Some people inherit a business. Some inherit the advice that comes with it, the uncle who has seen a bad quarter, the father who knows how to read a balance sheet, the mother who knows which client is about to leave before they say it.
And then some of us inherit nothing but the decision.
I am a first generation entrepreneur, the first in my family to run a business, and the first woman in my bloodline to do it. That sentence sounds like a badge when you say it on a stage. In real life, it feels more like walking into a room where nobody left the lights on.
Here is what I have noticed about sitting in the first chair.
1. You have no one to compare your fear with
When something goes wrong, there is no family story to fall back on. Nobody at the dinner table can say, “This happened to us in 2009 and we survived.” So every problem feels like the first problem in the history of problems. Over time, I have learnt that this is not a sign that I am failing. It is only a sign that I am early.
2. Your family loves you, but they may not understand you
They will ask why you are still working at 10 pm. They will ask when things will “settle.” They will worry in ways that sometimes feel like doubt. Most of the time, it is not doubt. It is love that does not yet have the vocabulary for what you are doing.
3. You become the reference point for others
Without planning it, you become the person a cousin calls when they want to start something. The first chair is not only about you. It quietly makes the second chair possible for someone else.
4. You learn to build your own council
If wisdom is not inherited, it has to be collected. Mentors, peers, business networks, other founders who will tell you the truth over a cup of chai. The family you choose in business becomes as important as the one you were born into.
5. Every small win counts twice
The first invoice paid on time. The first salary credited without a sleepless night. These are not small for us. They are proof that the road exists, because we are the ones laying it.
If you are sitting in a first chair too, I want you to know this: the loneliness is real, but so is the legacy. Someone in your family, years from now, will start something because you did.
And they will have someone to call.
Read More: A Letter to the Girl Who Is Just Starting Out Read More: The Delay Between Clarity and Courage : 5 Things I have Noticed So Far!
Featured image: Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash
