Being well educated with a Master’s Degree, going into your first job with a starting salary of 4,500 PLN net, a business laptop and a mobile phone is the strategy and vision for the future of many young people. This has been the case for some, so why shouldn’t it be successful for you? After all, you’re smart, you have top marks on your diploma and you know two foreign languages, so you deserve to be successful, don’t you? If you are also lucky having wealthy parents, perhaps you can also get an apartment, and your first car. Let it even be said that you swatted a lot at college, you deserve everything, don’t you?
You deserve nothing!
I remember my first car which was a silver Skoda Fabia 1.2. Kombi (estate car) straight from the show room. Today I do not even know why it was a Fabia from the showroom instead of something used, but what can you really call a car? It was a long time ago, as a fresher at university, I put down 25% of the total, spending most of my savings and borrowed the rest from my dad. I remember the day when he said, “give back to me as much as you can each month, son, but I would like you to give me back the loan in full”. So there was no choice, I had to seek a source of income. First I went through some work experience, then a part-time job contract to somehow combine work with the two areas of day studies. When the holidays came and most of the friends devoted their time to drinking beer and mainly resting, I had to paint houses in Sweden, which I consider to be one of the better adventures in my life. I will forever remember the day on which I paid off the last 1000 PLN for the car. I felt then that my first car was completely mine, as well as understanding its true value. Maybe my parents could only just afford to buy me this car, but it wasone of the most important lessons I received in my life. It was a lesson that shaped my perception of the world for it is better to earn something than to get something.
You can sit and watch
In life, you can always sit back and look where you want, for example, into the future, in the expectation that it will bring a change for the better. You can look to see when your boss stops letting off steam just because he has a bad temper. You can look for when your rented apartment turns into your own private one. You can look out for airplanes flying over your head with people going to places which you unfortunately cannot afford. You can look at passing cars which you would really like to have and look at others who have more, live better, have fewer problems and nicer partners. You can continue to look but you can also try your hand in business! Whether you are a student, unemployed, working on a temporary contract, retired or have one or two part-time or full-time jobs, it’s time to test your business ideas and you will always find what you want if you want it. If you do not have the money to start, don’t worry, start from simple concepts that do not require advanced prototypes and you do not also immediately need to start your own business, you can even use the help available on the market, in the form of incubators.
“Is it for me?” you ask yourself. The answer is so extensive that it can be included in three letters and one punctuation mark: YES! Starting a business is for everyone. Whilst I am writing this text I glance at the TV with one eye and there are old episodes of the best Polish cult TV series ever, “Miodowe Lata” (sweet summer). Karol Krawczyk and Tadzio Norek are working on a business plan for their new company, named “Elektroniczna Ropucha” (electronic toad), providing innovative services for horticulture. If Karol (tram driver) and Tadzio (sewer worker) is not afraid of fulfilling their ideas, I guess you should not be afraid too. Because, if I remember correctly, even the sacred episodic memory of Rysio in Klan who had an episode with his own company. After all, the worst thing that can happen is that your business may fail, but at least you can still live because it’s nothing you can die of. However, independence, gaining experience and fulfilling your dreams is better than seeing how others implement them and, above all, the incredible peace of mind flowing that you alone have achieved most of what surrounds you. Alone, because you deserve nothing from life.
I acknowledge that having your own company is risky, that sometimes it is easier and sometimes harder. However, the words of your wife saying “I love you for being so engulfed in life” can really add strength to the fight in bad times. Therefore, the question is “is it worth it ?” and “will I manage?”, or “will I be successful?”, “ or even “is my idea good enough?” are all questions without question marks.…
