How David Hounson Persevered to Build His Successful Startup David Hounson understands the school of hard knocks. He's an alumni, having learnt the hard way the emotional toll entrepreneurship can take on you. Here's how he's weathered the storm, kept his own dreams alive, and is now helping other entrepreneurs to do the same.

Vital Stats

• Player: David Hounson
• Company: Sennergi
• What they do: Entrepreneurial inspirational speaking; entrepreneurial events and product manufacturing
• Visit: www.sennergi.co.za

David Hounson believes that there are two types of entrepreneurs in this world, those who roll up their sleeves, and those who don't. "There's a different energy between the two, and for me, hands down the winner are the business owners who roll up their sleeves," he says.

That's the entrepreneur who is emotionally invested in the journey, which can be a strong success factor. Unfortunately, it also leaves you exposed when things get tough, as David discovered the hard way.

"Entrepreneurship can be an incredibly fulfilling and at the same time painful journey," he says. "You need to build the mental tools necessary to not only survive, but thrive in this environment."

David and his wife, Taryn Human, have spent the last three years developing a low GI drink that they will be taking to market in 2018. It's been a long journey, filled with hardships and heartbreak, and yet through it all, David didn't give up. Instead, he built the mental tools he needed to keep pushing forward. He's now sharing those lessons with fellow entrepreneurs, paying it forward in the hope that he will in some small way drive entrepreneurship in South Africa.

Building the tools that will achieve personal success

Tool 1: Build your confidence

David's background is in sales and marketing. He was a school drop-up, but built up a career, first in the UK, and later in South Africa, based on his talent for connecting with others. In short, David had a big mouth and could talk his way into — and out of — anything. At first, he just had the gift of the gab, but as the years progressed he learnt the value of authenticity, transparency, and adding value to your clients.

By 2012 he had built up a solid reputation, and was approached by a manufacturer who wanted to produce a low GI drink, but needed a sales and marketing partner. The offer sounded good and would include shares. Instead, it was David and Taryn's first introduction to what it means when you give your power to someone else.

"There were a lot of internal politics that we ignored. We should have listened to our gut, but instead, we saw their money and supposed expertise and took everything they said at face value. Never go into a partnership where you aren't on an equal footing, even if that footing is completely in the mind. We were insecure, and this created a situation where we could be taken advantage of.

"You need to have confidence in who you are, and what you bring to the table. Know your worth. The greater your confidence, the harder it will be for others to take advantage of you. The great thing about confidence though, is that it's like a muscle. If you work on it, you will grow it."

It took David and Taryn time to walk away from their first partners, but they made the tough decision to cut their losses. The partnership would never be equal, promises were not being kept, and they realised they needed to take back their power.

It was an expensive move. They'd put a lot into the business and were now going it alone with a two-year-old toddler at home, bills to be paid and a lot of debt.

It's not always easy, but sometimes the first step towards success is taking ownership of your destiny and holding yourself accountable. Take back your power, choose to be the architect of your own success, and then gradually build up your confidence.

DO THIS: Focus on your power and where you draw it from. This doesn't need to be based on money or even academic partnerships, but what you uniquely bring to the table. And then build on this. Confidence is a muscle — you need to work it. Don't become arrogant; build a quiet surety that believes in your own self-worth.

Tool 2: Focus on the long-term rewards

For David, despite over a decade of building a career, reputation and a measure of success, the move took him back to his childhood years when every cent counted.

"As a kid, I was brought up with no money. Everything was scarce. Now I was experiencing this again in my 30s. We'd eat a can of baked beans for dinner. My wife made us stretch everything, which is how we made it — and also how we stuck to the dream and didn't throw in the towel. We made ends meet, even if it was just barely."

It was a deeply personal and painful journey for David though, bringing to the surface memories of suffering he'd experienced in his youth and thought he'd left behind.

"When you have a goal, it's amazing what you'll do to achieve it, but you have to stay focused, and keep the destination in mind. Taryn was integral to the journey we've travelled to reach this point. We've invested in developing the drink, and we wouldn't have been able to do any of it, particularly in the early days, without being uncompromising and rigorous in how we spent our money.

"We were broke, we needed to formulate the product with a credible food technologist — who we paid upfront — we weren't interested in another partnership, and we needed to pay our personal bills. It was a delicate balance. We could have thrown in the towel, found jobs and given up on the dream. Instead, we chose short-term suffering for long-term reward."

At the time, David realised that the business needed an additional revenue stream, so he went back to his marketing roots, offering marketing and printing services to local businesses. "We've built up some great retainers and we outsource printing, flyers, embroidery and anything else our clients need for their marketing campaigns." This has grown into a more holistic marketing solution, including entrepreneurial events and helping businesses determine how they access markets and work as teams.

DO THIS: Start at the destination and reverse engineer how you're going to get there. Focus on every aspect of the journey, and what will take you to the next pivotal moment in your business's success. This often requires short-term pain for long-term gain. Be clear on what you're willing to sacrifice to achieve your goals, and then stick to the plan with grit and determination.

