STORYEXPE THEMES AND QUESTIONS

 

 

THE MOST RELEVANT THEMES AND QUESTIONS.

 

 

 

PART 1:

 

a) Can money buy happiness?

b) How much is it worth sacrificing to start my own business?

c) How do I balance the right amount of sacrifice to grow and manage my business with the quality of life I want?

d) Can quitting a 9-5 job (which you don't necessarily hate, but which is not your highest ambition in life) and creating your own activity (business or freelance) really buy you happiness and freedom? (Sorry if the question itself may be longer than some of the answers).

 

"A question to those with similar experiences: how much do you think it is appropriate to sacrifice your life (time, hobbies, relationships, even health, etc.) to start and run a business? I'm not asking if it's worth it or not, because the answer is obviously very individual. There's no doubt that you'll have to sacrifice certain aspects of your life if you don't want to live with a 9-5 job. In short, the question is: does money ultimately buy happiness? In other words, how much of what you have sacrificed to create a successful activity can you later compensate with money?"

 

The concept that someone's 9-5 job might not be the highest ambition in life is a reflection of one's dreams, aspirations, and plans (depending on what stage of life one is in). Sure, the space between someone's current situation and their ideal business is filled with a lot of things that are mostly shrouded in the fog of uncertainty, like illusions, setbacks, hard work beyond expectations. Even if you've heard this a thousand times, you don't want to risk changing your 9-5 job for a 24/7 job.
But if you live with a 9-5 job that is not your highest ambition, and you know that it will never lead you to realize your ambitions, you are probably already sacrificing more than you would otherwise accomplish between 9 and 5, at least if some vague tendency compels you to want to fulfill yourself through ideas and initiatives that your current job cannot satisfy. Or if you have a little entrepreneurial spirit. Or if even a little entrepreneurial spirit drives you.
Can money buy happiness? ...that's the million dollar question (no pun intended...maybe). Basically, yes. But money cannot compensate for the kind of happiness that money cannot buy. In other words, money cannot buy every facet of happiness. And even less can it give you back what you have lost.

To create a successful business, you will probably have to sacrifice things like time, relationships, perhaps health to some extent (irregular meals or not as nutritious as they should be, less sleep, and often irregular or fragmented when you have other commitments as well - like a job, little or no time to exercise), and other things. In general, money buys health and time. If you have created a successful business and are able to manage it properly, you will be able to organize better your meals, your sleep, your time. In other words, money can buy you the kind of freedom and flexibility that you would not necessarily (or for many people, not at all) have in a "normal" job.

About relationships: money may bring you closer to like- minded people, as success often does. It’s up to you to recognize them and surround yourself with them. And money can give you the opportunity to exchange views constructively with people who think differently from you, and to establish a non- toxic environment.

But an hourglass is filled with sand, not with gold coins. And just as you cannot fill time with money alone and hope for the most fulfilling outcome, you can never compensate for what time reserves at the right moment, and then inexorably fades away.

 

 

In other (and unfortunately gloomy) words: there are experiences that money can neither buy nor compensate. The present time is a very ephemeral and fleeting fragment, less than 3 seconds, according to science. It is up to you to fill and steer it in the most opportune way. But the present has already become past as soon as you pronounce the word "present" (…well, ...or any other word instead). And since circumstances in life are often (and fortunately) unique, and (less fortunately, but that's the way it is) substantially beyond our control, we cannot wait until we have money to be able to compensate for what we should have experienced when we didn’t have enough money.
If you have to sacrifice aspects of your life to build and run your business, you will probably miss out on the most valuable things, which go far beyond the value of money. And considering that you are sacrificing time, you can never really know what events, experiences, people, and conclusions would have filled that time. In fact, if you focus everything on your future, you will never know what you are really sacrificing in your present. And how that itself could create a void in your future.
If money comes and goes (sure, it's better when it just comes, but we have to admit that it's often easier when it goes), you can't say the same about certain unique experiences.

