I spent 15 years in corporate before starting up. 90 days in, here’s what I learnt.

Photo credit: Ben Rosett

In December 2015, I left my job at Singapore IDA, where I had spent two years, and a month later, started my own firm. Almost 90 days have passed since then, and it is time for some reflection. Below are a few things I have learned regarding entrepreneurship.

1. Wear your uniform

Being a startup founder is a 24/7 job; you no longer follow the 9-to-5 schedule that most employees do. Your mind and heart are likely hijacked by the things you are trying to build. It is easy to mix your personal life with your work life as if in a grinder. In the ideal case, you live your dream and everyone is happy; but in the real world, mixing your life with your dream entirely doesn’t work.

There should still be time for the non-entrepreneurial part of you — the unmotivated, disorganised, or just purely laid-back part, if you are like me. Your family and your health would also require their fair share of your time as you embark on your new venture. I am not a big fan of restlessly pursuing goals at all costs. Balance is needed.

You need a trick to separate these two aspects of your life.

 There should still be time for the non-entrepreneurial part of you.

To segregate your work from your personal life and remind yourself that you are working, I suggest you buy yourself a set of outfits and wear them when you are at work. When you walk on the street, you can tell who is working from who is not by just looking at their clothes.

If someone is wearing running attire sitting in front of his computer, you won’t think he started his day planning to work. He may be summoned due to unexpected event or has forgotten to do something important.

A uniform for your own startup helps you to tell the world and yourself that you are working. It actually helps me to focus and reminds me of my goals every day. A uniform for work is a simple but effective way of reminding yourself of your role as a founder. It is not a walk in the park or total freedom. There is a mission for you.

On the other hand, imagine that you were to wake up and decide to wear whatever you see first or whatever you feel like wearing. You not only would spend time in making the fashion decision, but you also would liberate yourself and let your mood determine the decision.

Taking these uniforms out and wearing them serves another purpose: The daily routine becomes a ritual that stimulates my mind and gets me ready for the entrepreneurial part of me.

2. Keep the bills

There is no surprise that building a new venture requires investment and money. In the first month or two, you need to set up many basic infrastructures. However, it will shock most first-time entrepreneurs that there are so many bills and invoices to process.

Keeping the bills will remind you of the price you pay for each decision.

Keeping the bills will help you to better manage your cash flow, but more importantly, it will remind you of the price you pay for each decision. In the early days of a new venture, with so much uncertainty, a founder is more likely to take opportunistic actions, detouring from plans when new information presents itself. Over-responsiveness is a typical symptom when founders are at the Infant Stage described in Ichak Adizes’ “Corporate Lifecycle”. There is no cure. My experiences suggest that you should not procrastinate by waiting for the best option. Being agile and taking risks are what differentiate startups from large conglomerates.

3. Accelerate your learning

From corporate employee to entrepreneur