Don’t be afraid to wipe the slate clean to help you move forward

Even your business needs a spring clean every now and then, writes Manar Al Hinai.

In 711 AD, Chief Commander Tariq bin Ziyad was sent by Musa ibn Nusayr, the governor in Africa during the Umayad Islamic Caliphate, to conquer Andulas, Spain. When he arrived with an army of about 12,000 men, he set fire to their fleet of ships.

He famously told his troops: “The sea is behind you and the enemy is in front”.

Some might label that as a risky move. He left his troops with no exit strategy and faced one option only, and that was to fight. The army won the first battle, and Tariq’s army eventually conquered a large portion of Spain.

As entrepreneurs, there are many times when we are faced with a major challenge – something so important that we have to set our boats on fire just as Commander Tariq did, leaving no option to go back. It is about making a firm decision to go on and never look back.

As I have paved my way through entrepreneurship – especially in the early days when I was trying to find out what I wanted to pursue – I have burned a few boats along the way. One boat that comes to mind was just before I launched my communications consultancy business.

I was at a crossroads and did not know whether I was ready to officially launch the business. The first web version of the enterprise was designed and ready, but I did not like it one bit.

Friends told me it did not really matter, that a website is only a window, a way for potential customers to get in touch with me and it was not important if the top menu did not look perfect.

“Exactly” was my thought. It was a window, a first point of contact, and that was why it was important to me. I was not comfortable with that design. Although I had invested in the template and stood to lose money, it did not matter to me because it did not feel right. I tried to save as much of what had already been created to include it in my new template. Eventually, though, I ended up paying for a new template, and some additional features. Was I comfortable? Absolutely. It was simple, direct and told the story as it should be told.

This is the thing with entrepreneurship. Sometimes you have to make a decision and burn down everything you have to achieve your goal.

Think of it like the time you conducted a spring clean in your house, or when you were about to move to a new place. I recently carried out this exercise. I had accumulated too much stuff for my room, so I grabbed things from my closets and threw them onto a pile. I discovered I was holding on to things that no longer made sense to me; things that were just taking up space in my wardrobe or drawers with absolutely no use. Eventually I disposed of the mountainous pile in the centre of my room. The result: a less cluttered room that feels good to be in with extra space for newer, more meaningful things.

If you feel you are being held back from achieving your desired goals, it might be time to reevaluate matters. The best way to do this is to grab a journal, or a whiteboard, and write down your goals without thinking about what others might say or worrying about the money already spent. You will figure out a way later.

For now, what do you want to achieve? Do you have the resources to do it? If so, what is holding you back from achieving that goal? Could it be because you are managing a sick business that has not been generating enough profit and you want to get rid of it?

Then write down all the possibilities that could come about if you burned your boats and went ahead. Will you, by taking that jump expand your business, attract new clients and take your business to the next level? If so, then go ahead and burn your boats.

What that exercise reveals might surprise you. It should not take more than 30 minutes or so, but reevaluating matters, could end up saving you a lot of time, and help you reach your desired destination faster.

Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer and communications consultant based in Abu Dhabi. Twitter: @manar_alhinai.

Follow The National's Business section on Twitter