All of this may be okay, because you are working on something that you truly believe in and that you are convinced will help you grow more than anything else. If you are unhappy with your current situation (or if you just want to grow), your present self remains suspended, at least in certain aspects, because you are projecting it into a future that you consider brighter and more fulfilling. In simple terms, you are investing in your future.
When it comes to investing, we tend to say that you should only invest as much as you are willing to lose in the worst case scenario. It's hard to say whether this applies to every situation, whether it's too cautious or too pessimistic, and even harder to say whether it applies to your time in the same way as it does to any financial investment.
Perhaps you will be fully rewarded when you have achieved what you dreamed of. Or a part of it. Or something completely different and unimaginable today, because it will spring from the mistakes and failures you will experience along the way, and the need to find other - better - solutions and ideas. And that will open up new paths for you that you don't even intuit today. Maybe your sacrifices today (and "today" can mean all the time it will take, so maybe years...but not to discourage anyone) will be rewarded, even with interest. Or at some point you will end up back where you started (again...not to discourage anyone), but more serene than today, because at least you tried, you gave it your all, and you came to a consciousness that you lack now. But perhaps there will also remain an invisible nostalgia for things you missed in life, for passions that never came to fruition, for other ideas you never pursued because you cultivated one in particular, that of your business. For experiences you can never recapture.
Therefore, your future self may be richer in money, professional experience, and other great things that you dream of today, but none of this may be able to compensate for what you will miss from now on in order to achieve them.
Obviously, we can only experience one timeline. To expand the point, for many people this might be reductive compared to the possible facets of life and the extent of their projects and ideas. If you think your (professional) life just sucks and all you want to do is change it, then every step forward, every single decision will bring you to a point where you have more choices, more tools (knowledge, experience, skills) to make better decisions. Every path always starts with the first step.

 

 

PART 2:

 

a) How do I start a new business?
b) What kind of mindset do I need to start a new business?
c) How do I know when it's the right time to start?
d) What are really the minimum requirements (professional and personal) to start my business?
e) Many people tell me: "Just start". But what are the risks of starting too early?
f) How can I create a new business in a market that seems to be saturated?

 

"A really simple question, but for most people probably the most important one: How do I start? What kind of mindset do I need to start? Of course, this question has been answered a million times (...well, literally). But more than any other answer, there are as many facets to this question as there are people asking it."

 

Yes, this question has been answered millions of times. Most answers have certain things in common, but they may differ on other key points. And it is these points that make the question worth asking. In a nutshell, they are: just start. Any moment is the right moment. Even yesterday would have been the right moment if you had just started instead of reading / watching about the right time to start (...unless you are asking this question for the first time today).
Is there an essential truth here? Undoubtedly. Is it reductive? Also undoubtedly.
That's right: there are as many nuances in those answers as there are people asking the question. And probably even more, considering that the possible answers can also vary considerably depending on life circumstances, even those external to your project. Based on how things are going at any given time. Based on the people you surround yourself with at any given time.
Sometimes the most appropriate answer is the simplest and most immediate: just start. Don't overthink it. Is that right? Yes... and no. Will it help you? Maybe, but probably not.

Of course, we learn by making mistakes. By failing we learn. The important thing is to remember to get up every time and get back on the path. Or at least have someone there to remind us. Of course, you will always tell yourself that there are more YouTube videos you need to watch before you can start. And guess what: there will always be more videos you think you absolutely have to watch before you can start, no matter how many you have already watched. Of course, you will always tell yourself that there are still relevant skills that you necessarily need to learn or improve before you start. And you are probably right, because sooner or later you will have to learn the hard lessons. But that shouldn't be a reason not to start, because it's impossible to be prepared for everything. Or even just to whatever you consider indispensable before you can start. Not least because if you've never started, you can't even know what's really indispensable and what's not. As important as it is to learn from the experiences of others, they will only correspond to a certain extent to the experiences you will make. You cannot predict what most of the difficulties you will face will be, even if you already know what they might be.
You can only prepare yourself to have the right attitude to face and overcome them. Or to adjust your course as they arise. Or to stop and start again when you have no other choice. You will probably experience all of them.

 

 

So, is it always the right time to start a new business? What are the minimum requirements and how do you know you have them? A good business idea can (ideally) be like a big bang: it erupts in your mind in a way that excites you more than anything else. Sometimes it comes out of the blue, sometimes it's a project you've been hatching for a long time. It can have such gravitational pull to draw your skills to itself, enticing you to improve and acquire others that you otherwise would never have felt the need to learn.
A good idea can have the power to pave your way all by itself. ...Well, at least in part, and especially in the beginning, when the most important thing is to get out of your comfort zone. But sooner or later, even the greatest enthusiasm is likely to fade. The doubts that will inevitably arise over time (and if you have asked yourself this question, you know exactly what they are) are likely to become chains that will increasingly restrain your intentions.
Of course, any business idea is incomplete at the beginning and may seem inadequate. And that still assumes that you approach the project with sufficiently solid requirements and a clearly defined business plan (whether in your head or on paper, but better the latter).

