The reason to take the plunge into a new venture is also what gets you through the struggles of the first year. Here’s my secret to both as a founder in an uncharted industry.

entrepreneur, start-up, inspiring, journey, success, challenges, perseverance, innovation, motivation, lessons, passion, failure, growth, advice, mentorship

If you're a new founder and you're against those challenges of the first year, or if you haven't started your business yet and you're wondering if you should take the plunge, this one should be for you. I'm Talia Cotton. I'm a designer, coder, educator, public speaker, and most recently, a creative entrepreneur. A little over a year ago, I founded Cotton, a design and technology agency focused around coding as a design medium, which for those of you who know anything about the industry, that's kind of a new concept. Now here's the secret. The answer to how do you know if it's the right time to start a business is actually the same answer to how do you get through the challenges of the first year. For me, what it comes down to is the vision. If you feel like as you start your business, this thing that I'm doing is necessary. It needs to happen. I can't keep doing what I'm doing on the side with the knowledge that this can be a thing with me and me alone starting it, then that's a good sign because when things get tough after you start your business, which it will, you're going to keep going back to that vision and that's going to be the thing that keeps pulling you through. A bit about me is before starting Cotton, I left my leadership position at Pentagram, one of the biggest and most renowned design firms. People almost couldn't believe it and neither could I, but I needed to do it because I saw a gap in the industry and I knew that with my unique background in coding and design, I knew only I could fill it. Cotton would finally create a focused place for the intersection of design and technology as I had seen it, and it would create a workplace for those who would want to do the same, and it has. But then when things got tough in my company, which it always does, there was too much work, I was undercharging just to get the projects, it was really tough. I was working long hours, I felt very alone as people tend to in their first year, but what got me through was really just that continuous reminder that this needed to happen. I needed to go through these challenges to fulfill my vision of creating that place for designers and coders to work together. So what this all comes down to is this, everyone has a different reason for starting a company, not all of you are creative, some of you are running a startup, some of you are in technology, some in marketing, some in finance, who knows what you're in. But I hope that you can listen to this and appreciate that, you know, starting a business is not easy. The first year is about laying that foundation and it requires resilience and persistence. You will face moments of doubt, we all do, but remember that every successful entrepreneur has been there. The difference is they kept on going, they believed in their vision, and they let it guide them through those tough times. When you have a vision that's strong, it becomes your anchor. So whenever you feel overwhelmed, go back to that vision, it's your guiding light. And if you're on the fence about starting a business, let that vision be your deciding factor. If it feels necessary, if you can't imagine not pursuing it, then it's time to take the leap. All right, everyone, that's it for now. You got this.

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