Go to Facebook and Instagram has reduced but Google is still a pretty large percentage of where we get our customers from.
And then we have a lot of repeat customers. They just stick with us. Some have been with us probably pretty much from day one, and they keep buying. And we keep introducing new brands and new products so there’s more reasons to keep coming back.
Doris Nagel
Were you self-funded or did you look for outside funding?
Monika Joshi
No outside funding yet — we’re just self-funded so far.
Doris Nagel
Well I guess with your banking background when you decide you are ready to find funding if that point ever comes, you’ll be well prepared for that well what were some of the biggest roadblocks in getting started
Monika Joshi 18:27
I don’t think I’ve had that many, fortunately. I mean the funding is always one in the past, but we were able to scrape through to just get the website launched and get as many brands and products that we could afford comfortably. I think the biggest challenge was to get the website launched and just start. I think that was the most important part for me was just get it up and running and starting.
I feel now as I have been in business for the last four years, it’s always been a challenge to get more brands and more products onto the website. Like we were discussing earlier, now I’m in a place where I’m not small, but I’m still not big. And there are certain brands that I would love to work with that don’t want to work with us yet because we’re not big enough, and we don’t have a store and we’re just online only.
So that’s one major issue that I keep facing time and time again. But the good thing is that we are opening up brick and mortar now.
Doris Nagel
I was going to ask about your business mode and future plans, but you just segued right into it!
Monika Joshi 19:48
Yes. We’ve signed a lease and construction is underway. We should be open in November. It’s a really beautiful space in Lincoln Park, right on Armitage. It’s really, really nice. We’re really happy to be there.
And now that we do have this store lined up it’s actually been a lot easier to get more brands and find more brands that we actually want to work, for so that has been a good thing.
Doris Nagel
With e commerce, I know a lot of companies don’t actually buy the products. They place orders from their customers on their suppliers, and then the manufacturer ships the products. Is that how you are set up or? Or do you actually buy from the suppliers and warehouse the products?
Monika Joshi 20:47
No, we’ve bought the products from our brands. And we have a warehouse where we’re storing them, and that’s where we fulfill our orders from. Most of these brands are so small and their products are such that they don’t really want it to be drop shipped. They want there to be a personal connection with all the brands and all the products that go out. And that’s how we like it as well. We want to be able to cultivate that relationship with the consumer and with the brands and kind of make it a special purchase.
Doris Nagel
Well, I’m guessing that that that will make it easy for you to transition to an in-store models since you already own the product.
But I’m also guessing that creates a bit of a cashflow challenge for you, in that you have to buy the products, but then there’s a lag between buying all those products and selling them, so you have to be able to forecast, what customers are going to purchase, right?
Monika Joshi 21:50
Yes, and that’s always a challenge. Right now we’re just going through all the inventory that we have to order for the opening and, and also for Black Friday, because that is that is one of our largest sales times. I would say it’s been a challenge, because we do have to account for not just the opening, but for the Thanksgiving time period. And yes, we have been racking up some credit card expenses.
Doris Nagel
I’m also imagining the expenses of designing and furnishing the store. I’m sure that designing the space is so important to match your products — to design the feel and the experience you want your customers to have — that I’m sure you spent a lot of time envisioning that and making sure that you get that right.
Monika Joshi 22:43
Yes, we have. We hired a designer, and she’s come up with a with a great design which really does communicate our values. We want to just keep the store light and airy. We’re using earthy tones and are keeping it clean and minimal. You know, I don’t want it to be overwhelming with products. I don’t need it to be cluttered, but just clean and minimal and just not confusing to find the products or the categories that you’re looking for.
Doris Nagel
I’m sure it’s been a challenge hiring people too, because the kind of people you hire for your store might be different than to support your online business. Talk about how you’ve approached that process.
