The birth of a business (and a business owner), Part 3: Growth spurts and momentum busters

A couple of weeks ago, things clicked. I hit upon a business name I really liked: Cre8tive Content Works. It’s both playful and serious. The word “Works” carries a lot of meaning. Used as a noun, it’s a place where things are developed or produced – a workshop. Used as a verb, it tells potential clients that the content I create can help their businesses succeed. My gut told me the name was right. A quick Google search suggested it was available. I ran it by a few trusted associates and their reaction was unanimous: Go for it. Within 24 hours I had: •Determined that no business within my state (Virginia) was operating as Cre8tive Content Works and staked my claim to the name •Purchased the .com, .net, and .org domain names •Formed an LLC through the state website I celebrated a job well done, told myself I deserved a break from my business-building efforts … and stalled. I lost my momentum. I’ve recovered it, but the stumble helped me pinpoint something about myself that I want to change. I must transform myself from a sprinter into a marathoner. Sprinting was the perfect mode when I worked for large companies or on freelance projects. My work – developing and writing content – is deadline-driven. There were periods of intense effort, often several months long, which ended when the product was delivered and approved. Then there would be a lull during which I could catch my breath and get re-energized. It’s different now that I’m launching my own company. I have to pace myself for a long run. I can celebrate milestones (becoming an LLC) as long as my happy dance doesn’t slow me down. Because for the first time in my career, the whole shebang is up to me – the marketing, the accounting, the customer service. There are tools that can help me and someday I’ll be able to hire people to assume some of those roles. But right now, I’m a one-woman band. Not so long ago that idea would have scared me. Today I choose to see it as a challenge and I intentionally surround myself with people and resources that encourage that mindset. I just finished reading Flow, by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (I’ve heard that his college students used to call him Mike), about how people find happiness and meaning in life. Here’s a taste: “…The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times….(but) usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretch to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” That’s how I see my business now. No doubt I’ll lose my resolve and stumble again. And then I’ll have to re-read Flow or one of Mike’s other books. I’m in this for the long haul. If you have insights or strategies for staying on track and/or getting through the hard times, please join the conversation. By Laurie Rackas

The birth of a business (and a business owner), Part 2

Learning to take baby steps

At my coffee check-in with Maria (the Lioness) earlier this week, I asked her to suggest a book – some kind of complete guide to starting a business. Her gaze was level and her voice firm. “No,” she said. “That would be overwhelming.”

She’s right. But not having a guide can be overwhelming, too, even though I’ve started to chip away at my to-do list.

In the last 2 weeks I:

·         Decided that my company will be an LLC in order to separate my personal and business assets

·         Came up with a couple of possible business names that I like and am investigating whether they and the associated domain names are available, and

·         Identified three groups of target clients and the services I can provide to each

But…what next?

Maria’s favorite word is “clarity.” She cut through the clutter in my mind with one question: How are you going to generate consistent monthly income?

Oh. I realized that my focus had been on my “ultimate” client – a high-end customer who would hire me to do a big project. The problem is, those projects are time-limited and happen unpredictably.

Instead, I needed to develop a plan to bring in a guaranteed monthly income, even if it wasn’t enough to earn a profit (very unlikely) or cover my household expense (highly probable). Take baby steps, said Maria. Get a solid footing and then grow your business. My eyes had been on the finish line and I needed to shift my gaze to the starting line.

Maria’s advice to me was to package my services in a way that would attract clients willing to sign on with me for an extended period – 6 months or a year. Be specific, she said (clarify), on what you will offer, for how much, under what conditions.

We discussed an example. One service I will offer is writing blogs for clients’ websites. I could create three tiers of packages:

·         Basic package:

o   The what: One 300-word blog/month

o   The how much: $250/month (assuming 2 hours of work/blog, this provides me a decent rate and the client an affordable service)

o   The conditions:

§  1-year commitment

§  Paid monthly

§  Blog topic and supporting materials (up to 10 pages) supplied by client

·          Standard package:

o   Two 300-word blogs/month

o   For $500/month

o   Under the same conditions

·         Deluxe package:

o   One 300-word blog + one 1500-word article/month

o   Cost: $1,000

o   Conditions

                  §  Same as above, plus the following for the article

·         Client provides topic

·         I research topic and provide an outline for approval before writing the article

Good, said Maria. Now put it in writing so that it is clear to you, to me (Maria is developing my website), and to your clients (I’ll have a menu of services I can hand or email to potential customers).

Maria’s advice has caused me to shift my thinking from the short-term to the long-term. I now understand very clearly that it will take some time – probably a couple of years – to develop my business to the point that it is profitable. I accept that I’ll have to take on some part-time work for the foreseeable future to supplement my income from the business. And, surprisingly, I’m okay with that. The clarity is calming.

Everyone needs a Maria.

I’d love to hear about and learn from your experience. Feel free to comment on or share this post.

To read Part 1 of  The birth of a business (and a business owner) go checkout my blog page.

 

The birth of a business (and a business owner)

I was moaning to Maria (aka The Lioness) the other day about the challenges of launching a small business. It’s painful, exhilarating, and – at times – overwhelming.

Yes, she said. Why not do something about it? Document the process, each step of the road to becoming your own boss. Blog about it. Start a conversation with other people doing the same thing.

So here I am. Step one of my story:

I’m a writer. I toyed with the idea of going into business in the past – a couple of times, actually. But I’d decide it was too risky or too much work and I’d drop the idea. Then recently something happened to give me a nudge.

Out of nowhere, I was laid off. It’s kind of funny from this distance. My employer had just given me a significant raise for outstanding work – an incentive, said the Vice President, for me to stay with the company. Nine days later, the severance letter arrived. I don’t blame the decision makers. It was purely a business decision: The funding for my project unexpectedly went poof! and so did I. (For the record, I plan to frame the memo about my raise and my severance letter side-by-side. The irony makes me smile.)

The bigger lesson was, the event upended my ideas about risk. This was the third layoff of my career. I was finally convinced that I’d have more security – more control – working for myself than I did laboring for someone else. The days of steady, secure staff jobs were over. I had known that in my brain for a while; I now knew it in my gut.

So that’s why I’m on the brink of becoming my own boss. This time, the decision to start a company was easy. It’s the execution that at times drives me batty.

In the next couple of weeks, my goal is to prioritize the bucket load of decisions required to start a small business and take on the top one or two:

·         Identifying my target market

·         Selecting a business entity (sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership?)

·         Deciding on a business name (and making sure it and the associated domain name(s) are available)

·         Registering the business

·         Developing a website

·         Designing a social media strategy

·         Choosing my supporting “team”: accountant, attorney, others?

·         Financing the business

·         Getting a business license

·         Establishing a business checking account

·         Selecting liability insurance

·         And a whole lot of things I haven’t even thought of yet

I hope you join in the conversation. Comment on or share this post. Submit your story. And expect to hear from me again in about two weeks.