This post isn’t about Martin Luther King’s brilliant “‘I Have a Dream” speech.
This post is about my dream.
What is this dream you ask?
My dream is to start and run my own business.
I have cherished this dream for over a decade now.
Unlike my counterparts in the West, I didn’t get to work part-time when I was growing up. Working part-time was unheard of for kids who are from the Indian subcontinent. I’m from India, in case you didn’t know. My father was the sole breadwinner of the family. My mother was a stay at home wife. That’s just the way it was back then.
It wasn’t until I went to the United States, to attend the University of Houston in Texas, that I would get the opportunity to start working part-time in the IT department at the Bauer College of Business. I loved it! Truth be told, quite often, you would find me at work, rather than in my lectures! It wasn’t that I was a slacker. I just enjoyed working and being that IT was a passion then (as much as it is now), it was just easy to get lost in work.
I’ve graduated since then and have held many full-time jobs and am currently working full-time.
The reason I shared all this, is to make it clear that I’m not against working hard, that I’m grateful for the jobs I’ve held in the past and that I’m grateful for the fact that I have a full-time job now.
Because I’m employed full-time, I get to provide for myself and my family, to meet all our needs.
This dream of mine is not about building a successful business, achieving fame or making a fortune.
This dream is about attaining freedom: freedom to be with my family anytime I want, so that we can nurture and cherish our relationships and as a family, do more with our lives by serving others.
Working full-time means that I work on someone else’s schedule, not my own.
Yes, I get to come home to my family at the end of the day, but as many of you can relate, I’m left with very little energy by then. Because I love my wife and son, I muster all my remaining strength so that I can to spend time with them, engage with them and love them. And then, if there is anything left after that, I focus on some of the other things I’m passionate about.
There has been many a time when my wife Amanda would tell me that it’s a beautiful day for a picnic. And you know what? I wish I could occasionally reply with a “That’s a great idea, let’s do it!” and go out and have a nice picnic with my wife and son.
This kind of life may work for some, but I’m not satisfied with this arrangement.
I don’t want to give my family and everyone/everything else, my leftovers.
I’d love to share my best with my family. I’d like to give my best to things that I’m passionate about, things that matter to me.
This is why I want to pursue my dream.
I’m not under any sort of delusion that starting my own business will be a walk in the park.
I understand that the initial stages of starting one’s own business can be very trying and demanding.
I know that it takes a lot of time, energy, effort and heart to run your own business.
This dream is not for everyone and I’m fully aware that there’s no such thing as an easy ride.
I’ve been working on this dream for a long time. I’m not obsessed about it, nor does this dream own me.
The desire to spend quality time with my family and our passion to serve others, is what drives me to pursue this dream.
Over the last 10 years, I have learnt to be patient. Yes, there are trying times/moments when I get frustrated by the fact that my dream hasn’t become a reality yet.
My faith has played a great role in helping me stay grounded and be patient, but remain hopeful, motivated and driven.
Having an attitude and willingness to learn and grow, has also helped me to keep my dream alive.
I also take every opportunity to network with businessmen, entrepreneurs and other professionals, so as to learn from them.
It has been a slow journey.
Have I gotten closer to realising my dream? Yes.
Is it at arms reach? No.
I’m not as far away as I once was.
So far, I’ve tried to stay away from venture capitalists and the likes. Such paths may work for others, but I don’t think it’s for me. Of course, I could be wrong 🙂
I don’t have any funds, but nor have I approached anyone with that need.
I also don’t have anyone else working on this dream with me. I suppose now would be a good time to let you know that if you or someone you know are interested in working with me, please get in touch with me. I’m in need of an experienced and dedicated ASP.Net MVC/SPA developer, Windows Phone/Windows 8 developer, iOS developer, Android developer and a UI person. Remember, I don’t have any money, which means you have to be willing to work with me to work something out in terms of your payment. Of course, anyone starting their own business and wanting others to partner with them, will insist that their ideas are great and guaranteed money makers. I’m not like that. I do believe in my ideas, but it’s up to you to believe in them with me.
I’m aware of a few programs like Microsoft BizSpark that I can take advantage of. Here in Brisbane, Queensland, Microsoft has the Innovation Centre, which is another great resource I can potentially utilise. If you’re aware of anyone/anything else I can benefit from, please do let me know. I’d greatly appreciate that.
In a nutshell, I’m not sitting idle and simply dreaming. I’m slowly chipping away at this dream and hopeful it’ll come true one day.
If you have a dream, don’t ever stop pursuing it. Don’t give up. Don’t lose hope. Work hard at it.
It’s better to try and fail at something, than to fail without ever having tried it at least once!
If you have any tips or words of wisdom/caution/encouragement you’d like to share with me, please feel free to do so. You can email me (sri at srikanthnair dot com) or connect with me on Twitter (@SrikanthNairPro).
If you believe that you can help me in some other way, I hope you’ll get in touch with me 🙂
Thanks for reading.
Thank Sri 🙂