20 Lessons I’ve Learned From Building a Business Abroad
Cape Town, and the quiet path of building something real.
Cape Town taught me more than I expected. About business, about beauty, about becoming.
This isn’t advice. It’s not a thread.
Just what I’ve learnt quietly over time, far from where I started.
I didn’t come here to scale fast.
I came to build something soulful. Present. Original.
And slowly, what began as an idea became something real.
Not just a business, but a rhythm. A way of working. A life.
The process has been subtle. Slow.
Often invisible from the outside.
But it’s working. And more importantly, it feels true.
Here are 20 things I’ve learnt so far.
Some shaped the company. Others shaped me.
All earned. All honest.
1. Clarity comes later.
You don’t need the full plan to begin.
Just the instinct to move, and the courage to follow it.
2. Growth that feels wrong, is wrong.
If you're building something that disconnects you from yourself, it's not success.
It’s a slow, quiet kind of self-erasure.
3. Elegance is a business strategy.
Refinement builds trust. Precision shapes value.
Aesthetic isn’t just decoration. It’s direction.
4. People pay for meaning, not effort.
It’s not about how hard you worked.
It’s about what stays with them.
5. You teach people how to value you.
Through how you price, how you speak, what you protect.
The boundary is part of the brand.
6. Markets are noisy. Vision is quiet.
To build something clear, you have to hear your own voice.
Especially when you’re far from home.
7. Brand is the memory they carry when you’re not there.
Reputation is why they come back.
8. Originality is not a spark. It’s a discipline.
It takes rigour to resist the quick win, to say no, to make something truly your own.
9. The people you serve shape the company you build.
Choose them with care. They will influence everything.
10. Numbers reflect value. They don’t define it.
Growth is important, but it’s not the full story.
You have to know what you’re actually measuring.
11. Every “no” is a form of clarity.
Early boundaries protect long-term vision.
12. Not all feedback deserves to stay in the room.
Even kind voices can pull you off course.
Curate your inputs.
13. Energy matters more than time.
Attention is your most strategic resource.
Guard it wisely.
14. Rest is not indulgent. It’s infrastructure.
If you’re depleted, the work can’t carry weight.
Presence is part of the product.
15. Place is not just setting.
Cape Town changed how I see, how I think, how I move.
Living far from where I was raised made me softer in some ways, sharper in others.
16. Learn the place before you offer anything to it.
This isn’t just location. It’s relationship.
Culture teaches you how to listen, how to tread lightly, how to show up well.
17. Growth without soul is noise.
If it feels wrong when it’s small, it won’t feel better when it’s big.
18. Luxury is what lingers.
It’s not about price. It’s about presence.
The sense that something mattered, and still does.
19. Good companies give more than they take.
To people. To place. To culture.
That’s the kind of legacy I want to leave.
20. You’re not just building a business.
You’re building a life.
The business is simply how you carry it.
This isn’t a manual.
It’s a reflection, mid-process.
And maybe if you’re building something of your own — especially somewhere far from home — you’ll find something here that mirrors your own path.
You don’t need to be loud to build something that lasts.
You just need to mean it.
And to keep going.
Ali TARHAN