On Sunday I found out that an old friend was in his final moments. This wonderful chap lives in Cornwall.

I spoke to him on Sunday and he said, “I’d like to shake your hand one last time.”

So I got in my camper van and started the drive.

A few things have rustled up my thoughts this week from the journey of life as an entrepreneur.

I’ve had some punches and some wins. Standard stuff really.

The bipolar-like internal emotions that come with this gig are undeniable.

I’ll admit, the last six months have been a real challenge. I’ve shared that more honestly here than anywhere else in my content, more than I would tell friends and family.

The cost and responsibility are monumental. Millions of pounds flow in and out of our bank accounts every week.

The lion’s share goes straight to the Government through their preposterous turnover taxes and then the wage bill.

Over the past eight weeks, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect.

Being bed bound forces you to slow down and think more than usual.

As the years in business roll by, I have realised a couple of things.

Good news and bad news hit you in equal measure.

The real win, in hindsight, is that we learn far more from failure and bad news than we do from good news.

As I run a much larger business now, I have to discipline disappointment every single day.

Let’s play a game. A game of Guess who! 

Riddle me this, who’s got….

• Year on year growth.

• £850m profit off £6.3bn in sales.

• Been around for 44 years. 

• No drama.

• No reinvention of the wheel.

• Just steady, disciplined improvement.

Who am I talking about?

After the Second World War, the Japanese became an exceptionally resourceful bunch.

Like the Germans, they recovered from defeat and went on to build fast-growing economies. Disaster led to greatness.

Today, both countries still command impressive economic strength.

Japan particularly interests me, especially their philosophy of Kaizen.

Some new lows for me this week…

“Tracey… can you put my sock on?”

That’s my PA. Never would I have imagined that would be a request. I wasn’t ready for her to see my hairy big toe.

I was proud as punch that I’d managed to get myself dressed with one leg down, but the sock got the better of me.

The day I put my sock on is the day I know I’m back.

I’ve lost a month. Absolutely diabolical.

When you factor in the lull over Christmas, then add me playing the character of Hop-along, spending more time on crutches than in my businesses… it’s driven me to despair.

No, I don’t want to Netflix and chill.

I want to get up and go.

What does it feel like to see a bone pop out of your skin?

What does taking drugs in epic proportions feel like when you have never taken drugs before?

What happens when you carry more responsibility than most people and are completely incapacitated for a week?

What is it like to be cut open and have surgeons say “we love your videos” as the last thing you remember?

As the year draws to a close, I’d like to reflect on some of my biggest lessons for you to swipe and deploy.

The overriding lesson is that both macro and micro tasks are essential for staying in the game long term.

The big lesson of the weekend was the sheer and utter amazement that is Ryanair.

We did not check in. We thought we would just do it at the airport as we were checking bags in.

Wrong.

£55 fine per person.

£220 fine for not checking in online.

Unbelievable.

Then I was subject to a new class of customer service: what I can only describe as cattle-class service.

I read a fascinating article about Nokia. If you are 35 or older, you will remember when they dominated the early days of mobile phones.

Text messages and Snake. It was everything.

We became obsessed and controlled by this new trinket. Nokia was cool. They were the Nike of phones and tech.

Then they weren’t.

If you are a business owner or you earn an above-average salary, you will face a trade-off.

I can almost guarantee it.

The trade-off is less family time, more stress, greater commitment, more anxiety and more time spent doing things you do not want to do.

You know what?

I’ve been sending letters like these to the good folk of the entrepreneurial community for some time.

I know you enjoy it when I open up and tell you my secrets, my struggles and my biggest wins. The day to day just is not that exciting.

We as humans love the unusual. We love the rare. We lean in to ultimate losses and ultimate wins.

Discovery, and being the first to know something, gets our juices flowing.

Frustrated?

Consider this: have you got the right people in the right seats?

Many business owners hit glass ceilings. They cannot break £100k revenue, or £1m, £3m or £10m. You know the sentiment.

The solution is always E plus M equals S (entrepreneurship plus management equals success).

You know what, I’ve felt really good this week. A weekend of planning and writing gave me a real push.

Clarity plus action puts me in the best setup for success.

The formula for change is very simple. You need a powerful vision and you need first steps that are stronger than resistance.

It’s been a difficult six months, but I can see the light and there’s heaps of it.

I need to generate more cash to keep up with the constant onslaught of overheads.

Here are some facts for you:

My companies are spending £600k a year on insurance, £500k on software, and £2 million on head office staff.

As my FD totted up the numbers and presented them in a freshly bound pack, I realised we’d become something of a giant.

In the first six months of this year, we did £10 million more in sales compared to last year - and yet, we basically stood still on profits.

Rachel’s new taxes have kicked in.

Dig deep and find those minutes, you’ll need just 90 of them a day.

If you’re in business and things aren’t going the way you want, join the club.

That’s the daily reality for entrepreneurs. The constant jostle against whatever storms come our way is part of the job.

The rollercoaster of ups and downs is part of the territory.

Running a broad range of companies has changed my leadership style - it had to.

You can’t have over 2,000 people all around the world, as we do now, and still expect to operate with the same maverick approach you had when it all began.

I’ve often said when teams get beyond 6 people then 12 people changes occur. 

The past six months have been relentless.

I often think long and hard about my effectiveness, and that naturally leads me to think about the effectiveness of my businesses.

I know one of my companies is doing well when it doesn’t need me to stick my oar in.

That’s the hallmark of greatness: when you genuinely have a commercially profitable enterprise that works without you.