As I sit writing this, my wife and me are only a few days away from setting off on our latest adventure. My next blog will let you into the secret, but I thought this blog could cover some of the entrepreneurial lessons from this latest foray.
As many of you know, we live in Turkey and made the decision to totally move from the UK over ten years ago. We are now proud recipients of long-term Turkish residency and can stay for as long as we like without annual applications.
You may also know that I am hardly in the first flush of youth and am the wrong side of seventy. However, it was quite salutary when we told someone of our adventure to be asked whether it was a wise thing to do at our age!
So the first thing to say to those entrepreneurs that want to do something different to what is expected of them is that we are living proof that age alone should not be an inhibitor. Neither should any other artificial barriers set by others get in your way.
Once we had decided on our objective, like entrepreneurs we did our research. We looked at various alternatives and investigated the most likely quite thoroughly.
Then, when we had made our choice, we started to put together the equivalent of a business plan. This not only included the operational plan and the financial plan, but also the marketing plan.
The operational plan was one where the whole operation was considered right down to the smallest detail. The financial plan was needed to show it was achievable without leaving us on bread and water. The marketing plan was put in place to market to our children in a way that they understood our plan and felt comfortable with it.
We are now in the final stages before project launch. We know the date it will start and we have started putting in place the necessary actions back at base for when we start. Packing is also pretty well sorted, as is transportation to the adventure site.
So, with less than two weeks before launch day we are pretty confident that we have done everything we can to ensure a successful adventure. Like any business nothing is guaranteed, but by making sure it is well researched, well planned and well prepared then we can only wait with excitement to get started.
So, if like us, anyone asks if you think you are wise doing whatever it is you want to do, remember the rules for success and remember our experience.