Comments (2)

By Phil, August 25, 2010 2:23 pm

If you’ve ever dreamed about working for yourself or starting your own business, this two part series is for you.  Part one looked at how the traditional view of what makes a successful business is changing beyond recognition.  It also outlined the old Five Commandments of Business.

If you have a business idea floating around the back of your mind, Part 2 is about how to plan to make that into a sustainable business.

3. Going beyond growth – the sustainable business

The old Third Commandment of Business states that the aim of a business is to get as big as possible as quickly as possible.

The assumption is that bigger is better.  Bigger means scale and competitiveness, maximizing the ability of a business to generate profit.

As a prospective business owner, I felt the invisible hand of pressure on me to start building a fast-growing empire as quickly as possible.  The expectations of “other people” weighed heavily on my mind – will my fledging company be impressive enough for the world?

Now I’m seeing that for many business owners in the 21st Century, more importance is placed on building a sustainable business that can stand the test of time, rather than simply growing as big as possible.  Some of the reasons for this choice include:

1) Growing too quickly can be risky - taking on overheads too quickly and overstretching finance.  This has brought many new and established businesses to their knees.

2) Most people with a business idea are passionate about whatever product or service they are selling – they enjoy being a practitioner.  Many business owners don’t want to grow to the point where they become a full time manager rather than doing what they were passionate about in the first place.

3) Many business are built in niche markets.  These businesses can be very successful and provide a great living for their owner on a small scale – the market isn’t large enough to support a corporate behemoth.

For all these reasons and more, its now ok to plan for slow and sustainable development of a business.  Chris Guillebeau had the vision to earn the median salary in his Zip-code from his lifestyle business, the Art of Non-Conformity.

So don’t let the growth principle put you off.  If you decide that you are quite happy as a solopreneur, consultant or running a small sustainable business then plan to do it your way.

4. Bootstrap and collaborate your way to start-up success

The last two Commandments relate to perceptions around what makes a proper business – raising investment money and hiring employees.

Common wisdom is that “you need to speculate to accumulate”.  The more of your and other people’s money you can throw into your business to get it off the ground the better.

This allows you to go out and find swanky premises, hire lots of smart people and get your message out to the world in flashy adverts.

This approach can be extremely risky.  You only have to watch Dragon’s Den for fifteen minutes to come across enthusiastic entrepreneurs who have invested thousands of their own money (or investors money) to design, patent and build lots of their new product.

Yet, in the rush to get to raise capital and get to market, they didn’t test their idea to see if it actually works.  Although occasionally you can get away with it….

Fortunately, there are other ways to build a business.  I’ve learned a huge amounts from entrepreneurs who have bootstrapped their business without ever borrowing any money (in fact that is the model I’ve adopted for Less Ordinary Living).

By keeping costs low and reinvesting money generated by the business it is possible for many business owners to manage risk and build a sustainable and succesful business.

The same principal applies to the need to hire people to have a proper business.  As more people work for themselves as consultants and set up small businesses there is a talented pool of labour available for you to rely on as an entrepreneur.

Hiring employees is a fixed cost – finding others to collaborate with on projects, or hiring expertise when needed is a much more flexible way to build a business.

I’ve had untold help from experts on marketing, PR, copywriting and blogging to help me build out Less Ordinary Living for which I’m hugely grateful.  A real business can be one person with a large network of others to provide support and expertise.

These concepts lower two of the biggest barriers to entry for you turning your idea into working for yourself.

Without the need to raise huge amounts of finance or hire others, you can start small and build your business sustainably.

Why not start now?

If you’ve been dreaming of working for yourself or turning your idea into a business, there has never been a better time.  The old rules of business have been blown away.

Building a sustainable enterprise with purpose, that supports your lifestyle need not be a huge risk.

Often the best way is to start out by testing your idea as a sideline whilst you’re still employed.  You can develop and test the market and your concept before you take the risk to go it alone.

If you have an idea for working for yourself that you’d like to turn into a start-up and you’d like to brainstorm it, I’d be happy to have a chat and see if I can help – please use the contact form on this page to get in touch.

If you’d like regular updates on building a business from your idea, click here to join our mailing list.

