From start-up to 3rd Anniversary – what have I learned?

Three years ago I left a well-paid job as a Marketing Director to start my own business.

It had been a long-held dream of mine – and wow – have I learned a lot over the last three years! So, in honour of my 3rd Anniversary I’ve compiled a list of the ten things I wish I’d known back then. Hopefully they might help you to reflect on your personal progress over the last three years or even encourage you to think about starting your own business.

My advice to anyone considering going it alone:

1. Offer something of value

I spent seven years at director level in paid employment – and I loved the leadership responsibility. I treasured the vision-setting piece, encouraging my team to set bold plans and seeing what they could achieve. As far as I was concerned I was in charge of a crack team of Change Agents and it was exhilarating! However, as a result I lacked the time to do the other things that I felt could add real value.

I’m a geek at heart and I relish the opportunity to study data and look for patterns. After all, good strategy comes from good insight.

So now, I get to work with leaders and provide them with the types of insights I never had the time to curate/interpret. I’m giving them that extra thinking time and helping them solve the thorny issues that need a laser focus and a marketing strategy. This gives me an enormous sense of satisfaction.

2. Serve your ideal client

I’m fortunate enough to get to work with people that I really like. Every time I’m approached by a client to carry out a piece of work – and before I respond to the request – I quietly ask myself ‘will this bring me joy?’ And most of the time it’s a yes! I get to choose to work with some amazing people. I find my clients stimulating and they teach me a lot. Each new client makes me a better leader and a stronger marketing consultant. I probably don’t thank them enough. Which leads me to my next point…

3. Get used to feeling appreciated

It’s one of those peculiar conundrums. But I’ve found that I’m listened to (and thanked) much more as a consultant than I have in my whole career in salaried roles. Perhaps because clients are paying directly for the advice, they are more willing to take it. It makes for a truly fulfilling working life and finds me springing out of bed in the morning.

4. Time is money

It’s an awful phrase but it’s true. I need to be extremely protective of my time. I quickly realised that my time is my most precious resource. It’s what pays the bills. And whilst I try to support people when they approach me for a chat and a coffee – I have to remind myself to be occasionally ruthless with my boundaries. But if there’s cake involved – that’s another matter!

5. Get a PO number

As a B2B consultant, I seem to spend way too much time requesting and chasing PO numbers and emailing about late payments.

I have been stung more than once by starting a project in good faith on the promise of a purchase order – only to be left wondering if I would ever be eventually paid.

I’ve had to teach myself not to succumb to the emergency request to start working without a written order acknowledgement, no matter how much I want to delight my clients. If you’re one of my clients – I AM SORRY that I go on a lot about purchase orders and invoices.

6. Create your own support ‘team’

Although I have a close network of Associates, I still do work on my own in my office for much of the time.

I miss being part of a bigger team. It’s a thrill to share ideas and to be challenged by colleagues who are all passionate about the same end goal.

Sometimes I miss the normal chit-chat. I recently spent some time on-location at a client’s office and I felt a surge of delight followed by a pang of sorrow when I heard a kitchen conversation about the previous night’s telly. I miss that. So, in self-employment it’s important to form your own support group – and preferably surround yourself with the types of people you aspire to be.

7. Fail fast

I’ve always been an ‘ideas’ person and have actively encouraged my colleagues to try new things. But if that innovative approach doesn’t work out – I try to encourage them to ‘fail fast’ and learn from the experience. In my self-employed capacity, I’ve been guilty of clinging on to an idea – convincing myself that if I just gave it more time and effort it would eventually succeed. My advice is to trust your instincts. If your idea doesn’t look like it’s taking off – drop it. Dust yourself off – and try something else. There is no shame in the odd failure. Just strive to learn something valuable from the experience. Which leads me to point 8.

8. Be a learning machine

We should always sharpen our professional brains and learn more about our field of expertise – but in the world of self-employment we also need to be salespeople, debt collectors (see point 5), networkers, brand ambassadors, administrators… (the list goes on). Never forget to carve out time to continue learning – for yourself and for your clients. Craft the business you are working on now whilst shaping the business you aspire to build over the next five years. As my three-year anniversary treat to myself I attended an amazing conference in West Palm Beach, Florida – and I have returned with a renewed sense of vigour. I realise now that this investment was not a reward but a necessity to help me to become the best consultant I can be. Stay curious.

9. Savour being in charge of your own destiny

I can’t tell you how many times I used to sit for hours in pointless meetings or committees – with often no decision at the conclusion of the meeting. It’s a wonderful feeling to steer your own ship. I get excited by the thought of realising my own personal potential – and reaching the highest point that I can. To me, that is true success.

10. Take the leap!

A colleague of mine recently observed that my ‘superpower’ was my ability to take giant leaps of faith.

I recognise that it is not easy. After all, if it were easy, everyone would be starting the self-employment journey. But, I for one, do not want to live a life full of regret. I have come to realise that most things in life are either reversible or redeemable – and many of us are resourceful enough to Find. A. Way. I started my business as a single parent of two children under nine. I had to sell my house as I knew no bank would take a risk on offering me a mortgage, and the three of us lived in a cramped house with my desk crushed into the corner of the kitchen area. My arms and legs were constantly bruised from squeezing myself into that corner. But it worked.

Ultimately, if you think you have something of value to offer the world, and you can lay the foundations to take a (calculated) risk – then why not give it go? Who knows what you can achieve?

Finally, I’d like to thank all of my clients – past, present and future – for trusting me to help you achieve your objectives. I hope there are many more years and brilliant projects to come.

Thank you

Penny Eccles is a marketing consultant specialising in Higher Education marketing and student recruitment.

With thanks to Leodo for the fabulous sketch notes.

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