When You Know It’s a Good Time to Leave Your Start-up
In January 2021, after 3 years of running my online wine start-up, I stepped down, I’m writing this article to you to tell you why I did it, and why it’s not that scary to leave a business you’ve created.
My journey here started out in 2011 a London wine merchant in Battersea — I turned up as a fresh-faced, enthusiastic 20-year-old wine blogger armed with a notebook and gasping to taste absolutely everything in the warehouse.
After many WSET books read, and reading Jancis Robinsons world atlas of wine several times, I thought with no website, how an earth will this business survive! Many failed attempts at suggesting that the business will not organically grow without an e-commerce solution, I left the business and moved onto my next wine job.
Fast forward 5 years later and having worked my way around the wine trade like a rash, I went out to start a company of my own — online! My plan was to shake up the wine industry, it was always known for being stuffy, and run by the red trouser brigade, personally, I saw a different approach, and this was the beginning of my climb up a very large unknown mountain.
After a year of growing my online empire from my kitchen, I had to upscale, this meant paying actual overheads, this was the only way I saw that I could increase demand for my products.
Larger space, more stock = more orders right…?
A year of hopping around warehouses in and out of London, annoying my suppliers with constant address changes, I had a cunning plan to merge my business with a struggling wholesaler, the largest problem at the time, was finding one!
A few months of searching through the world wide web and messaging wine friends, I found one! So, in January 2020 I merged my start-up, with a family business. I was struggling with a permanent location, they were struggling with sales, collectively we saw a perfect fit for success.
Just 3 months in, I was being threatened left right and centre — this family did not know how to manage people, there’s no wonder why the business was struggling! It seemed that they cared more about their reputation and instagram followers, than the actual day to day goings on of the business…Many feelings of being manipulated to doing things I didn't feel were right, and many unconstructive meetings later, I was no longer as invested as when I began…
Like lots of people, 2020 brought a lot of time to reflect
For the good or the bad, reflection can be a wonderful thing, for me; I realised that I loved working in a peaceful environment, I was not created to work in a commercial office, with tonnes going on around me. I was put on this earth to build mastery in my own form, and for others, also with others that were on a similar page.
2020 was a terribly hard year for us all, with a global pandemic going on, this gave me a lot of time to reflect on what really mattered to me; family, friends, and where I am in my career.
This is when you realise what’s holding you back.
This was a really hard one for me to grasp, I had poured blood, sweat and tears (and a lot of money) into this business.
My best piece of advice to you in this situation is:
Whatever you decide, your decision gets easier the moment you make the first step.
What I can take with me from 2020:
Being an entrepreneur is really hard work, it’s a serious mental strain actually, you will learn a lot about yourself very quickly. Sometimes you’ll be on different parts of the mountain, and sometimes you may feel like you want to quit.
As I head off on my next adventure.
It really was the greatest honour being the wine guy, I will continue to serve wine businesses through my Wine Marketing Agency; Market Jar, however now is my time to step down from this side of the wine trade.
Finally… a heartfelt thank you.
I know it’s overused but this is a heartfelt message; during the last 3 years at my start-up; Pull The Cork; I’ve travelled to some of the most beautiful places on earth to find you some incredible wines, and worked with the most wonderfully talented and humble artisans at the very top of their game.
I’ve made friends and memories for life and I’m forever grateful for that.
I hope you have enjoyed my dyslexic ramblings,
James Nathan, Wine Guy, Marketing Guy, and Cote Rotie enthusiast.
PS. If you have any friends looking for advise, or help in growing their start-up, please let them know what I’m up to. My email is: James (@) Marketjar.co.uk
