# @luke_james_dolan on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DdjAcjPCEnm
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70635668-luke-james-dolan-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/12917ca3e7.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-21T11:02:26.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Luke James Dolan (@luke_james_dolan) — https://gondola.cc/luke_james_dolan

## Caption

Turns out you can do a lovely haircut and still make an absolute bollocks of running a business.

I’ve tested this quite thoroughly.

I thought being good at the work, caring about people and putting the hours in would be enough. If things got difficult, I’d work harder.

Very noble. Unfortunately, “he means well” isn’t a payment method.

I’ve been busy and skint. Opened another shop before properly understanding the first. Avoided conversations because I wanted people to like me, then quietly resented situations I’d helped create.

That last one is pretty shit to write let alone understand!

And yes, I’ve posted things that looked like success when the reality was considerably less photogenic.

The pictures weren’t necessarily fake. They just didn’t show what I was worrying about afterwards.

There’s a particular embarrassment in struggling with something you’ve spent years doing. You think you should know better by now, so you keep it to yourself. Smile. Cut the hair. Say it’s all going well.

I’m still learning. Still building. Still occasionally need someone to confiscate my ideas and make me look at a spreadsheet.

Those experiences come with me into Go.ROQIT. I want to build something useful for people whose working lives I actually understand. I also know that caring about it won’t excuse me from getting the business right.

So here’s a bit more honesty from me.

If you’ve ever looked at my page and thought I had it all worked out… fair play to the photography.

What’s the business lesson you learned the expensive way?

#SmallBusinessReality #BarberLife #BusinessLessons #FounderJourney #goroqit

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 31
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 4

## Tags

businesslessons, founderjourney, smallbusinessreality, goroqit, barberlife

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