Home or Away

One of my worries about the next step is how I behave in the first few months.

I need to make sure I don't treat it as an extended holiday (part of the reason I'm having a longish holiday straight away after I finish up). I need to keep busy and get up early (not always a thing I do well).

I worry that I will find diversions at home, to such a degree I am contemplating getting rid of my TV (a strategy I adopted successfully during my finals) and PS3. But I know I will find other diversions even without these, and I think they're rather drastic.

My big idea to help me transition and getting into the working spirit is to join a club, such as Soho House, One Alfred Place, Adam Street or some such place... I did have a thought about getting a serviced office, but bizarrely a private club is about half the cost of a serviced office.

My other thought is to wear a suit everyday, make me feel like I'm working, make it different from "normal" every day wear. This is something I used to do at work (I know that sounds funny but in work everybody wears jeans) but now I only wear a suit when I cycle into work.

Eight Years in Three Words: Fun Challenge Experience

Upon reflecting about my eight years with my last employer, I have been trying for the last several weeks to put all that time into context. There's been ups and downs (mostly ups), but there's been more than that.

What I wanted to say ended up being cliches... "the people are what make a business and there's lots of great people here... blah blah blah..." all of which is very true, but rather dull (may be it's what they want to hear - some affirmation that those remaining are making the right choice by staying).

So I have been wrestling with being honest (or in the latest buzzword at work "authentic") about my eight years, without hiding the bad times or from the people that I have pissed off and who have annoyed me. I do not want to rose tint the real world into a fairy tale version suitable for the mass market. However I also don't want to create a black & white view of my last eight years that jar people's view of me or their view of the company.

I need it to be both honest and universal. Those two characteristics don't play well together. They stink of principle and ideology. And principles, especially universal ones, usually mean they won't stand up in the real world (and if you hadn't guessed yet, I'm a realist!).

I ended up thinking about what the eight years have brought to me and I settled on three words (can you guess what they are???!) that summarised my tenure honestly, sincerely and (hopefully) neutrally.

But was it just my tenure? It began to dawn on me that actually this was something bigger... this could actually be my philosophy in life. And conveniently my reflection upon my employment over the last eight years had been like a mirror upon most (if not all) of the last 37.

Part of me disputes that on the basis of it's simply coincidence and / or post rationalisation. And to some degree it possibly is...

• I do remember being 15, lying in a hospital and wanting desperately to have fun for the rest of my life, to not take life too seriously - I felt an enormous emotional rock lift off my shoulders at that point by not trying to take life too seriously.
• I remember writing a list of ambitions at the age of 18 on the plane en route from seeing my dad in America, most of which had challenges on them (like scuba diving) - I need to dig out that list! Perhaps it was just teenage lust for life and some crazy ideas.
• I recall always wanting to take the road less travelled. To do things differently, certainly as an adult, and certainly as I got older. To experience other lands and peoples such as Japan.
  

Regardless of whether they are post rationalised or have been drivers throughout my life, right now they fit my story of my life and what I want the rest of the chapters to unfold.

To ensure, that in the future I don't look back to post rationalise where I am right now, here's my meaning behind these three words.

Fun - to laugh & smile, especially in the face of crap. To realise the fun and enjoyment of living. Of stopping and smelling the roses. Of having harmless fun no matter where it can be found. Of just playing tig for no reason at all. Of doodling. To celebrate successes, especially the little ones. Of keeping hope alive, but not counting on it.

Challenge - to look for something as yet unconquered. To go after something yet unachieved. Of applying oneself. To progress and battle through. For that feeling of achievement. To understand that it's possible or to fall AND get back up. To try again. And again.

Experience - not just in the sense of building up knowledge (although that is very relevant, given that new things interest me and I love reading non-fiction books and documentaries). From the sense of enjoying experiences. That all of life from the good and the bad, is an experience to be savoured and devoured with equal intensity. Good luck and bad luck are but sides of the same coin. To understand that we are all here only once and to embrace the comedy, drama and tragedy of life. And to realise the only bad experience is not experiencing enough...

What am I?

So the news is out there... I'm leaving!

And the immediate response from my colleagues is "Where are you off to?" and I stumble something out about starting my own business, which leads me into a cul de sac of "What are you starting?" and that's where I get lost.

