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I felt caught in a system – so I left to start my own business
My advice to anyone starting a new business? Ensure there’s a gap in the market for your product…
I’ve always had itchy feet
My advice to anyone going into business is to give back and pay it forward. Yes, this is the long…
How fear can help drive success
Through the years I’ve learnt, be absolutely passionate about what you are doing – and learn from…
Shaping a team is the most fulfilling aspect of business
Some creatives don’t naturally see themselves as business people. However, I have found the process…
Be willing to learn
So, what’s my best advice to anyone starting out? Ask yourself why you think it’s a good idea and…
Knowledge is power
Having been on the other side of the fence as journalists once hassled by PRs, we gained valuable…
Never place all your eggs in one basket
Never work alone. As much as you may need or want to go your own way, you cannot do everything by…
Random acts of kindness can create magical moments
Throughout it all, I've learned that when opportunities present themselves, you have to be open. In…
The kid who dressed up as a Thunderbird
The best bit of advice I ever got was from my art teacher at college, who once suggested I “Go lay…
I’ve learned to develop a thicker skin
Sometimes an opportunity or relationship that appeared to be going nowhere can suddenly blossom.
Perfection is the enemy of progress
Early customers will try a badly designed product, so don’t waste cycles perfecting the Pantones…
Don’t be afraid to surround yourself with talented people
The most important lesson relates to the wellbeing of the team. You will only be successful if…
In the beginning I had brown hair. Now, it’s white
Ideas are currency. Get the right one and it’s worth more than a smile – it’s the stuff that builds…
I became a pilot fish
Setting up my business coincided with a change in location and life stages.
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first four sharpening the axe
Tomorrow is another day, so make sure your business will be there. I've learnt that you need help…
If you don’t tell people why you’re amazing
Language is the most powerful strategic tool we have: it’s how we capture, define and share……
Keep the radiators, remove the drains
Sometimes a whole year would go by without a ‘good day’. Showing up regardless, and deploying…
You have to be willing to jump up off the floor and to go again
The highs and lows of running a company all relate to working with people. The best moments are…
It all began with a sandwich
I had a desire to create my own workspace; one where I was answerable only to my clients, rather…
It’s about the No’s
You also need discipline so you don’t become too busy, and to possess a self-belief that stops you…
Growing up, I wanted to be a dancer
I began by choosing people, not just companies, who I wanted to work with. Their core values: wise,…
The grass went berserk
I wasn't born a business leader, and I never think of myself in that way, not honestly. But we all…
‘There are many different ways to the top of the heap!'
… as Confucius might have said. But didn’t.
Some people are simply born great. You’ve wanted to start, build and lead a business ever since you could walk. You’ve been working in that direction steadily and purposefully. And look at you now!
Some people achieve greatness. Perhaps you’d reached the end of your tether in your last job and couldn’t take it anymore. And you haven’t looked back since.
Some people have greatness thrust upon them. Necessity is the great mother of invention. If you don’t have a job. Maybe it’s time to invent one.
It can get very real
However you get here it can feel like you’re the first person to feel this much and face this much. Running your own business is not for everyone, and most certainly not for the faint of heart.
You never appreciate how real until you’ve experienced it all directly. The good times. The tough times. The times you feel isolated or lonely. Scary times. Cold feet times.
But equally you’ll make your first significant sale. Kah-Ching! Receive your first unsolicited enquiry. Tah-Dah! Make your first real money. Phew! You’ll feel you’re achieving something, entirely on your own terms.
Welcome to the ‘This Is Me’ series of articles written by business people like you for business people like you.
The idea is that you can take heart – inspiration and advice – from your fellow travellers, who have seen it, lived it, and overcome it already.
Learn from the immediate experiences of the isme|&|co community, people just like you. Recognise and empathise. Feel better. Do better.
Famously, US President Harry Truman had a sign on his desk saying: ‘The buck stops here!’
Starting, running, leading a business is all about the ‘buck’. It’s great because the buck really does stop with you. And it can be a bit scary for the same reason – there’s no one to pass the buck to. No boss to tell you what to do. But equally, no boss to shoulder any of the responsibility, to support or advise.
So what are you going to do?
‘If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito!’ as the Body Shop’s founder Anita Roddick once put it.
‘Be bold and great forces will come to your aid!’ as the poet Goethe said.
Take heart and read on…
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