Monika Joshi 23:39
So I have a couple of people I know in the industry that I have been reached out to for help with hiring. And you’re right, it’s been it’s been a challenge to say the least. Sometimes you just feel like there are not enough people applying to the job. And then other times they’re just not the caliber of people that you really want to hire. So it’s obviously a challenge, but we’re just hoping by the end of the month we have a bunch of employees that will be happy to work for us and that share the same passion that we do.
Doris Nagel
That is enormously exciting to open your first brick and mortar store. Kudos to you for taking that plunge.
Talk about how your business has grown. Obviously it has in order for you to feel comfortable taking the plunge to open a brick and mortar store. Talk about that process.
Monika Joshi 24:42
We’ve been in business for about four years. I will say that the first year was kind of slow. There were lots have things in the business probably that I was still figuring out and learning as I was going. So the first year was slower, but it picked up quite a bit after that. After we had processes, and everything was in place, and I got to know how to run a business.
And then COVID hit. The first few months of COVID were actually good for us, because we are an e commerce business. So when everything was shut down, it was great that people found us and could purchase products from us. And it has been going pretty well so far.
But I think for us, it was always a natural progression to get into a brick-and-mortar space, because I feel like we had just hit a wall where, beyond a certain point, I did not think that I would really grow as much as I wanted to. And the only way to grow was to have a brick-and-mortar space.
Because again, it was coming down to the kind of brands I wanted to work with and the products I wanted to offer and just the just the way I wanted to build community and showcase our values, and have people just come in and try and talk about the products before they bought them. That all made a big difference. And I think that the next step for us was to have the brick and mortar and so that’s where we are right now.
And we’re hoping that from here, just you know, obviously grows and hopefully we can have a few more locations someday.
Doris Nagel
If you’re successful, what will the business look like three years from now?
Monika Joshi 26:47
I think it will turn into a few more locations. I think people are really ready for a smaller, more personable, clean beauty and wellness store like ours. And I think just being wherever the consumer wants to meet you is where we’ll be. So I feel like we’re going to be at least in a few more cities hopefully within the next three years.
Doris Nagel
So not just locations in Chicago, but in other cities too?
Monika Joshi 32:44
Yes, definitely. Lots of cities are ready for our products.
Doris Nagel
That’s exciting. In fact I was going say if you can make it in Chicago — not that Chicago is a bad place, and maybe I’m being too judgmental about my home city — but it probably doesn’t have the largest population of people who focus on health. I would picture maybe more people interested on the West Coast, or the East Coast.
Monika Joshi
Yes, definitely.
Doris Nagel
Is that where a lot of your consumers are that buy from your website?
Monika Joshi 28:03
Yes, a lot of our customers are actually from the West Coast and East Coast. There are obviously a number from the Midwest as well, but I feel like people on the coasts are probably the healthiest and probably the most health conscious.
Doris Nagel
That’s certainly the stereotype anyway, for sure.
Monika Joshi 33:56
Right. And then I think that’s why they purchase these products, which obviously goes hand in hand with just healthy living.
Doris Nagel
And there are definitely countries other than the US where there’s a huge focus on natural products. Have you ever had inquiries from people outside the US?
Monika Joshi 28:51
We do get occasional buyers from other countries. The problem always is shipping. And normally, it’s just easier for them to purchase those same products if they wanted to from some other website, which is local to them versus from the States. At least that’s been our experience so far.
Doris Nagel
Is it the export requirements, or the cost of shipping, or both?
Monika Joshi
It’s both, but primarily the costs of shipping.
Doris Nagel
Looking back, what would you say was the hardest part about starting your business?
Monika Joshi 29:31
I came at this whole business with zero experience in retail in building a website in marketing and just running a business in general. I think it was that just the whole process. And you know, getting on board with social media was a huge deal for me, because I’ve never been a big social media user. So it was a lot of just learning it.
Doris Nagel
There’s a lot to learn and everything changes so fast.
Monika Joshi 30:03
Yes, there’s a lot to learn. And when you’re someone who doesn’t really love being on camera, so to say, it’s harder. And then, you know, there’s learning about every other aspect of the business — like figuring out how to how to ship products, every little detail of your business you really have to figure out. And sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know until you actually try to do it. So I think just starting that first year was a huge learning experience for me.
