Apu’s World

It is almost two years now since I quit a steady job in Consulting to start-up my own small business as a Communication consultant and writer. Before I quit my job, I had some vague ideas as to what the challenges in running your own business would be. I assumed that not having a monthly pay cheque and managing household expenses would be a significant challenge. I wondered whether working by myself would get lonely; no coffee-breaks to share office gossip, no going out in the evening with colleagues. 

While on some of these my expectations were accurate (yes, it is difficult not being able to anticipate exactly what the 1st of each month will bring you), some were not (no, I don’t mind working by myself, so long as I meet clients from time to time). I thought it would be worthwhile putting down some of my learnings from these 2 years; it could help other people in the same boat or those looking at taking the plunge into entrepreneurship. 

On turning Entrepreneur 

Each individual’s temperament and ability to take risk varies. If you are a person who doesn’t have a very large appetite for risk, it may make sense turning entrepreneur in stages. Yes, we’ve all heard that you must ‘jump in’, ‘take the plunge’ etc, but I think this really depends on what you can handle and your financial circumstances. There is no point in quitting your job and going solo if the stress is going to give you a heart attack. Not everyone is meant to run their own business. 

When you are sure that you have a great idea in mind, see if it is possible to work on it for some time while you keep your current job. In my case, when I quit my full-time job, I continued consulting for 20 hours every week for a start-up research firm, which allowed me to simultaneously pursue opportunities in communication consulting. Finally, in September last year, I felt confident enough to focus on what I really want to do, which is, work in the communication, content and writing area. 

Keep a Plan B open. What happens if you fail? Do you have ex-colleagues, bosses, acquaintances - who will be happy to refer you for a job? Or, is there an alternative business plan? How long will your finances last while you experiment? It helps if one spouse or partner has a steady job while the other experiments. For single people, this means added risk since they have only themselves to fall back on. While trying your best to succeed, I feel that it is important to be unemotional - failure is a possibility and one has to acknowledge that and be prepared. 

On Project Handling 

When starting fresh, it is sometimes tempting to accept any project that comes your way, especially when finances are running low. I learnt the hard way that some projects are not worth taking on, and in fact, must be turned down. These include unscrupulous clients who will coolly skip payments, clients who want small company rates but expect you to work on ‘only’ their project and projects where the client wants an unspecified ‘high quality’ but is unwilling to spend any time on defining that. It is of course tough identifying such clients before taking on work, but with time, one starts getting smarter!

These are of course issues for project managers everywhere, but for a small company, it is a nightmare. The Rs. 10,000 that a corporation will write off easily as bad debt can pay a good chunk of my monthly household expenses. More importantly, I realised soon enough that I didn’t have the bandwidth for such projects - the time spent on them was making me resentful and unproductive. 

In India at least, projects will always need “just a little bit extra” - clients will invariably remember just that small thing which they forgot to mention when you signed a contract. When I calculate how much time a project will need, I make sure to include a small buffer for such over-runs. At the same time, if the small things get larger and larger, one has to find a way to say no, or bill extra. 

On the Long-term Value of Clients

As for any business, client satisfaction is critical for small businesses. When I turned solo, my first project came through someone I know. After this, most clients have come to me through referrals, and some clients have gone on to become regulars, and eventually, friends. I believe that the long-term value of such clients is, in Mastercard advertising language, priceless.

It isn’t just that they give me regular work and therefore mitigate some of the uncertainty of operating on my own. Nor is it limited to the referrals they can offer. It is more than that. With clients who return to you, you can do some of your most innovative work - you get to know their needs better, you understand the risks they are willing to take and in the process, keep improving your own skills. Plus of course, it is deeply satisfying. 

After I started writing this, I realised that there was more I wanted to say and that this was becoming a long and unwieldy post. For instance, I want to talk about a big bugbear for me - Pricing, and I also want to take about issues of self-worth and doubt. What I’m go to do therefore is label this Part 1 and continue with a (hopefully smaller!) second post, where I’ll be taking about some of those issues. 

Update: Part 2 of Lessons from Being My Own Boss is now up here. 

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apu Entrepreneurship