Training in my mind
2024.08.10.

Exactly one month ago, on July 8th, I posted that I would be happy to walk with others in the Mecsek while walking my dog. I’d walk and talk about the other person, their business, the things they’re stuck with, or the questions they have but don’t have confident answers to. Surprisingly, many people showed interest and signed up; I already have walking companions scheduled through October. Friends, close and distant acquaintances reached out, saying how great this initiative is. How important it is to have an honest, agenda-free conversation.

But why do I do it?

In 2019, when I sold my company, I decided to give up entrepreneurship and become an athlete. An internationally recognized athlete. Why not? It’s also an intriguing question as to what my motivation was in this—why sports? What and who was I trying to prove something to? How much was I driven by the competitive spirit, the desire to excel in an area where I hadn’t achieved anything special before? But there’s another question that was important to me.

Why don’t I want to start another company?

I didn’t want to be an entrepreneur anymore. Never again. Had I had enough, burned out? Was I tired? Did I feel inadequate for it? No, none of that. I was simply afraid. Afraid of failure. What if the new company isn’t successful? What will the naysayers say? That, see, he wasn’t that clever after all, he just got lucky with the first one. After all, it was easy for me. Easy in hindsight. Always. And from the outside too. Especially in hindsight. So I was afraid that if the new company failed, its failure would overshadow the success of my previous company. It would take that away from me.

But then what should I do?

I love entrepreneurship. And this sports thing... it can wait. There will be Olympics later too; I might try it at 60 or 70. Maybe. By then, there will be fewer competitors 😊 Maybe. So I love entrepreneurship, but I don’t know what to do! What would be a good start if I no longer want to work 10-14 hours a day, if I don’t want to build a team again, worry about balancing revenue and expenses... I just want to create something. But what? This question started to become pressing for me in the fall of 2022. Kovács Judit helped me a lot during this time as we talked about my journey. She suggested making this process public, voicing my thoughts. That’s when my YouTube channel was created.

I love talking about business.

Somehow, the inquiries started coming in. From a friend, a former colleague, a friend of a friend, a participant at an event. They approached me with a question, which led to more questions, and eventually, some of these conversations have been ongoing for two years now. In 2023, I gathered all my previous work and created a website. I started mentoring. Pro bono. I was interested in what I still love to do, even without getting paid for it. I was curious about what this activity gave me. What is truly important to me? I didn’t have an answer; I just felt these conversations were valuable. But I also felt I didn’t want to continue doing this pro bono for more than a year. Starting in 2024, I would only do it on a business basis!

But who would pay for this?

2024 arrived, and it turned out. The number of earlier meetings decreased; we said goodbye to some people. Some didn’t want to continue, some unfortunately couldn’t afford it, and some just disappeared. And, of course, some stayed, so the mentoring continued. Six months passed, and something was missing. I missed the conversations. Or rather, I felt I wanted more—I wanted to meet new people, hear and read about what they’re going through. 2023 was filled with so many different business situations I was let into. What could be the solution?

Freemium model

How can a paid service be made free and widely accessible without harming the paid part? I’ll give a block of my time for free. Two hours every week. And whoever wants to can come, and we can chat. Not for them, for me. I need this. I need it too. But why? And here’s another question that occupies my mind. What do these conversations give me? Do they boost my sense of importance? Am I bored? Am I isolated? Do I miss my corporate life? Of course, I have immediate answers to each of these, but I don’t know to what extent each plays a role. However, I do know one thing:

It keeps me in shape.

These conversations keep me engaged in the entrepreneurial life, even though I’m not actively in it. Despite being a co-owner in several companies, despite sometimes handling individual tasks independently for one of my companies, I am not an entrepreneur today. But I want to be one again! I want to create something and make money with it again. Something I love doing. Just like I love these conversations. I want to build a business out of this. How? I don’t know. Not yet. But while I’m in these conversations, hearing the problems and questions firsthand, I feel a bit like I’m part of it too. My mind is racing.

The article was translated from Hungarian to English by ChatGPT. Thank you, ChatGPT, for being here.