Have A Razor-Sharp Focus On Your Goals: Samridhi Ganeriwalla

Entrepreneurship has been a fulfilling journey - a chance to follow my passion and do something I love every day. And I am so grateful for it. While it does come with its many challenges, with perseverance and a positive attitude, you only get better at it day by day.

Taking "leaps of faith"

While exhilarating, starting out could be full of indecisive moments, where you may not have all the knowledge, skills or information to decide. The best way to overcome this is to have a mentor/valuable network of friends who can act as a sounding board, and for this reason you will see many entrepreneurs look for a co-founder with complementary skills to partner with. In the end, you must learn to trust your own gut instinct. There are many leaps of faith that are required - you must do the best you can, with all the information you do have.

There are many leaps of faith that are required - you must do the best you can, with all the information you do have.

Getting decision fatigue:

This leads right into the concept of decision fatigue. There are many decisions to be made in a day. In my case, it could be new designs to start on, existing designs to edit, new employees to hire, new marketing campaign to start, and so many more. A good way to manage this is to make the harder/more impactful decisions early in the day and take a break when needed between making decisions ("sleep over it"). Also, hiring great employees who you can delegate some of this to makes life a little easier!

Being a Jack of all trades:

In the initial years, you must investigate all areas of the business. While sometimes it could be frustrating to be pulled in different directions from marketing, designing, finances, sales and more, I think that it is great to build a solid foundation. This will greatly help you personally understand every area of your business, its challenges and potential, making you a true expert.

In the initial years, you must investigate all areas of the business.

Attracting and retaining talent:

When bootstrapped, attracting talent is challenging for a new business. You might have to consider paying a little more than the market to attract great talent or be more hands on where you will have to spend more time training/teaching new graduates. In my opinion, great employees are the foundation of a great business - so invest here. When hiring, I prefer those that show great initiative and a passion to learn, even if they do not have all the skills. Skills can be learnt; work ethics is hard to teach!

In my opinion, great employees are the foundation of a great business - so invest here.

Sailing through the ups and downs:

You will face many highs, and equally many lows. Consider this is a part of being an entrepreneur, and don't take it personally. Have a razor-sharp focus on your goals and persevere through the downs. I often say I have my blinders on, and I prefer to focus on action - to give everything my best possible and do it with sincerity. While you should always celebrate your little victories (it's good to reflect and see how far you have come and give yourself a pat!), but don't let it slow you down.

Have a razor sharp focus on your goals and persevere through the downs.

Work-life balance:

Last but not least, this really has been the greatest personal challenge for me. To be able to juggle work, home and kids, has been a learning experience. Health and relationships could both suffer when you focus so much on your business especially the first few years. My experience has taught me there is nothing more important than health - it's extremely important to get great quality sleep, unplug every day, and take some time to pursue a hobby or two. Also, it's important to reflect on what is important to you and prioritize that as well. I now carve out certain time in a day for work, certain hours I spend with my kids, and I make sure to spend an hour or two on things that bring me joy and help with my personal development (e.g., hitting the gym, cooking a new dish, reading a book).

My experience has taught me there is nothing more important than health - it's extremely important to get great quality sleep, unplug every day, and take some time to pursue a hobby or two.

In the end, only if you can think it, you can achieve it. While there will be new challenges to tackle at every step, you will get better equipped to manage it with time. A positive attitude, hard work and perseverance will have you headed in the right direction and make this journey a fulfilling one.

Samridhi Ganeriwalla, Founder and CEO of Little West Street, an online shop for bedding and essentials for kids. Currently, she resides in New York with her family. Her interests include travelling, exploring cuisines and singing. The views expressed are the author's own.