The Fellowship

More than a year ago, I emailed a group of entrepreneurs who had just started their new venture. They were happy to meet up and we (D, H and I) chatted over a cuppa at Novena Square Starbucks. Unknowingly, we chatted for 3 hours and the time just flew by.

A few weeks ago, by chance, we met at a seminar where they were giving a talk. We promised each other to meet up again. It took us almost 2 weeks to find a slot that we were able to meet up. One of the reason was because we expected the chat to be 3 hours long again so we needed an uninterrupted block of 3 hours and more! :p

Finally, we found a slot where we were all available yesterday and met at a cafe near their office.

As D was busy and can only join us at a later time, so H and I chatted and do some catching up first. 10 minutes into the chat, H received a call from a client who wanted to come and sign contract and make payment. I signaled H to go ahead with the meeting. I know every single client is important, especially in the current financial climate. H promised me it'll only take 5 minutes but I told him to take as long as required.

I took out a book and started reading. H's meeting with the client only ended about an hour later. He was very apologetic but I told him it was alright and I totally understand. In fact, other than reading the book, I even took the opportunity to arrange my business meetings with client for next week and called my staff and talked about work.

A while later, D finally joined us. While we chatted, we took turns to yawn. It was not because our talk was uninteresting but it was because we were all exhausted by our venture. We gave each other a knowing and understanding smile and we continued chatting. Running your venture is physically demanding, so much so that I had been thought to look 3 years older than my current age. Maybe the 9 years of entrepreneurship has took its toil. :p

Even though we were tired but we were fueled by our dreams and passion. It is the passion and the belief that tomorrow will be a better day that keep us motivated.

Like my friend had said, "Every day is a day closer to ruling the world!"

We traded "war" stories, talked about the difficult clients and even our revenue numbers! We discussed how we can move forward, the recession, politics, our industry in general. We also gave pointers about each others business model. We also talked about our goals and our plans. It was a very comfortable chat. It had been a while since I've chatted with like-minded people.

Then D had to leave after he received a call. We gave each other a heartfelt handshake and a knowing smile. The work never stops and duty has called.

I continued to chat with H for another hour until his girlfriend called. It was already night time. We had chatted for 4, 5 hours. H had to leave as his girlfriend was waiting for him in his office. We promised that we should meet again in the near future.

I left the meeting feeling refreshed and cleansed. It is a great feeling chatting with fellow like-minded people where the pursuit of money and wealth is not our ultimate goals. We are dreamers and we are fueled by our passion.

I feel a sense of kinship and camaraderie with them... this is my fellowship of entrepreneurs.