Is entrepreneurship better the second time around?

Dear Aunty B,

Thanks for all the advice over the years and I have a funny question for you. I sold my business at Christmas to a large competitor and was going to have a year off, but I found myself working on a very exciting opportunity.

The problem I have is I am not as fired up about it as the first time around. There could be a reason for that as it is not in an industry that I grew up in and am passionate about, although it is certainly an interesting challenge.

But a chance comment on the weekend from another entrepreneur got me thinking that maybe nothing is as good as the first time and I will never recapture the excitement of the first few years of running my own business.

What do you think Aunty?

BJ

Dear BJ,

Entrepreneurship is like sex. Remember the second time? Thought not. But guess what? I reckon it was probably better – certainly for women! Second time around you know what’s coming. You have a bit more experience. You know the drill. You know how it’s all going to end. Okay, so that takes some of the raw terror, crazy exhilaration and seat of the pants madness out of the equation. But you can live with that.

Because this time you are going to set yourself a new challenge. Not to lose it all.

You are in an industry with which you are not familiar. You are unconsciously chasing the thrills of raw entrepreneurship which could lead you to seek distractions. Your challenge is to stay very focused and challenge yourself to improve on your record first time around. The secret to excitement the second time around is to avoid all the mistakes and better your record. Maybe it doesn’t have the raw thrill of the first time but you’ll sleep better!

Good luck!
Your Aunty B

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