I struggle to explain in one sentence what it is I'm planning to do... Do I say I'm going to a be a crap juggler? Don't think that sets me in the best light and it takes a bit longer to explain than a snappy one sentence. If I say internet retailing then it means ebay to some. Am I a property developer? Well not straight away, may be in a couple of years but that also brings about images of Sarah Beanie... Am I a coach? That seems to be a popular thing that everybody goes off to do. And I somehow judge a number of the other terms as being... well... naff...

Entrepreneur? Nah! It seems too grandiose. And it's french!
Business Angel? No way - I've got no money to invest!
Inventor? Am I really going to invent anything and I don't have a garden shed?
Founder? I think is retrospective - you can only be a founder once you have founded something
Impresario? Jeez! That sounds like I'm about to deliver an aria in an opera...

So what am I actually going to do? Basically, I'm taking a very improvised way and trying out a number of things and seeing what sticks... What is that called??? Chancer? Adventurer? Daredevil? Those terms are closer to the truth, but not close enough. The closest I can come up with is Improvised Capitalist...

Sacrifice

I am now only 5 weeks away from starting my new life and I am exited and daunted, all at the same time.

For nearly four years the idea has been in the ether. For nearly a year, this time has been in the planning. And now it's down to weeks...

Part of that planning has been about surviving for as long as possible, given that I put my chances of success about 1 in 5 (based on general consumer goods performance and also a Harvard study). And to help me do that I have to make my cash last as long as possible... Ideally in the region of 18 months to two years (that's how long I think it will take to know if I have something viable). And to do that with the money I've got, I need to shave a third off my usual expenditure.

About 4 months ago was the moment of truth... was I prepared to make sacrifices in my lifestyle so I could live my dream. Was I prepared to give up drinking to save money? Was I prepared not to drink 4 or 5 times a week, 4 or 5 beers at a time? If so, in theory that could mean an extra 2 months over the next year to make a success of my ideas

And alcohol wasn't the only sacrifice... I've gone through my lifestyle and reviewed those things that six months ago were "normal" but in the cold light of day are at best luxuries most would not have and at worst are "frivolous". Things like eating out more than once a week. An expensive sandwich made fresh in a shop when I can make it fresh at home.

Those sacrifices, I hope will allow me the time to reach my promised land

Idea Percolator

As I enter the next phase of the grand plan (Hang on! There's a plan????) I am filled with confidence, excitement, and shit scary ploppy pants.

What gives me confidence also gives me doubt.

I have a multitude of ideas. Fifteen at the last count... so if one doesn't work, then surely there's another one to try...

By the fact of having so many ideas also means that I can't get after one of them immediately with an all consuming passion. I worry that this means I won't put in all my energy to make any of the ideas a success.

But, to some degree by not getting after an idea with absolute intensity allows me to mull it over. It allows me to contrive "thought experiments" to understand the potential barriers and work out solutions before I invest a single pound. It's what I call my idea percolator...

Interestingly they're not all my ideas... Some of the ideas have come from friend's conversations, and they have sought me out, and I'm genuinely excited by that as I look forward to being the first person my friends turn to when they want to start their idea, using my expertise and, hopefully, capital.

What price for a business plan? Its worth at least £200 to not bother with one...

My background is a mix of big companies and little companies, and one of the constants in all of these companies is the necessity of writing up how you plan to spend the money you're asking for. For all the differences in each company, they have all asked for a business plan for new products, new marketing strategies or change management programmes. My current employer needs 5 business plans to get a new product off the ground (albeit at different points in the process of innovation). And each business plan has to go through the hierarchy before it comes back down with the amends before it gets to the decision makers, who don't actually read it cover to cover, but simply skip to the financials, give their opinion (usually it's not big or quick enough). Each business plan takes a minimum of two weeks to pull together and covers a host of areas from production, marketing, sales, HR, finance, media relations, legal, IP, and distribution. It's an industry in itself, and for a while that's all I seemed to do (and all I thought that was necessary to do to make a new product a success).

Recently two things have struck me about the need for Business Plans.

