Tag Archives: startup

August 24, 2012 · 4:12 pm

Diary of a new entrepreneur – Week 4 (24.08.12)

Four weeks. Wow…

Time Flies!

In the grand scheme of things, four weeks is nothing, however a lot can happen in that time and it certainly has for me. Time can slip away and I’ve been trying to take stock of what I am managing to achieve within certain time periods and bursts of focus. I’m keeping a day by day tracker of the time I’m spending on the numerous tasks required in order to get this show on the road and have found that a great help in maintaining sharp focus.

Site Taking Shape

I was presented with the flat visuals for my site yesterday and they blew me away! My designer has really captured the brief and I’m going to be proud to put the site out there as the face of my business. These things can take serious amounts of time to get right and I have to say I’ve been very lucky. I’ve been writing briefs for a long time which does help.

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August 20, 2012 · 10:43 am

Startup – How do You Stop the Sunday Buzzing Head?

Week four of my startup journey is upon me and I hardly slept a wink last night! I’m not a great sleeper but in the past couple of years I’ve managed to switch my brain off at bedtime. Last night was different…

A Million Miles Per Hour

Every little thing I need to do this week was flying round and round my brain. A lot of it was driven by excitement and the urge to just get going. I hardly slept and the funny thing is, I don’t feel shattered today (that may kick in later!). I’m not sure how to stop it happening again but in a way it was useful as it helped me prioritise my work for the week.  Pros and cons to a buzzy head!

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August 17, 2012 · 1:28 pm

Diary of a new entrepreneur – Week 3 (17.08.12)

Week 3 is all but over and it has been a real education…

Admin Admin Admin

Admin is a word that nobody really likes. It rarely involves anything fun. This week I have been through some pretty important admin – registering my business for tax, VAT and as an employer. All vital tasks that did take up some serious time. Worth noting that the online HMRC system (UK) is clunky as hell and will frustrate you. There is a blend of online forms and paper forms that have to be completed in order to finalise everything. God forbid you have to phone them for any clarity – I was passed around departments and each person sounded so disinterested. Working for the man will do that to you. Once all was completed I did have a sense of accomplishment. All major admin complete! Now back to the exciting stuff…

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August 14, 2012 · 4:34 pm

Video – Interview with Eric Ries

I really enjoyed the Lean Startup book by Eric Ries. This is a great interview from Techcrunch with Eric gives some great insight in to the Lean concept. Enjoy! You can buy the Lean Startup on Amazon here.

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August 13, 2012 · 11:19 am

That Special Monday Startup Feeling

Happy Monday folks. I’ve never dreaded Mondays, mainly due to the fact that I love what I do for a living, but the past two Mondays have seen me jumping out of bed with some serious energy and a will to really get the week started with a bang. Since I marched in to the startup world, I’ve found myself waking up earlier than ever with my head buzzing in anticipation of the day ahead.

Building something

That feeling of knowing that everything I do in a day is working towards building a business that will bring to life my ideas and ambitions is one that is hard to describe. If you could can it, you would be a zillionaire in no time. It is a different mindset to the one that I had when I was employed. It must be that feeling that pushes entrepreneurs forward when things are tough Does it ever fade? I guess I’ll find out.

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August 11, 2012 · 10:56 am

Diary of a new entrepreneur – week two (August 2012)

So week two in my new life as a entreprenuer is coming to an end and it has been another mind blowing 5 days!

What is my proposition?

Setting up a ‘digital marketing and communications consultancy’ is all fair and well, but what does that actually mean and what will I offer? That is the question that I have been overcoming this week and after lots of relecting on what I can do very well and what I perhaps need to develop further in, I have managed to write a solid list of the services that my (name to be revealed soon) consultancy will offer. I found writing a few lines about each service in a way that a leyman could understand really helped define the exact type of work I will be carrying out. So the services are sorted. What’s next? Pricing, that’s what.

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August 11, 2012 · 9:59 am

Diary of a new entrepreneur – week one (August 2012)

I’ve reached the end of my first week setting up my digital marketing and communications consultancy. Everything has been a little bit accelerated after the agency I was working for kindly allowed me to cut my notice period short. I announced my breaking from employment via Twitter that day and within hours I had people contacting me wishing to (potentially) use my services. The fire that gave me in my belly was huge! This week has been a mixture of nailing down the name of my business, getting tech sorted, meeting with potential clients and writing of proposals. It is hard to describe the feeling when I wake up every morning knowing that everything I do that day is going towards building my own business. I’ve always wanted to do this and now that I am starting out, I have to say it feels very natural.

The Name Game

The toughest task so far has been naming the business. Every name I came up with already existed. I wanted something that would sum up the digital world, make an impact and of course be memorable. It then came to me as I was reading a book – the title of which really appealed, I thought there was no way it would be free. I thought wrong and it was. I’m keeping that underwraps for now. The company is now officialy registered, I did it online with Companies House and it fely bloomin’ great!

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