An Entrepreneur’s Thoughts this Diwali

Welcome, dear Festival of Lights! Though you have been simply devalued into a festival of cacophony at all levels one can think of, I will still focus on the Light bit. Because that is what people like me value and find strength in.

Every step into the unknown means we traverse darkness till we see the Light. And if we don’t, we just decide to see it in our heads, believe that it exists. And maybe it is at the next corner, after the next bump or just beyond the next wall, real or imaginary.

I look back on the year gone by and I am going to light a candle for every time we experienced darkness.

A lovely yellow candle for the affluent clients who seemed exemplary and trustworthy, at first, but didn’t pay us after the project was delivered. May you earn so much that you never have to do that again, to any small business.

A large diya for the funded companies that went bankrupt, leaving behind a trail of unpaid and confused employees, vendors and angry investors. Go in peace.

A string of lights to the GST decision makers who didn’t think how hard it would be for small businesses. But our company made it to the top 10% of GST payers; we are proud of that!

A beautiful blue candle for clients who let go of us or those we let go of. Sometimes things are just the way they are.

A bright orange diya for every person who has moved on from the team. You brought us joy when you were around.

A fluorescent lamp for myself when I didn’t see my colleagues suffering or when I was unable to help. It will remind me to not be self-wrapped.

Ah, see, all that darkness vanquished! Now, here are some candles for every time we saw light.

A bouquet of lights for our product that has reached a really good place, after blinding walks through intense darkness.

A welcome diya for every new client who signed us up. We are grateful to you.

A row of bright lamps for our old clients who kept the faith in us and kept us going. What would we be without you? We are blessed to have you.

A lovely large candle for every person we met at INBOUND17. You gave us insights, hope and confidence.

A beautiful diya for everyone on my team. You give meaning to my life everyday.

And one for our families in the seen and unseen ways they support us.

And one each for my business partners. If I had to do this all over again, I would choose you guys. Again.

And one little diya for myself, to remind me that I am part of that Light that connects us all. To remind me that this little one is enough. And that it can beat any darkness. Just give it time.

Keep shining!

Happy Diwali!

This is a guest post by Suma E P: With over 22 years of work experience behind her, 12+ of that running an agency, Suma is focused on building products and services for inbound and account based marketing. She writes, she learns, she listens, she talks, but mostly she likes to laugh.