I recently met with two clients after a gap of around two years. We’d worked with them very closely at the start of their business, providing support and advice as they set out, along with a range of risk-assessed options for the way ahead. Since then, they’d been busy implementing this and growing their practice, so I was curious to see how they’d got on.

As we caught up, it was brilliant to learn how well they’ve done. By anyone’s yardstick the last two years have been an unparalleled success for them: their practice is thriving, they’ve relocated, and they’ve created millions of pounds of value in their business. This is despite the brutally tough conditions for business owners during these years, with costs rising and valuations decreasing. Nevertheless, they’ve fought against the tide, worked hard, and achieved a huge amount.

In the midst of this, it was pleasing to hear that each of the predictions we originally made was right, though they were outlined during easier conditions. Regardless of economic and industry changes, our estimations proved accurate because the best predictions always factor in an element of turmoil. In this, we could coin an interesting variation of Hofstadter’s law: namely, that when it comes to business, it’s always harder than you expect, even if you expect it to be hard.

A lot of this comes down to the type of person you are. It certainly helped these clients that – like me – they have an anti-authoritarian attitude. Setting up their practice, they knew that they wanted to do something that was different, but better, which will naturally make things harder.

And there’s no denying that for these clients, the last two years have been incredibly hard work. They’ve leveraged their small team, created absolute focus, and achieved transparency over every lead that comes in. They’ve bolstered human efforts with AI in a way that surpasses my understanding. Not only have they achieved all this, but they also found time (even when there wasn’t any) to explore opportunities to improve things. At the end of a packed week, this might have meant ordering in food, sitting down, and sorting something out over the weekend, rather than letting it slide. It’s for this reason, only two years down the line, that they’re already seeing rewards.

These clients are born entrepreneurs, so even if they weren’t running a successful practice, I know they’d be working equally hard at something else. They’d make their lives challenging, because that’s how they’re programmed to be. But of course, this approach isn’t for everyone. Not long ago, we welcomed client-turned-business-coach Dan Rogers of Project Resonance to Hive for a session with our leadership team. We too have been on a long and demanding journey over the last decade and needed to bring an objective and informed outside council to help us take stock and agree the next steps. Dan owns a highly successful practice but will freely admit that he initially sacrificed his life to his work – with challenging results. Now channelling his hard-won expertise into coaching, he’s a valuable source of insight when it comes to finding success on your own terms. One of the fundamental questions he asks is: how aligned is your being with your doing? In short, is this the right thing for you?

For me, working hard at Hive means I can work with some truly great people. I’m always striving for more, and always looking ahead, but this suits my style. Not everyone has to be cracking problems over the weekend (and that’s fine), but everyone does have to be taking responsibility for their own success. In business, there are always material gains to be made, but you should always be enjoying the game enough that they’re worth it.

So, in the great rush of working life, do make sure you check in with others – coaches, colleagues, family, friends – to gauge whether in making things hard, you’re making them harder than you need to. If you’re the type to endlessly strive, you’ll always create a challenge. Just like our clients, this is where your success lies – so be sure you’re choosing the right challenge, and you’re happy with its rewards. Because when you set out with your eyes open, with a solid plan for success, your future can’t be any other way.