Today marks the one month milestone of my startup, and my ventures. All in all, I consider it a success.

Here’s what I did in the past month:

- Built 5 websites for various clients, of varying complexities
- Networked & started some relationships
- Initiated a longer term consulting contract
- Made some serious progress on my startups application
- Renamed “Karmba” to “Dragonfly”

While some of it was a struggle, I’m very happy with how things panned out, proving that maybe, just maybe, I have something here.

I got an email from a client today that gave me seven sorts of warm fuzzies.

Dude I just wanted to let you know I am extremely impressed with your attention to detail with the cut you did for me…

I was particularly fond of this line:

You do world-class work.

As middleman contractors, we enjoy a life of anonymity and our work is very commonly taken for granted. Every once and a while, it’s nice to learn that our work is appreciated.

It has been my experience that one of the most common factors for many people to start new companies is a reaction to events out of their control - such as getting laid off or fired. I’ve seen many that end up standing around like a deer in the headlights as they hit the panic button, only to determine that the best course of action is to start a new venture.

Back in the dot com, I tried to start up a web design company like so many others. Twice. It failed miserably, crashed and burned. It was then that I realized two things. The first is that I needed to face the hard truth that I just wasn’t a designer. The other is that I quite simply wasn’t ready for such a venture. After closing shop (and that shop was of course my $800/mo apartment) and nursing my battered pride, I got some advice. Stay in the industry, work for other people. Lay low and bide your time. So that’s exactly what I did. I didn’t lose my entrepreneurial spirit however. I co-founded a content management company, and stayed in the startup industry. A year ago, I left Cambrian House with the firm intention of starting a company anew… only to sign on with another company a couple months later at the nigh fanatical request of a friend of mind. What was intended to be short term wasn’t exactly that.

Fast forward to the here and now.

A piece of advice that has always stuck in my mind when talking to other entrepreneurs is to “quit your day job“. It is a ludicrous thought to those that don’t possess an entrepreneurial drive, and doctrine to those that are unhappy doing anything else than forging ahead on the path less taken. It motivates to the point of insomnia, drives one to work that much harder on their venture of choice.

However, my venture of choice, codenamed Karmba, is a product. Products take time to build, and I certainly don’t have the resources to devote to one hundred percent development whilst paying the bills. As such, when I left the safety and security of working for someone else, I had a plan. Start consulting, leveraging my technical aptitude to agencies and development companies. This in turn helps fund the product during downtime, allowing the hiring of other developers and designers alike.

And so, it has been two weeks since I deliberately left security and stability (not to mention a fantastic company) to pursue personal goals and dreams. I continue to feel what thousands have felt before, including myself. Uncertainty, lack of confidence and restless nights, coupled with dreams of a brighter future.

As I press into week three, I am reminded of feeling an unparalleled ambition and sense of accomplishment that only taking the path less traveled provokes. Despite the fear of failure and lack of sleep, I know I made the right call. Besides, like Wil Schroter said:

There are no weekends, only 2 days per week with different work hours.