First of all I haven't done one for the Internet venture I'm involved in with my Business Buddy. Only in the last couple of days have we been asked for a Business Plan. We didn't need one when setting up our business account at the bank. We didn't need one when opening accounts with our suppliers. We didn't need one when we were inviting web developers to pitch for building our site. We didn't need one to raise finance (it came from our own pockets!). We didn't need it to sort out the role profiles we were both going to undertake (we just agreed it between ourselves and got on with it). We didn't need it to set up the company with Companies House. We didn't need it to inform HMRC about our Tax status. We were only asked for it when we requested an Internet Merchant Account from a competitor bank. And the only reason we asked about that was our current bank were asking for £200 to set up an Internet merchant account. We've now decided to pay £200 rather than the hassle of developing a business plan. Our time needs to be spent on sourcing our products and sorting out the glitches on the web site with the blasted web developer (he hinted!). We're far more interested in learning how our business works than actually writing about how we think it could work.

Secondly, I recently read a blog about writing a Business Plan and it struck a chord, especially with my experience of writing Business Plans in my current employer. Business plans are a cacophony of... how can I put this... random guesses. I can't tell the future any better than anybody else. I, nor anybody else, has a special gift for predicting the future success of a business through a business plan or through tea leaves. And writing a business does not miraculously give me that insight into the future. Some people argue that without a Business Plan you won't know where you're going as you won't have planned what you're doing in a couple of years time. Couple of years?!?!?!?! Who's plans are actually accurate within a couple of months of launch???

My final thought about writing a business plan is the emotion that goes along with it. Writing a business plan is tiresome. It means checking and re-checking your numbers and words. And with every word that is typed, it means you are one more word away from actually doing something and that sets in motion a cycle of procrastination about getting the business plan right before you give it to people, before you get the funding, and before you start on your idea. I found with my last idea that when I gave up on writing my business plan, I actually picked up making my idea come alive. And with every step taken in setting up the idea came more energy. I was able to tinker it based on real evidence rather than "guesses".

As you can tell, I'm not an advocate of Business Plans, but I am an advocate for the thinking that a Business Plan promotes, and the challenge that arises from those thoughts, as opposed to keeping them safe in my
little head, secure in the knowledge that it's just my own thoughts. And there needs to be a balance between thinking and doing. So I suggest a business plan that can be written on the back of a fag packet and kept inside your head, while you get on with building your dream.

Momentum...

The last few weeks have been rather hectic both in and out of work...

In the middle of the summer, I had a chat with my business buddy and he had been slightly deflated about his business plans.  Nothing had blocked his way.  No big  questions had been asked.  Just lethargy.  Perhaps even a bit of confidence taking a knock.

So to help him out, I offered to help him by taking some of the workload off him.  I thought this would generate some momentum and get him closer to his goal.  I offered to go 50:50 with him on selling 100 units by Christmas, to share the load for those first 100 units.  We made a plan for selling the units in different routes to market to see what was the most effective.  We also made a plan to produce the 100 units.  Christ!  I might as well run the business...

And the first meeting with a customer went well and we were off and running towards our target well before Christmas.

And then a funny thing happened... my business buddy had a thought.  A thought based on the experience he had with these first customers.  I think what happened (as I'm not really sure!) was that he saw how he could improve on what these customers were doing and how "easy" it was.  It wasn't revolutionary.  It was evolutionary.

What he saw was that that all the potential customers were offering a "functional" proposition, one that was based on what the product category was called and what it did.  It didn't communicate how the entire category solved the main underlying need.  And that was his idea...

So we got cracking on it... building a e-commerce site, looking at appropriate need based domain names, incorporating a business company with two directors, starting a business bank account and sourcing the products.  And I feel confident about it.  It feels right.  It's simple and incremental.  We know the category has appeal.  We're just doing it better!

But here is the weird bit!  I've not done one bit of analysis.  I've not done a single spreadsheet or business plan.  I feel exposed but I feel comfortable.  I feel exposed as I have no idea how big or small this could be.  I don't know what the cash flow forecast is.  I don't have a clue what the capital requirements are.  I don't know what the KPI's are.  But I feel confident.  I know this will work and I completely trust my business buddy, and I'm in for half the costs (and potentially half the profits!).

And all of this has confirmed a couple of things... The first is opportunities.   We wouldn't be looking at this by just sitting around feeling bad about the idea.  It came about by driving forward and by having the confidence to give up the things you started upon and seeing how to realise the opportunity.  It's all about opening doors...

The second thing is instinct.  I really know there is something in this and I don't need numbers to prove it.