When I saw this post-it note on here by James Caan of Dragons Den fame, it really resonated with me, and I’ve been thinking about it over the weekend.

It took me 20 years to build my tech business to a point when I was ready to exit, on my terms, to the team I wanted to own it and at a price I was comfortable with.

It was a journey, not a long weekend.

And I enjoyed the journey, the people I met, the people I employed, the customers we helped, the suppliers and partners we worked with and the professional services partners we worked with.

Yet with the advent of social media and all the ‘amazing’ stories we read, it sometimes feels like all entrepreneurs should be able to become billionaires overnight.

Yet how many of those do you know? I’ve never met one. Sure, it does happen very, very occasionally, but it’s not the norm.

Most of the successful entrepreneurs and business leaders I have met and worked with who have had a successful exit have ground it out over many years - that’s the norm, and that’s the reality.

They can sleep at night (except when the occasional and inevitable stress crops up), they can hold their heads high, they are respected by their team, and as a result, they can enjoy the spoils of their efforts with their family and friends.

They didn’t expect overnight success, they took their time to build a great business, they didn’t lie, use or manipulate people, and they didn’t sell their soul.

They knew they were on a journey, not an overnighter or a long weekend.

These are the types of business leaders we work with and help at Pabasso.

If this resonates with you and you would like to find out more about the value  MDs and CEOs of Yorkshire-based SMEs get from being part of Pabasso - Peer Advisory Board Associates, then please drop me a note at rad@pabasso.com. We can arrange a confidential chat to see if we can help you achieve your goals.

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