Doris Nagel
Every time you turn around, it’s a new mountain to scale.
Monika Joshi
Yes. And that and that’s the challenge at hand for the next you know, couple of weeks and then you figure that out and move on to another challenge and so on so forth.
Doris Nagel
Were there resources that you found particularly helpful? How did you find answers to these some of these questions you faced?
Monika Joshi 30:56
You know, it hasn’t always it has been easy to find answer answers from somebody you can go to. I haven’t had very good luck with that so far, but you know, I think a lot of answers are generally available on Google and YouTube. There literally is a video for everything, so it’s been it’s been easier that way.
At least I didn’t start a business 20 years ago, when all this information wasn’t available. Then it would have been like 10 times as hard so you know, we live in an age where anybody can start a business and kind of figure things out as they go and learn online. You know, just get started.
Doris Nagel
What’s been the best part about having your own business?
Monika Joshi 31:56
I will say the best part is just helping people. I get to have conversations with a lot of women who are looking for products. It’s always nice just a talk to the end consumer to try to figure out what they want, what they need, what they’re looking for. And you know, help them that way.
Also, I’ll say the best part of owning a business in general is just having a vision for it and being able to execute it on your own, without anybody really telling you yes or no. When you’re working at a job, I don’t think you ever can say that I know how to do this better than my boss and I know where this business should go, and I will take it there. That would probably never happen.
Doris Nagel
In my experience, when you volunteer that advice, oftentimes it’s not really welcome.
Monika Joshi 32:55
Right. It’s not really something that you know do, it’s not very welcome.
But with my business, I feel like I can take the business wherever I want. And grow however slow or fast that I want. I can take it as big as I want or as small as I want.
Whatever it is, it’s my vision to execute and I am the one responsible for executing it.
Doris Nagel
Where do you find inspiration when you have a bad day or run into a tough spot?
Monika Joshi 33:33
I enjoy just moving on to every challenge. There’s always going to be a new challenge that comes up. But it’s about getting past that one thing and keeping the eye on the prize.
If right now if I feel like I’m too bogged down with one task, and I just don’t feel it, I’ll move on to another challenge. And I feel like I try to do something more creative and work with that challenge or work with that task and, and knock that off, and then come back to something else that I wasn’t really willing or wanting to do.
Doris Nagel
It is hard, because as an entrepreneur and a founder, you need to wear a lot of different hats. And none of us wear all those hats equally well. So that that’s always a challenge. Human nature is to do more of the things that we’re good at and that we like, and that’s not always the best strategy when you have a small business.
Do you think you’ll ever get tired of working on this business? And if so, what else might you do?
Monika Joshi 34:47
I don’t think I’ll get tired of it. I think it’s just going to be an ever-evolving business.
You know, I feel like it’s going to be changing, I think that there’s just going to be a bunch of challenges and strategic initiatives that will come up that will keep me busy and motivated to just keep going with this business. Because I think there’s so much more potential than I have.
I feel like I’ve just scratched the surface. I feel I’m just getting started. I think I have a lot of years ahead of me.
Doris Nagel
I’m wondering if you might even develop a line of products. I’m envisioning that you find several products that are great, but then there may be areas where you’re like, “Why can’t I find this kind of product?”
Monika Joshi 42:16
Yes, that’s something that has been on my mind. And that is something that I probably will explore next year.
that’s something that definitely that I want to get into. But what that will look like and how it will come about is, is something you know that I’ll probably have to look into more detail probably next year. This year, we’re here we’re trying to focus on running.
Doris Nagel
Looking back at your journey, what advice would you give to other entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs?