If it's a project of which you are firmly convinced, it means that you have analyzed it with all the necessary criteria, perhaps confronting yourself with the opinions and points of view of others that differ from your own. Perhaps you have been able to look at your project with enough distance to question those aspects of which you are most convinced, to learn to analyze them from a different perspective.
And if you haven't done any of this, or haven't done it in any depth, start with this: analyze what the worst-case scenario might be, and how you might get out of it. Because even when you're in the nicest place imaginable, it's always wise to know where the emergency exits are and how to get there the fastest. You certainly don't go on a luxury cruise to focus on the emergency exits. But if an emergency does occur (and there's certainly little you can do to prevent it....except you are more skilled than anyone else at recognizing the presence of icebergs where they shouldn't be), you don't even want to know what the alternatives might be to getting you safely through the emergency exits and then perhaps resuming your voyage serenely in a more appropriate context.
The same is true for your business: until the most optimistic scenario comes true, you will probably have to deal with emergencies, or at least with other extraordinary circumstances for which you can at best be partially prepared, but which you cannot predict in their exact unfolding.
So when is the best time to start your business? Experience gives us a fairly reliable answer: The right time is not when you have anticipated everything that might happen, but when you feel adequately prepared to deal with the unpredictable and draw the most useful conclusions to move forward. Or to start again without having to quit.

After all, what are the minimum professional and personal requirements to start your own business?
The underlying principle is simple: one thing leads to another. The premise is that your idea, your intentions and your project are based on such solid foundations of your determination, willpower and resilience that they represent for you an epicenter capable of attracting any related interest. Your project is (obviously) a work in progress. If some parts will inevitably erode over time, others will be added that you cannot even imagine now. Along the way, you will realize the need (or at least the appropriateness) of learning new skills and deepening knowledge that you would never have felt the need to learn otherwise. Ultimately, it will be your capacity, flexibility, and resilience in mastering all of this that will make the difference.

What are the risks of starting too early? "Too early" is of course a very individual concept, based on personal perception and mindset. For some people, the mere impulse to start is a sufficiently viable (and often even exciting) force to gather all their skills, focus them on a single project within a tight timeframe, and find a way to ideally organize their schedule around that project to make it happen. For others, "too early" is just the sum of all the uncertainties that might prevent them from taking the very first step.
But in starting too early, one may encounter the risk that, in the attempt to make the project feasible in order to get started, it may be scaled down to the point at which only a fraction of the original idea remains. Certainly over time a business will always be able to grow and improve, but in some cases this may mean reducing the project to something much smaller or even different (or one thing as a result of the other) than originally planned.
And if you scale back your business plan too much just to get started, you run the risk of losing the passion that motivated you to start the project in the first place. Or your passion may vanish altogether once you feel that what was initially an exciting project that drove you to make all the sacrifices you were willing to make and give up so much is being compressed into a mere business model.
Sometimes, by starting too early (which can be related to personal maturity and preparation as well as to the business plan itself), one runs the risk of adapting it too much to existing products or services in order to conform it to the needs of the market (or simply because of the need to succeed as quickly and directly as possible). Possibly depriving the project of those USP's that, with more maturity, could have made a significant difference from the very beginning.
The solution does not have to be complex. But the attempt to summarize it into a generic answer might be. Because the answer consists in very individual facets. Most people will say: "Just start, don’t overthink it". Without going into that, however, you should accurately make it clear to yourself on which side the scales are tipped between compromises and possible advantages of starting (too) early.

 

 

 

PART 3:

 

a) How can I address what is preventing me from starting a business?
b) What are the most important criteria before starting a new business?
c) What do I have to consider before starting a new business (besides the business plan)?
d) How important is the influence of other people in starting my business?
e) What are the most important people to surround yourself with (both personally and professionally) when starting a new business?
f) Who are the most appropriate people whose advice I should follow to start my business?

 

Although the possible reasons that prevent people from starting their own businesses are numerous, they have very individual roots that can considerably relativize the validity of widely accepted solutions. Nevertheless, there share common denominators that have proven to be helpful. While some of these solutions are well known and often repeated, it is the individual timing that determines whether they are essential, at least useful, or completely useless for starting a business at a given moment.
One particularly valuable solution is to surround yourself with like-minded people, or otherwise meet with them as often as possible. And where this is not personally possible, try to follow their example. You are obviously influenced to a greater or lesser degree by the people you surround yourself with (although the famous saying that everyone is the average of the five people they surround themselves with most seems to be at least approximate and reductive, according to various studies).
By "like-minded" we can mean both people who are at the same professional level as we are, and who share similar interests, intentions, and ambitions. As well as people who are more experienced than we are, and who have, at least to some extent, already dealt with what we have yet to deal with. But also those who are behind us (no matter how inexperienced we may consider ourselves), because if we have even a minimal level of experience, we can still be useful to someone who has less than us.

