What Are You Willing To Sacrifice To Start Your Business? Here’s What I Gave Up (And You Might Too)

You might have thought that was a strange question.

Perhaps you understand what I’m talking about through personal experience.

It’s a topic I rarely see discussed…

…but I like to tell it how it is.

You can’t start a business, or any major project in your life:

Without creating space for it.

And creating space means sacrificing or giving something up.

Almost every person I know that started their business has made sacrifices in order to build and grow their businesses.

It tends to be a key characteristic
 of successful entrepreneurs.

So what would you be willing to sacrifice to start your business?

Let me tell you what I gave up:

Here’s just one of the things I gave up to be where at I’m in my business today

A fabulous new car

I did my driving license in my thirties (long story).

Once I had that license in my hand I went straight out and bought myself a brand new Suzuki Swift.

It was all I wanted at the time.

Here I am pleased as punch on the pick up day.

Yes, I am actually hugging the car!

It was a sad sad moment when I sold my Suzuki Swift to move from Germany to Australia.

I didn’t have a vehicle here at first but when we moved to the country I needed one to do pretty much anything.

Woo hoo.

Cue excited Internet research to find my new baby.

I had the idea I would get myself a fairly new awesome 4 wheel drive soft top funmobile! aka a Jeep Wrangler.

A yellow one.

I couldn’t wait.

I posted on Facebook about the rollicking adventures I was planning in my new ‘funmobile’.

Then reality kicked in.

If I spent the money I had on the car…

…I had no back up funds to support myself while building the business.

So here’s what happened instead:

My new ‘funmobile’

A 1995 Rav4.

I said I would ONLY drive it if the green stripe was removed.

That was over 2 years ago now.

Green stripe is still firmly in place.

Even though it’s nearly 20 years old, the windscreen wipers only have the settings ‘very fast, loud and smudgy’ and ‘very very fast, loud and smudgy’, it actually goes okay.

You can do amazing handbrake turns in it.

It’s been christened The Safari Kart.

It doesn’t feel like a sacrifice right now but when it was decision time it did.

It was hard to go from new car smell to dealing with a 20 year old car and the hassle that comes with that.

Many people give up much more for their dreams

I gave up something fun and yes, there were a lot of little things I gave up too – like meals out and a big one for me – expensive hair conditioner.

I had a few months of really BAD hair.

But so many people give up much more than I did.

If building a business was really easy and involved no sacrifice at all everyone would do it.

If you do things right, the sacrifices you make are a temporary inconvenience before a whole new phase of amazing in your life.

What it looks like on the other side

Now I am able to buy new clothes, have meals out more or less when I want and I just booked a trip to see my parents in England this week.

While I haven’t hit the income levels I have had before yet, I know I will soon.

All that doing what I love, genuinely helping people achieve their dreams, working as I like, in my home in the jungle.

Being in control of my own destiny means the sky really is the limit in terms of earning potential.

It makes the shit box car and bad hair days seem like a triviality.

So what will you give up to start your business?

Maybe you won’t have to tighten your belt financially, maybe for you it will be more about managing your time.

Either way it won’t happen without some major adjustments in your life.