Monika Joshi 43:27
Don’t let anything get in your way. If you want to do something, but lack experience or knowledge, or time or family or anything else that could get in the way, you just have to get up and do it and try to seek out and surround yourself with other entrepreneurs and people who will be able to give you advice. Sometimes, this really is a lonely journey. And, and sometimes you don’t know who to turn to, or who to ask any questions that you might have. Sometimes, even the most mundane things you need help with, and you don’t want to ask that question.
But I think I think if you do surround yourself with women entrepreneurs, or people who have had some sort of business, then it just makes that path a little bit easier, and you make less mistakes and waste less time.
Doris Nagel
Any advice for how to find some of those entrepreneurs? Because one of the challenges is that entrepreneurs are very busy people.
Monika Joshi 44:49
I think it’s always it’s so hard to find entrepreneurs that you can count on. But I would say I have had good experience, even just talking to founders of the brands that I work with, they are often open and will point you in the right direction with any issues or questions that you might have. So if you have other vendors, suppliers, or people that you are in touch with, any of them might be a pretty good resource.
And then, I would even talk to like people who you interact with on a daily basis, you know, like some at the coffee shop. People don’t think about that, but those people are often open to just giving you honest feedback and answering some questions. I mean, even the nail salon maybe that you go to –they’re entrepreneurs, and when you look, there are all kinds of entrepreneurs that we all interact with. And if you can get friendly with somebody, that’s all you probably need.
Doris Nagel
Great advice.
Monika, if people are interested in chatting with you, maybe they have a line of products, maybe they have a similar objective, or maybe they are just interested in learning more about your products to buy, what’s the best way for them to connect with you?
Monika Joshi 46:20
The website is called www.artofpure.com. There’s a contact us page there, and you can definitely reach out by filling out the form there. You can also just email us. There’s an email address there, just email us and I will definitely get those emails because right now, it’s pretty much just me and a couple of other part timers, so I see all the emails.
Doris Nagel
I cannot wait to watch the progress of the story of your business. And I hope that the opening of your brand-new flagship store in Chicago is an enormous success. And I will definitely look for it when I’m down in that area. I’ll watch your story with interest in and cheer you on. If I can be of assistance to you, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Thank you so much, Monika for being on the show this week.
Monika Joshi
Thank you, Doris. Thank you for having me.
Doris Nagel 47:50
It was great talking with you as well – thank you again!
Today, in the time we have left, I’d like to talk about a disconnect that I’ve often seen with the entrepreneurs I’ve coached or mentored, and even talked with friends and colleagues about.
There are often many disconnects, but common one in particular is the disconnect between what you as the entrepreneur want from the business and the risks you’re willing to take. It’s not just a theoretical disconnect. I’d argue you can’t develop meaningful goals for your business without reconciling this conflict.
Let’s deconstruct that and then talk about a couple of examples. First, it’s critical that you’re clear about what you want from the business. Think about that for yourself.
Is it income? Yes, of course. But how much? Is it more important for you to make a comfortable wage? Or are you hoping to make a lot of money growing and selling your business? How important? Is it for you to change people’s lives? Give back to your community? Or simply make something cool? Is it because you like building things, fixing a problem making customers smile?
Ask yourself why do you want to create this business? Exactly? Why did you create the one that you have? What brings you the most pleasure about it?
Some people tell me, “Oh, I don’t know. I just don’t want to work for the man or the woman.” That’s understandable, but it’s not enough clarity to move forward with a successful business.
I always admire those people who seem very clear on their why some people I suspect, maybe because I’m a little jealous, clearly state why they started and are running the business they are. I’m not always sure if it’s the truth or that they’ve just perfected a good storyline. But in any case, there clearly are some of you out there who are really clear about why you started and are growing your business every day.
And if you have that clarity, you are indeed lucky. I think many of us aren’t very clear about why we started the business we did or why we work so hard at it. And if you’re struggling with your why I have recommended in the past and wholeheartedly continue to recommend again Simon Sinek’s books, “Start with Why,” and his follow up book “Find Your Why.”
There are lots of exercises out there on the internet. Some of the best are linked on my website at thesavvyentrepreneur.org. But I think Sinek’s books are among the best.
