Turn your frustrations into a business idea

How did my business start off? As an accumulation of many small frustrations that pushed me towards finding a solution. Let me explain...

I’ve always been an entrepreneurial-minded, determined person. Two years after getting my university degree in social work, I opened my own private practice while still maintaining my full-time job at a youth centre. Soon my private practice became a going concern and I suddenly found myself working more than 60 hours a week and trying to reconcile these two facets of my career.

It was then that my frustrations started popping up. As any entrepreneur will tell you, when you have your own business most of your time will be dedicated to running it. But in my life, there were all kinds of daily situations that were also demanding some of my time! Mowing the lawn, walking the dog, finding someone to do renovations, hemming your pants... Basically, all those tasks you would love to be able to delegate to someone else.

I couldn’t believe that there wasn’t a platform where you could simply post what you needed done and people with the competence or interest could offer their services to do the job. 

“So one morning, after endless disappointments and wasted time, I said to myself, “Okay, I’m going to invent this thing!” That was Day 1 of my new business.” 
 

I quickly learned that creating a web and mobile platform was not as easy as I first thought. The first step was to find a good programmer to create the platform, which I had wisely drawn up by hand in its totality on paper. There are tons of programmers out there of every stripe and it takes a lot of patience to find the one that corresponds to your needs. In my experience this involved a bit of trial and error, given that I had no experience with or understanding of the tech world. Slowly and with a lot of determination, I started to familiarize myself with computer languages. I surrounded myself with a dynamic group of people who were as determined as I was, including programmers, graphic designers, communications specialists, marketing people and a great mentor to guide me.

One year later, Jobtobe was finally up and running on the web, and will soon be a mobile app (in mid-June), with an enthusiastic, motivated and innovative team. Obviously Jobtobe is the focus of my work at the moment. I sold my house, closed my private practice, handed in my notice at the youth centre, and am now 100 percent dedicated to Jobtobe. I probably don’t have to tell you that I was one of the first users of my site and will continue to be for the next five or 10 years, and even longer.

In closing, I sincerely believe anyone can start a business, no matter where you live or what your skill-level or position. The key is to identify a need, to find a good team and really believe in your idea.