What nobody talks about when starting a business.

Leaving a business you founded is not easy and something I had not ever prepared myself for.

Many will tell you that setting up a business is hard, and it is. Those who are serious will do anything, just ask my wife… she remembers it all in vivid detail!

Three weeks after the birth of our third child I came home to say, “I have given up our only source of income, I am re-mortgaging the house, I have committed all our savings, cashed in my Army pension, maxed all the credits cards, borrowed money from family and finally we’ll need to cancel all holiday plans.” She stopped crying about two weeks later. That is what happened; all from the kitchen table in a suburb of Brisbane, Australia.

I am not a sentimental person but when the kitchen table finally gave out, I cut it up and framed part of it which still hangs in the GWI office to this day. It was an important reminder of the challenges faced when starting a business; the risk, the stress, the mass of barriers placed in the way, the sleepless nights, all spent at the family kitchen table.

Setting up a business is tough but not as hard as leaving a business you founded – my current journey.

For the past 10 years, I have lived and breathed the data and information consulting business that is now GWI. From the early days of employing the first person, explaining to people why data was so important to their business, signing the first lease and dealing with a cash flow crisis, through to the major rebrand and now to ‘letting go’. It’s been a magnificent 10 years, a complete rollercoaster of a ride and an adventure that has shaped the way I view both business and myself today.

Letting go is difficult because when you start a business it becomes a way of life and just like the range of emotions at the start of the journey, nothing prepares you for the end of the journey.

It’s difficult to stay quiet when you know you can help but it’s even better to let others flourish. Seeing the exceptional work that GWI delivers makes me very proud. Many business founders stay far too long; their personality and style, whilst a great asset at the start, is often a distraction in the later years.

It’s now time for me to step out officially from an operational role. I have been taking steps away from GWI over the last few months and will slowly cease working in the business over the next few months.

GWI is all grown up, with some 50-plus staff in locations around Australia, solving complex data issues for clients in the top 50 of the ASX and highest levels of government. My daily energy is shifting towards some very exciting data-centric ventures – so I am not retiring any day soon!

Thank you to everyone at GWI, especially the CEO and business partner, Neil Makepeace; to the wonderful clients, supporters, and finally my wife who has been a rock throughout the entire journey.

The GWI journey is going from strength to strength onto to its next stage and I know it there are great things ahead for the business.