If there was one thing I've learnt since the first step I took into starting a business is that you constantly have to be rajin (hardworking) and focused.
About being focused,
Starting business at 21 years old (okay la, not so old or not too young I guess), I came to realise that there were many times I came across "distractions". Seeing my friends go on trips and for concerts but having to be 'stuck' here due to commitments to work isn't as easy. Looking at people post pictures of them travelling just makes you think twice about everything, if you are doing everything right. Having to say 'No' many times to lepak times with your friends or food hunting isn't as easy either especially if that is something you guys have always enjoyed doing together. And it gets worse when people say, "You're still young, just enjoy it while you still can"
But I guess it all depends on your perspective on things. The best is when you can find the balance between having fun as a youth and taking opportunities that come up to you only when you are not young. Having to balance your time with your family, your friends and time yourself. I am a firm believer to start your own business when you are young cause that's the only time when you don't have huge 'responsibilities' or 'commitments' to your own family for instance, having to come back to spend time with your own kids and at the same time, trying to find time with your parents. And with the current era we are living in, starting a business at a young age is a marketing itself. But then again, to those who are not into 'business' but force themselves into business just because the idea sounds good, cause that's where passion and being rajin comes in.
It is difficult to pull through without being rajin,
You know when you're in your early 20s, that's the best time (and pretty much the only time) you have to wake up late, even if it means at 1PM. But not having discipline and waking up at any time you wish gets pretty hard to go by when you have your own business, unless your business includes you having to be up and awake all night.
Having to say 'NO' to that second plate of delicious Nasi Lemak with Sambal that you know is going to give you collateral damage and make you sleepy all day can be quite difficult to okays... well, at least for me !
If you're really passionate about something, then you wouldn't have a problem about waking up and doing work (unless if you're overworked haha). You would even make sure the long list of things in your 'Must Do list' or 'Urgent list' would be done and dusted.
And the term 'malas' (lazy) does not even help us to get further, the furthest we can. We tell ourselves, "Alaaa, its okay. I can do it some other time, I'm so lazy now and tired and malas"...... That has been through my mind so many times, but I figured if I say yes to it once, I will say yes to it many times. I do take my breaks and chill at times though, but only after I've done as much as I can and reward myself. It's also good to work around a dateline and try to make it as realistic and achievable as you can. Better yet, go the extra length and miles for your own company if you could.
I believe doing your own business when you're young is good cause of the people you meet along your journey to the 'business world'. The discipline you force yourself into, having commitments and priorities, sticking to the choices you've made and making heavy decisions, isn't as easy as it seems. Being able to 'hire and fire' somebody, finding the right balance as a 'boss and a colleague' can be hard too.
But honestly, beyond all that, the BIGGEST CHALLENGE you would meet is YOU. You are the biggest challenge to your own success, to the business you started off. You have to keep telling yourself to pull through and finish well, to go the extra mile and open your minds to any opportunities. To keep telling yourself that every challenge or problem you encounter (that makes you feel like booking another flight to another country for a 'short getaway) will be worth a while learning from.
The strength has to come from within YOU.
So good luck, and know that whatever it is, you can make it. Go the extra mile. No matter what the consequences are, you'll pull through :)
