Page 223 - The $100 Startup_ Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love
P. 223
Jonathan Pincas
The Tapas Lunch Company
Spain and Norwich, United Kingdom
The big day for us was August 20, 2008, also known as the day when we
realized our dream of moving back to my partner’s native Spain. When we
set up the company in England in 2005, it was with the aim of eventually
being able to move back to Spain and run the business remotely, although
we weren’t sure how long this would take. We had set up a perfect
infrastructure, with cloud-based business management software, VoIP
telephones, and so on, but the logistics of outsourcing was proving the
biggest hurdle. We couldn’t find a company that could deal with the
complexity of 250 different products, most of which were labeled in
Spanish.
When we finally managed to set up the contracted logistics operation and
drove away from the warehouse knowing that we no longer had to do all the
shipping ourselves and that the following day we were getting on a boat to
Spain, I knew we had achieved what we set out to do.
As I traveled the world meeting our group of unexpected entrepreneurs, I heard
story after story like these. Over and over, they echoed a similar theme: When
you have these moments, hold on to them. They provide encouragement and
positive reinforcement when times are hard.
The $100 Recap
Before we close it out, let’s look back at the key lessons of this book. First and
most important, the quest for personal freedom lies in the pursuit of value for
others. Get this right from the beginning and the rest will be much easier.
Always ask, “How can I help people more?”
Borrowing money to start a business, or going into debt at all, is now
completely optional. Like many of the people you met in this book, you can start
your own microbusiness for $100 or less.
Focus relentlessly on the point of convergence between what you love to do
and what other people are willing to pay for. Remember that most core needs are
emotional: We want to be loved and affirmed. Relate your product or service to
