For the past 10 years, Thomas Despin has ventured into just about everything; freelance copywriting, event management, nonprofit startup bicycling, drop shipping, motivational clothing brand for entrepreneurs, and creating a coworking space for entrepreneurs. It took him some time to figure out what exactly he wanted to do but he knew he wanted to use his skill for something meaningful and his latest venture is a testament to it.
Reconnect is a high impact eco resort that offers an authentic and an immersive experience to its visitors all while empowering the local communities and the nature surrounding them. Situated on an island called Buka Buka in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, the retreat is 100% sustainable.
We sat down with Thomas and he shared 3 very valuable lessons he learned through his journey that helped him develop the mindset he has today:
Don’t Make Money the Source of Your Inspiration
Money is an important tool but it is not equivalent to success. When Thomas had started his ecommerce drop shipping business, his goal was to make money and find a way out of constantly being broke and in debt.
He ended up making $750,000 worth of sales in 11 months but closed down the business as his motivation was diminishing. For a person who valued his independence, spending all his days in front of the computer didn’t seem very appealing. He came to realize that in doing business, if you keep trying it’ll be easier the next time. He discovered that it was possible for him to make money at a large scale after which he opened his mind wider, connected with people, and considered other opportunities. This led him to believe that he could do it again and better.
He said, “Making money is one thing, but what we learn and who we become by doing so matters way more.”
Hustling is Overrated
Thomas came to believe that working harder and harder may be unnecessary. In a lot of cases it even leads to burnout. A business needs to have a clear vision and it should streamline its processes. It’s pointless to hustle and work an impractical number of hours per week and then expect results. According to Thomas, once the business is running, entrepreneurs need to work smarter not harder. There are a lot of tasks that can be done to keep yourself busy but it doesn’t necessarily mean that all of them should be done by yourself.
Eventually, a business will need more clarity in its vision and some parts of its operational work will have to be outsourced. It was only after he quit from his ecommerce drop shipping business that he came to realize that it should be clarity and quality over quantity in what he does.
Being Wrong is Necessary
One of Thomas’ key learning was that testing is necessary. It was crucial for him to test products, audiences, and new methods to see which ones would work. He believes the more you test, the more results you get and the more insights you can extract from the results, the more you understand what works.
In the first two months when Thomas had made sales but no profit, he tried to change many things around to see what gave him the results. He adjusted the targets, focused on one product category, upgraded the sales funnel, changed the content strategy, tested ads, and much more. Out of the entire list there were 3 things that had brought change; ad testing, optimization of the sales funnel, and luck.
While it is expected for you to be wrong most of the time, according to Thomas, mistakes give you data which leads you to make better decisions.
It’s not very often that you see people closing down a profitable business willingly. The only thing he felt bad about what that the people who worked with him lost their jobs. However, his mindset had developed with the 3 key lessons throughout his journey and he was open to embracing it all as part of the adventure. Thomas became more confident than ever that his lessons would lead him to build more meaningful and impactful businesses in future.
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