Luis Miguel Hervella is the founder of ChipotleLabs, a small app developing company whose motto and mission is to create “Apps to spice up your life.” Follow Chipotle Labs on Twitter and purchase CalcPad at the App Store.
I have always been a big Apple fan-boy and ever since the iPhone came out, I’ve been fascinated with apps. However, if someone had told me a year ago that I would be the owner of an App developing company, I never would have believed them.
Fresh out of college I started a typical full time job; you know… cubicle, 9 to 5, complicated boss. Not that there was anything wrong with my job, in fact I learned some fundamental things to create ChipotleLabs while working there, the thing that bothered me about my old job, was that I did not feel it was for me, it was not my dream and it was certainly not my passion. Soon after that, my old boss; let’s call him John, wanted to create a blog and web page for the business. Without hesitation, I jumped at the opportunity.
This new project really opened my eyes to the endless possibilities the Internet has to offer, all for the cost of perseverance, dedication and a lot of hustle. I discovered, you could find and reach out to people that had the same or similar goals as me, and find out how they achieved success.
During one of my many late night Internet searches, I found a book called reWork (by 37 signals), which you can call it the catalyst of my decision to start my own business. Inside this book I found a phrase that I adopted as my mantra: “Live it or Leave it.”
If you are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur, I really recommend you read this book. This book also helped when we were designing our first iPhone app CalcPad, keeping always in mind that “Less is more.”
I decided I wanted to start a business that I was really passionate about, and since my passion is apps I decided to create ChipotleLabs, an app developing company. I did not quit my job right away, I started saving money and hiring some freelancers to help me with the legal documents to constitute the business. Once I had enough money saved to survive a few months without a full time job and the company was legally constituted, I quit my job and hired a freelance app developer to help me create CalcPad.
If you are thinking in opening your own business, I recommend that you do it for something you feel passionate about and enjoy doing, not just the money. Chances are if you create something you love, other people will love it too.
Ask yourself: How bad do you want it? What are you willing to do to get it? After you answer yourself those two questions, remember to be patient and very persistent.
And last but not least, whether it’s a business or a great idea you want to launch, always remember, “The hardest thing about starting is starting.”
Great reads I recommend for starting a business or launching a great idea:
Rework: by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
Do the work: by Steven Pressfield
