This post is part of a series about my own experience, running several businesses, explaining many failures and few successes I have had. If you have missed the first part, please read it here: take some days off
in this part, my first serious business:
small ISP called Irania
first let me explain what do I mean by serious
I had done some jobs before the ISP; teaching different courses to high school students, selling computer parts, installing OS etc! it was 1997 till 1998
A serious business, is an established business. a registered company, tax regulated, accounting system etc.
I started my ISP (Internet Service Provider), using a dial up internet account to send/receive and I shared it in to 3 dial up accounts! so you can imagine how terrible the quality was! So I can tell you:
Rule no.1 in business: Competition
back those days, there were few ISPs and no huge ones in my country. This is the reason I could survive. I invested most of the money I earned, back in to the business itself; so in less than two years, I had 128 outgoing lines and two high speed xDSL incoming lines.
Seems promising? maybe... but let me tell you some facts:
the success
- experience
it was my first experience to deal with company registration, banking laws, corporate regularities, employee and HR issues, paying rents and monthly fees, marketing challenges and many more. So I value it as a success. - relations and reputation
this is really important. the reputation of those days, still remains as an asset for me. in my linkedin profile, IRANIA ISP is just couple of lines, but the people I got to know through those couple of lines, have played a big role in my career. - introduction to STOCK market
I can tell you this is one of my biggest achievements, out of those days. I saved some of my profit, in to stocks. so I used to follow them; more I engaged, more I learnt, more I enjoyed. and later, it became part of my money management rules to arrange my assets, pay my expenses and help me in time of needing funds!
Rule no.2: Money management
Even if you are a gambler and poker player, the only friend you have is your money management plan! design a proper plan and stick to that. In a long run, it will make you rich! it is also called passive income, which is awesome in term. You do nothing (but a proper investment) and it pays you back.
Irania's first flyer, 1999! it's in a cover so the quality of image is low
The failure
- loss of my domain; irania.com
I registered irania.com and irania.net on netsol.com; back those days, there were not so many options, and I paid 35 USD for each annually!! after one year, I just thought, I am running an ISP and the essence of my job lies in the .net extension, so I dropped the .com domain! that simple mistake cost me 1500 USD, but thought me something valuable: value your brand in all aspects, and see the big picture - losing the competition
I focused on marketing, trying to sell more, supply more, scaling my business fast. I was adding incoming telephone lines every week. but I missed the other competition factors. people were looking for quality, differentiation, diversification etc. and while I was in my hedge to deliver MORE, the new comers and ME TOOs were swallowing my market share by being more creative and more technology relying. - failing to raise money
finally the virgin market space which I had discovered with courage and being early bird, the beautiful blue ocean I just discovered, became full of sharks with huge investments, great knowledge, ripping small fish like me.
in that moment, I had one opportunity which I missed and I can't regret more:
mergers, fund raise, exit
I could exit my business by selling all my asset, including my clients and brand, to a bigger company. Or merging with a slightly bigger or even same size, focusing on marketing (which I proved to be good at) and letting them do other things.
Or I could use the reputation I had obtained, and raise a fund to grow like an adult company, being able to stay in the market.
But I didn't. I just waited too long, that I started to dilute in the market and I closed the company in 2003.
Nostalgia! my old business cards and a dialup connection CD!rule no.3 - never enter a position without an exit strategy
It is like entering a building you don't have any idea if you can leave it later or not! So you may stuck there eternal!
Or imagine buying stocks and shares you cannot sell! it hurts!
as I said, this post is part of a series. So I appreciate your comments and advice to make it better in coming episodes. I may write a part per week, or maybe sooner. so please stay in touch by following my account.
Let's make Steemit, a pleasant experience with engaging more :)