What I wish I had known about myself before I started a business.

It was never a dream of mine to start a business, but the longer I do it - the more I realise it was always meant to be.

Here is what I wish I had known about myself before I started:

1) I am an entrepreneur.

In hindsight, I should have realised.

My grandfather was a creative, a designer, and an inventor - stories of my father’s childhood are filled with Second World War tanks, anti-gravity devices, and mishaps.

Grandpa joined the family sherry business Luis Gordon & Sons in his early twenties. In 1972 the business was floated on the UK stock market, and at around the same time he acquired Gordon’s Wine Bar on the Embankment.

On Grandpa’s death, my father took over the wine bar. With a flair for business himself, he expanded the premises and offering and, as a result of petty thefts against customers, launched a crime reporting tech business - Facewatch.

Entrepreneurship was in my blood.

As an entrepreneur, I couldn’t be limited by the consulting business I created back in 2019 when I started Excel in Property (EiP). I had to keep learning and growing. I learnt to build my own website, launched multiple training courses, and expanded my experience to the point where the original consulting work no longer brought me joy. I wanted everything else.

2) I am an obliger rebel.

Growing up, I always considered myself a people pleaser (or obliger) - prioritising outer expectations over my inner expectations. I’d always start my homework as soon as I got home, while my brother and sister would need to be bribed to do the same.

I would bend over backwards for others, meet deadlines for clients, and overdeliver. Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full, sir.

Until.

Until I hit a point where I have been pressured, controlled, taken for granted, and then I break.

I’ve worked myself to burn out, year after year, putting other people first. I’ve resented being micro-managed, being made to feel less than worthy, and I’ve nearly burnt everything down so many times, thinking I wasn’t cut out for it.

The rebel within me has been shouting: “Enough! Let’s do this our way!” for years.

3) I need purpose.

Not a lot of people know why I started EiP - the answer is simply that when I handed in my notice at Clearbell, one of the partners asked if I would do some freelance work for them after I left.

In summary: I built a business because I was great at what I do, not because I loved it.

But being good at something only keeps the interest for so long. What really drives us is passion and purpose.

After six years of EiP and thirteen years in real estate, I made the decision to close the parts of my business that don’t tick those boxes and focus on the elements that do. Giving me the space and freedom to do work that is more meaningful to me.

There are a lot of things that you can’t realise about yourself until you give yourself the opportunity to encounter them. I am forever grateful to the opportunity to start my own business and for all my clients over the years, however it’s now time for a new chapter.

If you’re standing at a crossroads too, or questioning what your next chapter might look like - stay connected. I’ll be sharing more about the journey, the lessons, and what comes next.