The last two years have been crazy, and not in a good way.
"The last two years have been crazy, and not in a good way.
"It was only one month after I opened my office. Business was good. Me and my coworkers were going to lunch and I saw that there were police officers right outside of my father's store. My father came out and told me he'd been the victim of fraud. He lost his life savings in five minutes.
"He didn't take what happened very well. He started drinking heavily from morning until night. A year later, because of the alcohol abuse, he was diagnosed with cancer of the liver. In only a few weeks, he went from the strongest guy that I knew to someone who could barely walk, because of the chemo. I'll never forget the day when he asked me to open a bottle for him. At that moment, the whole world was trembling under my feet. I think that's when I first really felt like an adult.
"Before that moment, I felt young still. But afterward everything was different. I can't even remember the last time I laughed. I kind of became a machine. I focused more on my business to distract myself. But then my business started going down as well. When Facebook temporarily blocked all third party apps that weren't their partners, I lost half my paying customers. I had both a dying business and a dying father, basically.
"I sacrificed my own salary and tried to lead by example but I failed to inspire my team. In September they all quit. I realized then that instead of being a part-time leader and full-time coder, I needed to be a full-time leader. Now I've lost all my savings. I have no team. I basically lost everything. But I haven’t lost hope. I won't give up. I learned that from my father. He's doing 10 times better this year than last year and he's very optimistic. He inspires me to keep going. Tomorrow, I'm actually meeting an American investor. Hopefully, he'll like my product."
Wow this is pretty deep. I wish you even more success.
These experiences are what molds great character.
Hey for what it's worth, you're not alone and I admire your perseverance. Remember that business isn't personal. You have to set some time aside for yourself and to appreciate friends, family, and simple pleasures in life.
That is true, but I had to keep my mind busy. If I didn't, all I could think about was the worst (regarding my father). I tried going on a vacation, but I couldn't enjoy it. Work was literarily my getaway.
Now that things are not that chaotic and I don't have a team to lead, I'm finally taking care of myself. I haven't skipped a day at the gym for the past 2 months for example.
Cheers
Best of luck with the investor. These hard times are certainly something you'll look back on when you reach your goals
Thank you, but I don't think he was interested in investing in a particular startup. From my understanding, he is simply trying to get to know and bring the Albanian startup ecosystem together. Maybe he has bigger plans, who knows. I still stay in touch.
Either way, these past 2 months have been better than last year (business wise), so hopefully 2019 has finally turned the page.
Cheers
Wow...so sorry to hear about your troubles man. Very inspiring to anyone who reads this I think though, to persevere...I am rooting for you! You can do this! You are healthy and wise and you have your whole life ahead of you. This is just a dip on the roller coaster!
Thank you. That's why I decided to share this story with "everyone". I kept whatever was going on to myself and to 2-3 very close friends for a very long time.
Cheers
This comment was deleted 7 years ago
Hi Thomas.
Yes, I remember your comment. I hope you're personally doing better too and I'm sorry to hear about your father. You don't have to chance move him to a hospital that is closer to where you leave? Even though you may prefer to not see him in that condition (similar to my situation last year), I would still choose to see him daily.
Yes, it was last August. Things are going much better now, but not because I did anything differently Basically things got sorted out themselves.
In August I was debating on whether I should let go my team or do something about it. A month later they all quit one after the other.
One of them admitted he had started working part-time for a company in Germany back in May and he was aware that he was slacking, therefore he made the decision to stick with one job. Obviously money won. Same goes for the second one. My third employee basically got bored and wanted to try a new project, even though I told him that this January we would start a new project (I did start it myself according to the plan).
I felt bad that they left. I really wanted us to stick together until we made it, but on the other hand I admit it was a huge relief, not just financially. I could now focus more on myself and take things slowly. The fact that I didn't fire them and we ended the relationship in good terms makes me sleep well at night.
This comment was deleted 7 years ago