STARTING A BUSINESS

Entrepreneurship: The Journey of Building Something from Scratch

What is Entrepreneurship?

Let’s start at the beginning: what does the word ENTREPRENEURSHIP mean? I write it in capital letters because it’s not just an action, but a philosophy of life, a decision that changes your path forever.

According to the dictionary, entrepreneurship means: “To start something, to start a business.”

But the reality is that entrepreneurship goes far beyond simply “starting something.” Entrepreneurship is a daily battle. It’s about fighting, suffering, crying, laughing, enjoying, being happy, sad, worried, anxious, excited… and then being happy again. It’s an emotional rollercoaster where you can either emerge victorious or fail, but one thing I’m sure of is that you’ll gain something invaluable: learning.

The Valley of Despair in Entrepreneurship

When an entrepreneur starts a business, they often go through an emotional cycle similar to the process of change, but with specific challenges unique to the world of entrepreneurship. Within this cycle lies the dreaded valley of despair, the stage where many give up.

This is a typical emotional journey of an entrepreneur:

Initial Enthusiasm

• Predominant emotion: Optimism, energy.
• Description: Everything seems perfect; you believe your idea will change the world.
• Example: “This idea is going to revolutionize the market!”

First Obstacles

• Predominant emotion: Frustration, worry.
• Description: Difficulties begin: you can’t find customers, there are operational issues, costs rise.
• Example: “I don’t understand why we’re not selling more.”

Valley of Despair

• Predominant emotion: Anxiety, doubt, desperation.
• Description: You feel like everything is going wrong and wonder if it’s worth continuing.
• Example: “Maybe I should give up.”

Acceptance and Adaptation

• Predominant emotion: Resignation, determination.
• Description: You start seeing difficulties as opportunities to improve and adapt.
• Example: “I’m going to try a new strategy to attract customers.”

Growth and Success

• Predominant emotion: Confidence, satisfaction.
• Description: You finally see results, and the effort starts to pay off.
• Example: “It was worth not giving up.”

How to Overcome the Valley of Despair?

• Keep perspective: Remember it’s a temporary phase, and all entrepreneurs have been through it.
• Seek support: Surround yourself with mentors, entrepreneurial communities, and people who inspire you.
• Learn from mistakes: Don’t see it as failure, but as an opportunity to improve.
• Celebrate small wins: Every step forward counts. Appreciate your progress.
• Adjust your strategy: If something isn’t working, pivot and try new ideas.

The Foundations of a Good Entrepreneur

Being an entrepreneur requires developing skills and a resilient mindset. Some key elements for success are:

• Analysis: Knowing how to evaluate opportunities and risks.
• Resilience: The ability to get back up after every fall.
• Creativity: Finding innovative solutions.
• Good ideas: Not just having them, but knowing how to execute them.
• Leadership: Motivating and guiding your team.
• Empathy: Understanding the needs of customers and collaborators.
• Active listening: Knowing what the market wants.
• Persistence: Moving forward despite obstacles.

How to Start Entrepreneurship?

1. Find a problem to solve. Every successful business is born from addressing a need.
2. Define your value proposition. What makes you different?
3. Research your market. Know your customers and competitors.
4. Create a minimum viable product (MVP). Test your idea before investing too much.
5. Validate and adjust. Gather feedback and improve your proposal.
6. Develop business skills. Learn about sales, marketing, finance, and management—all these points are vital to learn along the way. Digital marketing is another fundamental pillar today.

The Importance of Learning English for Entrepreneurs

We live in an increasingly globalized world. Learning English as an entrepreneur allows you to:

• Access international markets.
• Connect with foreign investors and clients.
• Learn from the best, as most resources are in English.
• Position your business beyond your home country.

If you don’t speak English yet, now is the best time to start.

Recommended Books for Entrepreneurs

• The Black Book of Entrepreneurship (Fernando Trías de Bes): Explains the most common mistakes when starting a business and how to avoid them. Essential for any novice or experienced entrepreneur.
• Atomic Habits (James Clear): Teaches how to build positive habits for success. Personally, it helped me a lot with the habit of reading. In 2024, I read a total of 13 books, which was incredible because I didn’t consider myself a reader. With small habits and focusing more on a system than on the goal, you can achieve it.
• The Lean Startup (Eric Ries): The Lean method comes from Toyota factories in Japan. This method was created after World War II, focusing on eliminating waste. Eric Ries adapted these principles to the world of startups and modern business in his book, applying concepts like early validation, the MVP (Minimum Viable Product), and validated learning to reduce risks and maximize efficiency in uncertain environments. Thus, the Lean Startup is an evolution of the original Lean method, adapted to entrepreneurship and innovation. The main idea, at least for me, is to always receive FEEDBACK, have empathy with your customers, and constantly listen to improve what you’re offering to the market or pivot in the best way for your product, system, or ideas to succeed (build-measure-learn) and constant validation. A tremendous book.

Conclusion

Entrepreneurship is not an easy path, but it’s one of the most rewarding experiences you can live. If you’re willing to learn, adapt, and persist, you can turn your vision into reality. It’s not just about starting a business, but about growing as a person and professional.

Ecuador is one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the region. However, a large percentage of these ventures fail quickly due to a lack of analysis before launch.

This is closely related to the “valley of despair” and the importance of following key guidelines to build a sustainable business over time. Stay tuned for my upcoming blogs, where I’ll explain step by step how to start a business and not die trying.

Keep moving forward and make your dream a reality! 🚀