It’s difficult to see ourselves clearly sometimes. And what I like about his books is that they take you through some of the mental and emotional preparation that’s needed to see ourselves and our motivations more clearly. So that’s the side about what we entrepreneurs want from our business.
Now let’s talk about the other side: what risks are you willing to take?
Risk can come in lots of forms. I think most of us probably focus on the financial aspects. And that’s a pretty important one. Are you willing to mortgage your house or take on a second mortgage? Are you willing to spend out all your savings? Do you have enough cash saved up that you can live on for several months? Or maybe even a couple of years? Are you willing to tap into your IRA? Are you willing to take out a loan or borrow from the bank or from friends and family?
And it’s not just money. The risks come in other forms. Are you willing to move out of your comfort zone sometimes frequently? Receive criticism? Have friends and family think you’re crazy? Spend long hours away from your family and take risks when you have no idea sometimes whether you’re making the right decision?
Whatever the risks of your particular business and situation, make sure you’ve thought those through and have very explicitly discussed those with your family as well as your business partners.
As we talked about last week, in the interview with Elaine Frei, all too often, the costs are greater than we anticipate. And that can leave you feeling stressed overworked, sometimes not even enjoying the process of working in this business but feeling trapped because you’ve come too far to throw it all away.
I’ve also seen quite a number of would-be entrepreneurs who can’t move forward because they simply cannot reconcile the disconnect between what they want in their business and the risks they’re willing to take.
There’s a woman I know who wanted the security of a franchise restaurant and model. But she also wanted to create new interesting dishes with her daughter, not a likely combination to be successful.
Another woman wanted to open a high-end daycare but didn’t have much cash and was unwilling to mortgage your home or tap into her IRA to finance the facility investment she would need to make.
Then there was the physician with a novel medical device who dreamt about being the CEO but couldn’t accept the idea of taking less as compensation than his current salary as a doctor with a successful practice, which was hundreds of 1000s of dollars annually, and not the likely salary of a startup CEO.
Another man had his grandmother’s best cupcake recipe that everybody loved. But he couldn’t make any decisions about how to create a business around this because it was clear he was uncomfortable with taking many risks.
The answers to these questions will drive a lot of your daily decisions, how you spend your time, who you hire, what you delegate to them, how you invest in the business, and even where you look for funding and how much you’re seeking.
As I said earlier, I personally do not believe it is possible to make meaningful goals for your business, without being clear about the tradeoff between what you want and what you’re willing to risk. And if you don’t have meaningful goals, it’s very difficult to develop a strategy – in fact, I’d say it’s pretty much impossible.
You may find the risks are greater than anticipated as you go along. And so your goals may change once you realize that and that’s okay. It’s a normal part of the journey. But your path will be much clearer if you’ve got a good handle on what you want from your business, and the risks you’re willing to take from the very start.
Well, folks, that’s our show for this week. It’s a wrap. Thanks so much for listening. I appreciate each and every one of you. If you have questions or want more information or just want to shoot the breeze, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at D. Nagel at the savvy entrepreneur.org You’ll always get an answer back from me. Now there’s also a library of tools of blogs, podcasts and other free resources there. So take a gander when you get a chance. Meanwhile, once more a special shout out to Monica Joshi, the founder and president of art of pure who was my guest this week.
Well, folks, that’s our show for this week. It’s a wrap. Thanks so much for listening. I appreciate each and every one of you.
If you have questions or want more information or just want to shoot the breeze, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at dnagel@thesavvyentrepreneur.org. You’ll always get an answer back from me. Now there’s also a library of tools of blogs, podcasts and other free resources there. And so don’t so take a gander when you get a chance.
Meanwhile, one more special shout out to Monika Joshi, the founder and president of Art of Pure, who was my guest this week.
Be sure to join me again next Saturday at 11am Central noon Eastern.
But until then, I’m Doris Nagel, wishing you happy entrepreneuring!
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