A question that often arises is who are the most appropriate people whose advice is worth following in the process of creating your own business. The most common answer is undoubtedly: anyone who knows more than you and has gone through the experiences you are going through.While this is undoubtedly an indisputable point of view, it is also true that with all the answers available today, it can prove to be too general. Often the most useful and tailored answers come not from those who have far more experience than you, but from those who found the solution to the question you are seeking today yesterday (...well, "yesterday" may be somewhat metaphorical).
Of course, this is where social media can be a great help: being in a community with people who are a step ahead of you, people who are a step behind you, and at the same time people from every level before and after can be a great motivator. The important thing is that it's an active and constructive community, where conversations aren't reduced to short comments and half the words aren't replaced by emojis.
It is normal for uncertainties to block you. It can happen at any moment, at any stage you are at, even if you have already achieved what was your initial goal. The unknown is always outside our comfort zone, even if it's just one single step, one single decision away.

 

 

Whether you are at the point of crystallizing your initial ideas into a business plan, but have doubts that it could work. Or you are one step away from applying for funding once the business plan is complete. Uncertainty can always be around the corner. It's up to your experience, mindset and individual approach whether you let uncertainties in or not.
The experiences of those who have already crossed the threshold where your doubts stand today can pave the way where you couldn't go alone. And vice versa, being in an environment (like a social media community) with people who are at least one step behind you can make you realize what your accomplishments are, however small they may seem. Because there is always someone who is at a point where you have already been. Who faces the uncertainty of a decision that you have already addressed. It is clear that if you are still at the beginning, the steps that you still Because there is always someone who is at a point where you have already been. Facing the uncertainty of a decision you have already made. It is clear that if you are still at the beginning, the steps you have yet to take far outweigh the certainties you have already acquired. But just looking back and realizing that the choices you have already made have led you in a certain direction can give you the comfort of knowing that you are on a paved path that you can follow. And the possibility to look forward is exactly what can make all the difference if the moment comes when you are faced with the decision whether to quit or not.

Surrounding yourself with like-minded people does not necessarily mean surrounding yourself with people who share your goals and interests. It means, first and foremost, surrounding yourself with people who share your principles, no matter how much their goals may differ from yours.

It will happen, not often, but more often than you would like, and probably at moments when you are least prepared for it, that doubts of such a nature will arise that you will want to abandon your project. Or postpone it (which often leads to abandonment). Or scale it back to a niche that seems more feasible. Or you may have to change your project so much that it is very different from what you originally had in mind. With the risk that the passion that motivated you to start your project may soon fade.
What is the key to making the right trade-offs between your original passion and the needs of the market? First of all, it's coherence with yourself. When you are unable to look forward, it can be helpful to look back. Think about what the principle was - the first spark that excited you and kept you glued to your desk writing your business plan.
The passion that drove you to choose this project over any other option. It may have even made you give up other things that were the most important in your life at the time. Think about the light that suddenly went on the day you had the idea. Or the moment when you realized that you wanted to give everything to make this idea your business.
All these things will fade with time (and especially with the relentlessly harsh confrontation with reality), and not infrequently they will be lost altogether. Sometimes they turn out to be an illusion, and as such they suddenly burst forth. It is up to you to see this as just another step toward your goal, rather than as the final obstacle that will permanently prevent you from reaching it.

For many people who start a business, sooner or later the moment of disillusionment may come. The moment when everything that lies ahead seems impossible and everything that has been done seems useless. Just think of all the skills you have acquired so far. Especially those that no one ever taught you, but that you thought were useful, if not indispensable. Think of all the time you spent acquiring them, and all the sacrifices you had to make. These are (some of) the tools you need to create and manage your business.
Over time, you will undoubtedly need to add new skills and update existing ones. But often the most useful thing is to think about how to use skills in a different way than we had planned and learned. Precisely because at the beginning, every project is still uncertain, undefined. And in the process of adapting it to the needs of reality, substantial changes must be made for it to materialize. For many people, this equals considering some of their skills useless or even a waste of time. They're not, and they won't be if you're able to adapt them with the proper flexibility.

