So three weeks ago I turned 34 and coincidently it was my company’s 5th anniversary. An old colleague messaged me saying “5 years! Where has time gone!?”
It dawned on me that it has been half a decade since I took the jump into the unknown, the deep end, the black hole. The journey into neverland! I say never land because when you start a company you NEVER go more than 30 seconds without thinking about it. You NEVER really go on holiday and disconnect. You NEVER travel without your laptop. You NEVER look back and most importantly you NEVER work another day in your life; even though sometimes you do 15 hour days.
So…. where has time gone!? There is no simple answer to this one but I’ll try my best.
June 2013: I left my telecoms job to go to a software sales job.
September 2013: I was let go from that job after my probation period.
September 2013 – March 2014: I worked as a consultant freelance.
March 2014: I go to my home country (Colombia) and stumble across an opportunity to get back into telecoms on a self employed basis.
April 2014: I go back to London to start my company but looking for some part time work in the meantime. Found nothing.
May 2014: Started working as a freelance social media manager for my brother in law whilst starting my business at the same time. I was getting paid £1500 a month whilst having a mortgage living in London. Don’t ask me how I managed that, but I did!
January 2015: I found myself working 15 hour days for the last 8 months or so. Due to some personal differences with my brother in law’s business partner, my contract with them got cut in half earning me £750 / month.
March 2015: Without a penny to my name, my marriage was falling apart – literally hanging by a thread. One day as I was walking our beloved french bulldog Humphrey (RIP) on a cold day down Cheshire Street in Shoreditch (London) I decided that I was done and I should throw all my energy to my own company. Scary moment. Also, the decision to tell my brother in law that I was done that day didn’t make me many friends but I knew it in my gut that it was what I had to do for me and no one else.
April 2015: My then wife and I sold our Shoreditch / Brick Lane flat. Stupid thing to do… but that’s life!
May 2015: My then wife moves to Spain to work for 2 months.
June 2015: I moved to my brother’s after staying at my inlaws’ for a couple of weeks.
July 2015: My then wife comes back from Spain.
August: 2015: We got divorced.
* To keep distracted I threw myself into my work with focus I had never had before.
October 2015: I was meditating and the thought of moving to Spain entered my head. Spain which was somewhere I’d always wanted to live. I literally looked at flights that day, booked a hotel and 2 days later I came to Spain for a week to look for a flat. Found it, made a transfer for the deposit that day and within 5 days I was back.
November 2015: 2 suitcases and myself move to Spain. Doing what I do I can work from anywhere with an internet connection so my work was never affected.
December 2015: As was sitting on a plane genuinely not sure I had made the right decision about moving, I start talking to someone sat next to me and we realise we have some friends in common in London! We became very good friends, even to this day she is one of my best friends.
* Fast forward a year. Endless fun, reflection, planning, learning, travelling South America, contemplating, looking back, regretting, looking forward, lonely times, great times, meeting new people, getting rid of some people in my life, lots of reading, understanding, self forgiving, having fun…. Dare I say it… finding myself. (Sorry, not sorry)
October 2016: I start a record label. Music has always been a passion of mine.
December 2016: I meet someone in the most random of situations that not only has become my life partner but she is also my best friend. We sometimes don’t even have to talk to each other to know what we’re thinking. Also in December my good friend and I launched a monthly night in Ibiza – something we still do to this day.
February 2017: I break my foot playing football leaving me horizontal for a month.
March 2017: I travel to start some business interests in Hong Kong.
April: 2017: I hire the company’s first full time employee.
June 2017: I purchase my first buy to let property in the UK. I also travel back to Hong Kong to sign on the deal I was chasing there. Got it.
July 2017: My partner and I start talking about starting our digital marketing agency.
September 2017: We start our company Social Parrot with investment from my telecoms company (Redshift).
October 2017: We get our first client on board on SP.
December 2017: We get busier than we ever expected with SP so we get 2 new colleagues on board.
March 2018: Social Parrot increases its income five-fold as we keep growing.
April 2018: My company Redshift Global Communications has the best year financially it has ever had and it’s only increasing month on month.
June 2018: I buy another buy to let property in Valencia, Spain.
July 2018: I’m starting my third company related to telecoms. But can’t talk about this one yet 😉
What’s next? I don’t know… But what I do know is that it’s been a hell of a ride! Some downs but many more ups!
Have I “made it”?….. Nowhere near!
Will I be able to retire comfortably at 50?…. Without question!
Enjoy the ride to whatever your destination is, because it’s the best part. Now in my 34th year of life I have learnt to not worry too much about the future as the future will come whether we want it to or not. Worry about today and be the best you can be today and everything else will fall into place.
This is Life In My Words 