Category: Entrepreneurial Spirit

Dream. Do. Done.

 

“You’re not a finisher,” my husband pointed out one day.

Those words cut me deep because somewhere inside my mind I knew he had a point.

I get plagued by dreams. By ideas.

I keep myself busy doing.

But giving all of my ideas a pedestal meant very few got completed.

“I’m not a finisher.” Those words haunted me until I took them, shook them and proved them wrong.

Now I relish the moment of ticking off a project. Now I focus on that finish.

Yes, it’s difficult. I have more ideas than I have hours. I have two children and a home depending on me. And yet I must focus. Because in the end, it’s the finish that matters.

(How annoying to have come up with Dream. Do. Done. today only to find they’ve been written already!)

Dear Children,

Be a dreamer.
Be a doer.
But most importantly, take on board your father’s words: be a finisher.

Love, Ammu xx

#letterstomychildren

I am a PUBLISHER

I was at a ‘stay & play’ session a few months ago when a fellow mum asked me, “What do you do?” “Nothing,” was my immediate answer. But then my feisty spirit stood up and I heard me correct myself, “Actually no, not nothing! I’m a mom so that’s a full time job. And I’m a publisher.” I’m a publisher.
I don’t know why I was in denial despite my publishing business existing for a year already. Maybe it was because what I’m doing is something I’m passionate about, it doesn’t feel like ‘work’. So why not just stick to writing & let other established publishers do the publishing? Simple answer: because I have entrepreneurial spirit!

I took a look at one existing publisher’s Submission process and when I learned it could take them 6 months just to respond I thought I’ll do it myself thank you very much! Plus self-publishing would give me 100% creative control.

So with a Bismillah (remembering God) I began.

I sourced and worked with an illustrator to bring my books to life. I sourced & learnt a lot from the printing company in China. I waited in the driveway on a winter’s day to receive the truck delivering my books in print. What an amazing moment THAT was!! The journey hasn’t been a smooth sail but it’s been a passionate & fun one, and still continues. My second book arrived recently and the third is in the illustration stage. I’ve got 8-9 more children’s books written. Once they’ve been printed I’m aiming to open the door & welcome other writers to submit their ideas. But I promise not to take as long as 6 months to reply!

In the meantime, I’m encouraging anyone out there who has a dream of holding their own book in their hands to reach out & ask me or anyone for advice…because I did it. And you can do it too! 

I am an ENTREPRENEUR

I still remember the first time I ever took notice of the word ‘entrepeneur’. I was twenty years old, training to be a psychiatric nurse, and was out in the car with my mentor. We were doing a round of home visits. I was telling him about a business idea I had: to sell meals & snacks in workplaces which didn’t have nearby places to buy lunch. “You’re an entrepreneur in the making!” he said.

So what are the characteristics of an entrepreneur & how do I stack up against them?

MOTIVATED TO SUCCEED: CHECK!
PASSIONATE: Bucketloads & More!
CREATIVITY: Just Can’t Help It, CHECK!
FLEXIBILITY & VERSATILITY: Heck YES -I’m a MUMpreneur!
RISK TOLERANCE: CHECK!
DECISIVENESS: YUP!
COLLABORATION: Ready & Willing To Be Like A Bee!
PERSUASIVENESS: Working On It!

On the whole, I’m positive & driven. If there’s a problem I think about solutions & try them out. I’m not afraid of change or taking a risk.
Having an entrepreneurial spirit has led me to try different things…some of them became businesses. Over the next few weeks I’ll be reflecting on them and sharing them with you…stay tuned!

What Role Models Are Made Of

My dad arrived in the UK as a teen. He’d have loved to have gone to school but he had to work to support his family in Bangladesh. Whatever moderate amount of English he speaks now has been picked up through his career in a grocery store and a never ending string of restaurants. Needless to say, my dad can’t write in English (only his version of shorthand when taking down curry orders – see image, aww!). Continue reading What Role Models Are Made Of