10 thoughts at 10

 A few weeks  ago, as Sweet Comms celebrated its 10^th birthday, I promised to  share some suggestions for anyone else thinking about starting their own business. Some are more serious than others!

1.     Start before you start – LinkedIn gives you the chance to find and re-connect with people who might otherwise be long lost to you. Time spent building your network will never be wasted. 

2.     Decide on your ideal day – I’ve blogged on this before, but when I was thinking of starting Sweet Comms, someone asked me a deceptively powerful question: “What is your ideal day?”. This really helped me articulate what I wanted us to focus on.   

3.     Love coffee – or tea, or whatever your poison may be. I have been a significant contributor to the coffee industry since I started this business, meeting a wide range of people in-person or virtually, always with coffee cup in hand. I have loved those interactions and they have been really important to the business.   

4.     Be yourself – LinkedIn is full of people crowing about drinking power shakes at 2 a.m. or the workouts they completed while I was still snoring. Running a business is intense and exhilarating, but you don’t need to be something you’re not. Ignore the noise. 

5.     Focus on what matters – I’m not an entrepreneur and never will be. My colleagues and I stick to what we are good at through the support we give our treasured clients. Don’t spread yourself too thinly or in too many directions, you could lose clarity and focus. 

6.      Involve others – I’m grateful for a lot of support, not only from clients and colleagues but also from partners and people from my network who have popped up with words of advice or encouragement. Don’t be afraid to ask, if only for a second opinion. 

7.     Get the right tech – you can waste a LOT of time and money on technology. And unless you’re clear on what you need, potential suppliers of new tools or platforms may never leave you alone. Explore and obtain the right things for you, not the latest shiny new toy. 

8.     Carve time for learning – clients are of course your main focus, but don’t neglect yourself. Early on, I realised that being ’head down’ on work all the time meant I missed opportunities to learn new things and connect with peers. 

9.      Spend money on a decent shredder – anything else is a false economy! 

10.  Learn to count – something I failed to do for this post. 

There is loads more I could say, but I’ll stop at 10 (ok, nine). If you’re considering taking a similar path, I hope at least some of this is helpful.