Looking back to when I started Reckon 30 years ago with a maxed out credit card, a bank loan against a busted-up Holden Commodore and a big idea, it all seemed pie in the sky. Today Reckon is a publicly listed ASX company with strong growth employing over 500+ people across the world and a big, bright, exciting future.
However, there are many things I wish I could have told my younger self when the start up was in those first initial years. As the facts tell us, a large number of businesses won’t make their first five years. There is definitely not a one size fits all solution but I wish I had someone I could have leaned on to provide me with a few insights that would could have added a few extra hours sleep to my life.
- Be Brave – as clichéd as it might sound this could not be more true. In a market full of sheep don’t be afraid to go against the norm and challenge the status quo. I’ve made many business decisions early on in my career where I relied a lot on my gut instinct. Granted not everything worked but it helped me to be more strategic and focused moving forward.
My goal for Reckon was to enter the market and disrupt everything that was being done in the accounting profession. I wanted to bring businesses, accountants, bookkeepers, banks and customers together to create a brave new connected community. I could see an opportunity to strip back complex accounting platforms to create user friendly software that utilised the latest technology to deliver a personal and productive.
For many small businesses this often involves taking that first step and turning your passions or dreams into a functioning business, but my advice just do it, anything worth its salt will often be a challenge and if it means enough to you, you will withstand the storm.
- Journal your thoughts – there’s something to be said about the tool that has been used by some of the greatest leaders of our time to channel their thoughts. I have used journaling throughout my career to align myself with my goals and help me focus and prioritise so Reckon would grow at a consistent rate.
I would write down my week ahead then break down my time accordingly. The key was being realistic with the time I had and knowing how long I needed to dedicate to a task to get the outcome I wanted. It also provided me an outlet to reflect on what we were doing well and the areas that we needed to pivot our focus.
- Learn through trial and error – nine times out of ten nothing that is successful goes right the first time. I can’t put into words how many hours it took me to get our first product right, it was a fundamental step in getting Reckon to the place it needed to be before entering the market and something we still do today when evolving our new offerings.
We now live in a society where everything is expected to be perfect the first time but what we’ve forgotten is that the process of learning often involves making mistakes and it’s these mistakes that make us better.
- You can’t be an expert at everything – When new to business or building your first start up you often don’t have the funds needed to hire the experts in finance or marketing. More often than not, you will be wearing all of the hats without an ounce of experience. I learnt quickly that although I knew a lot about the accounting world there were a number of business functions where I had no idea what I was doing. You might be the best plumber, graphic designer or electrical contractor in the market but that counts for nothing if you can’t balance the books.
- Don’t be afraid to get advice or better yet ask for help – let’s be honest, asking for advice isn’t always easy. We want to handle everything on our own but it goes back to what I said earlier about being brave. It is important that you can acknowledge that there is always room to evolve yourself and learn.
Good advice from someone you trust can completely transform the way you think, the approach you take and the outcome of the project. It’s about a balance between your gut feelings and relying too heavily on the opinions of others so always be mindful that it’s a fine line.
Reckon operates today in the same way that we did 30 years ago, we haven’t lost that entrepreneurial spirit we started out with and the grit, energy and boundless excitement that any business owner knows. So be brave, learn from your mistakes and get back up after that first fail.
About the author
Greg Wilkinson co-founded Reckon in 1987 and has over 30 years experience in the computer software industry. He is also an investor and mentor to a number of cloud based start-up companies.