Over to You

What is your take on building a business in the 21st Century?  How important is growth?  Do you need investment and employees to have a real business?

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment.

Photo credit: Thunderchild5 (Flickr Creative Commons)

Comments (14)

By Phil, August 10, 2010 11:27 am

“Anyone who stops learning is old – whether at twenty or eighty” – Henry Ford

This blog was inspired by the Life Lessons Series compiled by the blogger Abubakar Jamil.  Life has a sneaky habit of dropping valuable lessons in our lap, if we take the time to notice them.  Over 30 bloggers have shared their life lessons here and I was asked to share mine.

I know there are a lot of things I wish I’d know earlier in life (don’t have a party at your house whilst you’re not there probably being the top one).  Here are my top 5 learnings:

1. Life is about making memories

When you look back over your life, what really stands out?  The moments where life was at its happiest, saddest, most brilliant?

I remember amazing days – getting married, moving to California having never visited there, the last minute concert we went to, spending a happy afternoon in the park chasing planes with our niece and nephew.

I remember the toughest days – when my wife was really ill and I lay in a field praying for her to get better, when I batted with my parents, when I felt out of my depth starting a new business.

I remember the days where I tore up the plan – goofing off from my accounting exam training to go for beers with friends, wandering the streets of San Francisco and finding a great coffee bar with the best lemon cake in the world.

I certainly don’t remember those days where I battled commuters to work, did my 9 to 5, batted home again and flopped in front of the TV with a beer.

I’ve learned that life is the sum of the memories we make.

This is why taking risks is worthwhile – risks lead to memories – amazing, tough, adventurous memories.

The best way to enjoy life is to live it to the full and make some amazing memories.

2. Nike are right

“Just do it” – one of the most enduring slogans of all time.

I have a terrible confession to make – sometimes I suffer from indecision, procrastination and inertia.  I’m human.

Like most of us, I can get caught by the whiff of fear and freeze like a deer in the headlights.

Since starting to work for myself 18 months ago this is a problem I can’t afford for long (there is no-one else to carry the can and keep things moving).

I think deep down I’ve always known the answer is to take action.  Do something (anything) and the momentum returns.

Now I’m getting much better at putting this in to action.  If I need to make an important call, I’ll pick up the phone.  If I’m suffering from writer’s block, I’ll just start writing.

Nike are smart – when I “just do it”, it creates energy and momentum.  Things shift and change – I’m no longer stuck in that moment of indecision and fear.

3. “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change and the courage to change the things I can”

Growing up, I always thought there were two ways of looking at life and no middle ground:

• Fate – “sh!t happens” and there is nothing we can do to change it
• Free Will – we have complete control over our lives and it’s all our fault

Life has taught me that there is a better way of seeing things.

There are some things we can’t control. Other people, the wider world, nature.  Sometimes, bad things will happen to us and there was nothing we could do to avoid it.

I’m learning to deal with these things better (see number 4 below).  I aspire to be serene in dealing with the things we can’t control – that is a lifetime mission.

There are some things we can control. I’m responsible for myself – my thoughts, actions and reactions.

I have a choice in how I behave, what values I follow and how I react to the world around me.  There are things that I can control, although this is not always easy.

It take courage to act with integrity, to show compassion to others, to be grateful and generous.

The final part of the lesson is “grant me the wisdom to know the difference”.  Another big assignment to work on.

4. Sometimes the bad stuff is the best stuff

When you’re facing a horrible work situation, illness of a loved one, family unrest it feels like the worst place in the world.

Yet it forces you to take a long hard look at life, dig deep, find new resolve and do something about it.  I know I’ve found out that whatever happens and however bad it feels at the time, I can handle it.

In fact sometimes, an unexpected challenge can give us the kick we need to change something important.  I know at work I spent too long in a job I wasn’t enjoying and it was only when an unexpected wake up call came along (which felt terrible at the time) that I was jolted to do something about it.

Looking back that was probably one of the defining moment of my career and life.

5. Aim high – then take it one step at a time

When I was younger, I had a major aversion to long term planning.  I really had no idea what was happening tomorrow, never mind 5 years on.

