One mistake I did early into my business was allowing myself to be directed by my partners’ vision instead of my own.

I was the youngest partner, and I allowed myself to be dragged into my partners’ dreams. Although we started off as equal partners, I gradually slipped into a more assistant like role, running errands for my partners who were almost twice my age.

I often got the blame, and seldom received credit. How could I? Any mistakes were placed on me because I was… ‘inexperienced’. Any credit was given back to them because, how could it be because of my effort?

After almost two years later, I realized it wasn’t something I could continue doing. I couldn’t spend all my life being an assistant. I needed to spend all my time on my vision, not theirs.

I left my role as a sailor and took up the role of captain.

It’s easy to left yourself get carried away by people who appear to have more experience than you. But unless they see you as their equal, more experience can sometimes mean a larger gap between you and them.