Vicky Hamilton is the Inventor of Recoil Kneepads, a company which she began developing as a student at the University of Strathclyde, with the support of Strathclyde Inspire. In this blog, she reflects on the similarities between her entrepreneurial journey and experience of running a marathon.
I have always loved a good challenge, and I think that’s why I’ve found the entrepreneurial journey so appealing. I love pushing myself to achieve things I didn’t think I was capable of, or things that not many people have done. I love overcoming challenges and feeling the adrenaline of reaching a massive high. Proving that I CAN do something – even when others have doubted it - is an incredible feeling.
I often describe entrepreneurship as a roller coaster – it has exhilarating highs, but there can also be devastating lows. The entrepreneurial journey can be a challenge at times, but it can be the most rewarding journey you will ever go on. The journey will look different for everyone, but there a couple of key life lessons that come out of it that will impact you positively in so many ways and in every aspect of life. This has never been more apparent to me than in my recent training for the Edinburgh Marathon. The mindset you develop when embarking on the entrepreneurial journey and the mindset you need when training for a marathon is exceptionally similar.
The first similarity is that you can work to develop the skills necessary, provided you stay focussed mentally. It’s really all about mindset. Whether that be in sport, fitness, work or life, it’s a combination of consistency, dedication, and determination. I’m not a runner - never have been - I quite often came last in school athletics events! Running a marathon always interested me, but I genuinely didn’t think I could do it. 26.2 miles just sounded so unachievable when I couldn’t even do 3 miles non-stop. But reflecting on the lessons I’ve learned in the entrepreneurial journey, it is all about figuring out what you want to achieve and what you need to do to get there, then making a plan of small, repeatable actions and sticking to it until you reach your goal. It may mean getting up at 6am, working late, eating a specific diet, or making sacrifices on social time… There’s no right or wrong approach. The key is to find a plan that works for you and your life and stick to it! That’s all; mental endurance. It’s easy to sway from the plan, but staying focussed will get you to where you need to be.
The second similarity is that progress comes in small steps - so celebrate the small wins. This is something I probably haven’t done enough on my entrepreneurial journey as it can be harder to pinpoint, but in marathon training the milestones were much more apparent. I started with 5K and 10K’s a few years ago, then last October I decided to push myself to do a half marathon. Every time I managed a distance, I thought “well if I’ve done that…I may as well do this… 10K became achievable after 5K, half marathon became achievable after 10K, and a marathon became achievable after a half marathon. When you take on a new challenge, remember you don’t have to dive right into the marathon…build up to it in stages, one step at a time. My advice for entrepreneurs is to identify the milestones in your journey and celebrate each one – it can be easy to skip over them as you’re always focused on the next step.
The third similarity between running a marathon and entrepreneurship, is that everyone is on their own personal journey. We’re all running our own race – in life, in work and in sport. During marathon training, everyone asks “what’s your time?”. My times weren’t anything special. So, I was often told, “you can do it quicker than that”. Maybe I could have, but I was running to achieve the distance, enjoy the atmosphere, and raise some money for charity. If I had run faster, I would have been more likely to become burnt out or injured and might not have finished. I stuck with a pace I was comfortable with. We all have different goals, reasons, and motivations. Ensure you know yours, and don’t be influenced by someone else’s in your own race.
The fourth and final similarity is that I never expected myself to embark on this journey. I never imagined myself running a marathon, and there were plenty of wobbles along the way and reasons to quit. I had the same experience with my business. There were lots of hurdles that could have caused me to quit on my entrepreneurial journey, but I stuck with it because of the words of encouragement and reassurance from people around that gave me self-belief.
My final piece of advice is that whatever you do, always do it with good people around you. People you trust implicitly, and people who can push you to be a better version of yourself! Never underestimate good people and the influence they can have on you.