To me, setting a big, hairy, audacious vision would be ridiculous – nothing more than setting yourself up for failure and humiliation.

I’m indebted to a few amazing people in my life who encouraged me to think a little bit bigger.

My first real goal was to run a half-marathon.  That was ten years ago and my first 1 mile run left me rolling on the floor coughing my guts up.

I made a training plan and looked ahead.  Somehow I stuck with it and found a deeper resolve.  I built up slowly but surely – each run a little further.

Now running is a central part of my life and I’ve finished a couple of marathons, which I’m very proud of.

After this surprising revelation, I started to regularly set long term goals for myself.

I’ve worked towards each one one step at a time.  Sometimes the steps are backward or sideways rather than forward.

What’s amazing is that although each step is small, progress is rapid.  Suddenly you find yourself near the top of the mountain and wonder how you got there.

I’ve definitely learned that even the biggest goals can be achieved if you take it one small step at a time.

Over to you

If you enjoyed this article and you’d like to get regular free articles like this, please take a second to join our mailing list. Thank you.

What do you wish you’d known earlier in life?  Please do take a minute to comment.

Photo Credit: Faith Goble (Flickr Creative Commons), Boolean Split (Flickr Creative Commons)

Comments (11)

By Phil, August 5, 2010 1:49 pm

Thank you - couldn't have done it without you

The Short Answer – exciting, exhilarating, scary, fun, energizing and challenging.

I’ve been building my coaching and personal development business, Less Ordinary Living for 18 months.  Leaving the corporate world and setting up a start-up has been an amazing experience and I’ve learnt a huge amount.

I’ve worked with some exceptional clients who have made big changes in their lives.  It’s a continued privilege to partner with smart ambitious people to make the most of their careers, lives and building their businesses.

So what was it like?

The first six months– Getting my head in the Game

The first six months as an entrepreneur were a rollercoaster of emotions:

The exhilaration the day I walked out of my day job.  Finally, I’m free to do what I love.

The sickening twist of fear the next day -what on earth am I doing?  No more pay cheques dropping into my bank account every month.  From now on my livelihood depends entirely on me.

The liberation of being free to set my own path – I can work on anything I want and with anyone I want wherever I want.

The confusion of so many options.  I thought my business plan made sense, now things are seem more complicated than I could have imagined.

The excitement of the first client, the first check, the first great feedback, the first referral.  These are unbeatable moments – realizing I can make this work.

The stress of the slow month.  It takes time to get your message out there and build momentum.  Did I make a big mistake to leave the apparent safety of the corporate world behind?

The joy of working with others – the valued support, partnership and amazing ideas that others have brought to encourage and inspire me.

If nothing else, in the first six months I developed the mindset to deal with the ups and downs of running a start-up.

In the immortal words of Len Goodman, in business “one day you’re a rooster, the next you’re a feather duster.”

I’m better at dealing with these emotions and staying on a more even keel – and that is critical to being an entrepreneur.

The next 12 months – Making it Happen

The last year has been about turning Less Ordinary Living from an idea into a sustainable business.  It’s been about learning and doing.

I’ve spent a lot of time building my confidence and skills to become an entrepreneur.  It has taken time to develop my message and to convince others.

I’ve learned a huge amount about running and marketing a business from experience that I simply couldn’t have prepared for.  My passion is coaching, and according to my feedback from clients I’m great at that – I’m now discovering how to find the right people to serve.

I’ve also learned the value of learning from my mistakes and certainly had plenty of opportunities to do so.

Finding the focus and single mindedness to work effectively from home and get more done in less time has been instrumental in making it happen.

My business plan has evolved from all this experience and I have clarity on what Less Ordinary Living stands for – a resource for anyone who thinks life is too short to be ordinary.

Serving my clients has helped me to understand what makes my coaching services unique and how I can add real value to people’s lives.

The Future – What’s Next?

Now I’m starting to develop some strong partnership with amazing organizations that also serve professionals looking to make the most of life.

I’ve got an exciting new website under development – watch this space.

Most importantly I have some amazing clients who I love working with and I’m continuing to find more every day.

So building Less Ordinary Living has certainly been exciting, exhilarating, scary, fun, tiring, energizing, challenging and rewarding.