 

 

PART 4:

 

a) How can I create and communicate a distinctive (personal and professional) identity on social media (and more generally in today's business world)?
b) How can I attract the attention of others on social media?
c) How can I promote my business on social media with an outstanding, useful presence (beyond mere numbers)?
d) I have always struggled to define a social media profile that truly represents me. Is it "the fault" of how the platforms are structured, or am I doing something wrong?

 

"Despite everyone repeating that on social media you have to be original, I have always had the impression of losing (or somehow distorting) a substantial part of my real identity, whatever I do in defining my social media presence (as a combination between the profile itself and my content strategy). Many of my most genuine intentions get lost when I try to apply the rules of different social networks (and to follow their algorithms)".

 

As in any aspect of communication, both in person and online, letting the most genuine and authentic traits of your personality shine through should be a spontaneous aspect of your (social media) presence. And no, we're not going to repeat here once again that there is no second chance for the first impression. Because it is equally important for a lasting impression to be established in the minds of those who visit a profile. Maybe not just for curiosity or pleasure, but also to regularly obtain useful information in a certain field.
And just as in person, communication in social media requires conforming to specific rules of behavior that have some aspects in common across environments and others that vary from platform to platform.

In terms of a content strategy, the most effective way to convey an authentic and outstanding aspect of your identity (especially professionally) is to provide value. Contribute with your very real skills, fit into communities, reach out to people, and start conversations based on your most genuine experiences. Express your personality through what you have learned throughout your life (perhaps using more words than emojis). Through your past mistakes, explaining the thoughts behind them and the most relevant conclusions that led you along the whole process to the solution.

Adding value with your skills and experience is a good way to connect with like-minded people, because while there will always be someone who has less experience than you, no matter how much you have, there will always be someone who has more than you. And especially many people who have about the same level of experience as you, but from very different backgrounds. So it gives you the opportunity to look at your own scenario from a different perspective.
Ultimately, your social media presence, like any form of human interaction, is determined by two key factors:
1) The first impression. It is important to appear authentic from the very first moment and, ideally, to convey a certain likeability, or at least something that makes your presence stand out at first glance. In such a way that it is perceived as pleasant from the beginning, with a lasting feeling in people's minds.
2) Lasting relationships. These are based on elements such as trust, relevance and, of course, likeability. In a more professional sense, this means that you become a reference point (or, to use a more common expression, an authority) for those who follow you. Or, ideally, that it becomes a habit for your followers and readers to discover what's new, for example on social media. Therefore, from a more professional point of view, it is important to have something like a fil rouge that those who follow you want to be kept up to date about.

In general, those who are able to stand out as the most helpful advisors when someone needs help are consequently seen as the most trustworthy sellers when it comes to making a purchase.
One of the main reasons for this is evolutionary: for the human brain, any deviation from what has already proven to be the most useful solution, any need to make further decisions, would be an expenditure of energy to be avoided (unless the desired outcome might outweigh the effort).

So how do you create a presence that captures the attention of your readers? Regarding the type of content you should choose to represent your expertise and experience, it is appropriate to create a presence that reflects in 360 degrees not only what you offer, but everything inherent: this can include facets of a lifestyle as well as professional aspects. The ability to reflect specific details of your brand identity, such as those inherent in the process of creating your brand.
Experience shows that even aspects that seem insignificant to your branding, or that are too far removed from the present to have any relevance, can create an identification with readers who are in a similar situation to you in the past.
It is clear that among your readers, followers, and potential customers are those who have been at every stage of the process that has brought you to where you are now. For every consideration you've weighed, for every doubt you've confronted, for every mistake you've made, for every idea you wanted to include in your business model but ultimately found inappropriate.
For every aspect of your journey, there are readers right now who are at that very stage. Of course, that doesn't mean that the solution you've chosen for a particular situation will be the best solution for every reader. But the ability to guide them along their journey with your expertise and content may give them the opportunity to analyze it more clearly and then make different choices.
Your content should be selected and structured in such a way as to define, as a whole, an authentic presence that reflects every nuance of your personality, the skills behind your personality, and all the multiple passions that have led you to develop your skills.
Does it take time to build such a presence? Sure, just like it took time to get to where you are. It takes time to merge heterogeneous aspects into a homogeneous identity and mature it into a coherent business plan. Just as it took time to turn your passions into professionally useful skills. And vice versa, figuring out how to use your skills to create an activity that you are really passionate about, that makes you want to get up in the morning and go to work. That is your last thought at night, before you go to sleep, and for which you would like the day to have even more hours than you have already spent on your project.

 

 

PART 5:

(To be updated) 

a) How to avoid living a life that I never wanted?
b) How can I find a meaningful purpose in life? (And how can social media help me with this)?