Tool 3: Patience is a form of action

As a salesman and marketer, much of David's professional career has been built around targets. Sales is not by nature a patient profession. Entrepreneurship is very different. It's a long game, and as David discovered first–hand, sometimes you have to give things the time and space they need to happen.

"I learnt that patience is a form of action too. For three years I had to have the patience to let things come to fruition. I had to become mindful of where I am, where I am coming from, and where I am going."

David used this time for self-reflection and personal growth. "I needed to find self-belief. No one is going to do this for you. You need to build your own resilience, courage and patience.

"We're all so busy chasing targets, deadlines, goals and sales that we don't stop and take the time to connect with our inner selves. I discovered that the time I took to really question who I am, why I'm here and what my greater purpose is not only helped me become more focused and centred, but better equipped to handle the rigours and challenges of entrepreneurship.

"We spend so much time focusing on how to build better businesses, that we don't give ourselves enough attention.

"The reality is that when you do things from an internal space, you're not just more centred, but you're aligning the heart with the brain. It's incredibly powerful. If you can love all of your imperfections, understand yourself and how you react to the world and shape things around you — and why — you'll not only find alignment in everything you do, and every personal and business relationship you nurture, but you'll find an incredible untapped resource of power as well."

DO THIS: External factors are important, but don't let them drive you without also focusing on the internal factors. Start working on your EQ, or "heart energy' as David calls it. "That's the power of the heart. 40 000 neuro cells per second travel from the heart to the brain.

"The heart has its own power and intelligence, we just need to learn to listen to what it's telling us. Take notice of the energy in a room — good or bad — and learn to trust it. Intentionally allow the heart to send signals to the brain for alignment. Intuition, gut feel — this is the heart talking. We need to expand our ideas of the tools available to us, and what we can do with them."

Tool 4: Share your journey

When David was near his lowest, practicing patience and trying to envision the success of the low GI drink that he and Taryn had worked so hard to achieve, one of his marketing clients, a car dealership in Krugersdorp, asked him to give a talk to their sales team.

"The marketing manager loved my story, energy and passion. She understood that there were still mountains I was climbing, but she also loved the fact that I had already begun to approach what we were doing from a positive place, and not a place of fear.

"She understood what sales people go through, and asked me to share my story. It was the first time I gave a talk on the lessons I'd been learning, internalising and using in my life. I was open about the fact that I was still on the journey, and didn't have all the answers, but this was where I was, and what I could share.

"The response was incredible, but I also realised how much value I got out of sharing my story. Entrepreneurship can be lonely. When we share, we not only learn from each other, but add value to each other, and feed our own sense of purpose.

"I started speaking to corporates, sales people and entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs in particular need assistance, and so I developed corporate-sponsored entrepreneurial events that give brands access to entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs access to each other.

"We have two speakers on the evening — myself and a guest profile who has real business successes and lessons to share. They focus on business development and pushing through the hardships, and I focus on the soft skills and emotional intelligence — the inner turmoil entrepreneurs need to work through to find success.

"These events take place in Soweto, the CBD and suburbs, and the goal is to bring entrepreneurs together, share stories, support one another and learn. This isn't a business driven by profits, but is a purpose-driven passion project. If we can help others find significance, I believe that will help us find our own significance."

Today David is a coach, mentor and speaker, largely because he's willing to share his story, and wants to help others find their inner-strength and success.

DO THIS: Find a way to share your journey. Join an association or entrepreneurial forum, or if you're an employed professional, an industry group where you can share your journey and learn from your peers. The goal is personal growth, and the act of sharing your story and learning lessons from others can help you push the needle. You just need to be open to the idea and willing to network.

Get started

To get started on your journey of personal development, consider these five tools:

1. Keep a notebook and jot down your emotions throughout the day

Recognise the emotion that keeps popping up — is it fear, risk-taking, money-related? If the same thing keeps coming up, you need to recognise it and face it.

2. Start meditating

Meditation uses quiet time and breathing exercises to help you become mindful. This is the foundation of more focused mindfulness.

3. Exercise daily

Besides the fact that it's good for you to exercise daily from a health perspective (and healthy entrepreneurs have more energy and focus), this also teaches you discipline, one of the most basic fundamentals of success. Put a system in place and follow it — learn to stick to things and follow routines, and you'll be amazed by how this will naturally impact your life and business in positive ways.

4. Restrict TV

Watch YouTube instead. It's an incredible lesson channel. Search by topics and subscribe to TED Talks instead of falling into the trap of randomly watching TV with no clear benefits.

5. Look at your emotions as you would any other muscle

Work it out. Build it up. Focus on it and recognise it as a tool that can help or hinder you. Remember, when you build up an emotional muscle of strength, if someone asks you to do something, the answer always becomes yes, even if you don't know how it will be achieved. Will you get it done? Yes! How? I don't know, but I will.