I’ve loved every step of the journey (even the tough ones) and I’m sure that there is more challenge and excitement ahead.

Thank you – I couldn’t have done it without you

To you – my clients, subscribers, readers and supports – thank you for sharing the journey with me so far – I couldn’t have done it without you.  I’m humbled by your contribution.

If you’d like to follow the next steps of the journey, please think about joining my mailing list to get all the latest updates from Less Ordinary Living.

Please do drop me a line or leave a comment to share your thoughts and experiences about life as an entrepreneur.

I’d also value your thoughts on what you’d like to see from Less Ordinary Living in the future.

Comments (9)

By Phil, July 27, 2010 5:22 pm

What’s the difference between being THE best and being YOUR best?

Be your best

Read on to find out the  answer – it could make a huge difference to your quality of life and happiness.

Being the Best

Being the best is about beating everyone in sight, reigning supreme, consistently held out as the champion, number one, numero uno.

It’s about winning and losing.  It’s about coming out on top every time.  Taking the gong, the award, the plaudits.  Making the teary thank-you speech (don’t forget your mum and your agent).

It is a noble aspiration to aim for being the best in your field.  It provides motivation, others to compare against, ways to measure how you are doing.

We can revieve acclaim for our endeavours and feed our need to be recognized along the way.  With dedication, hard work, a clear plan and a little luck we might even make it to the pinnacle.

Yet if this is the sole focus of everything we do, it can be destructive and exhausting too.  Time passes, things change, life moves on.

Great champions lose their magic touch and fall from the top.  In sport, think of Tiger Woods’ travails, Lance Armstrong cycling Le Tour with no chance of winning, Roger Federer the world number 3.

In cinema, do you remember F. Murray Abraham, Geralidine Page or Lousie Fletcher? They are all Oscar winners, the best in their field.  They couldn’t stay at the top forever.

Being the best is a temporary status.  It can take a lifetime to achieve and can be snatched away in seconds.

Being the best also requires you to play by someone else’s rules.  Who really defines the best accountant, entrepreneur, geologist, academic, dancer, painter or lawyer.  The best is chosen by popular acclaim, by an arbirary set of rules, some awards, a poll of polls, the whim of a boss or manager.

Striving to be the best is exhausting, disempowering and worst of all the rules can change at any time!

Be your Best

What happens when you try to be your best?

This subtle switch in thinking can untold happiness, peace and achievement.

When you strive to be your best, you set your own rules.  The pressure of constant comparison and striving for success goes away.

You’re in a one horse race and you decide what determines the winner.   Only you can be your best you.

Being your best means being able to look yourself in the mirror every day and say that you’re doing the best you can.  That is all we can ask from ourself after all.  It means learning to enjoy the successes and the failures and to learn from both.  To be better next time.

It means that you can have an off day, give yourself a break and push on.

It also means that you can be flexible in how you approach life.  The end game is all about being happy, living with yourself and finding peace.

You can still set big, hairy audacious goals for your life and career.  However as long as you do your best and can look yourself in the eye, these are open to change at any time.

Learning how to be your best can transform life from an endless struggle to please others and get to the top into a self-directed journey lived without regret.

How to be your best every day

At the beginning of the day, look yourself in the mirror and say your daily intention out loud- “I will be the best that I can be today”.

Each morning, select the most important thing you’d like to get done today and write down that intention in a journal – “I will write an outstanding blog post today”

If you find yourself drifting and procrastinating during the day, close your eyes and repeat 10 times “I am the best that I can be”. Now refocus and put 100% into doing whatever feels most important (that could be work, taking a proper break or whatever feels right)

At the end of each day, look yourself in the mirror and be honest about your day.  If you did your best, congratualte yourself and rebouble your efforts.  If you faced challenges, forgive yourself and work out how to be even better tomorrow.

Over to you

If you’d like a little inspiration to be your best, get free updates from Less Ordinary Living by clicking here.

Please leave a comment and share with others:

• Do you strive to do your best or be your best?
• What techniques do you use to make the most of each day?
• Have you ever been the best and how did it feel?

Photo Credit: Kevin Dooley (Flickr Creative Commons) – one of the best out there