In this episode we hear from Paul Weeden who is the first How To Start Up guest to have not only started a company (at the age of 24) but also to have successfully sold it too.
Paul recognises that being your own boss is not as straightforward as it sounds: as it grows, so do your responsibilities. Having sold his business, he is now salaried again and is able to offer an interesting perspective on both employment options, especially amidst a pandemic which has changed employee freedoms forever.
Paul can be reached on paul@teamweeden.com
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Paul’s advice:
- Harness apprenticeships where possible if you’re starting out young
- Maximise your previous work experience
- Allow it to help determine your focus for your company’s aim
- Look for clients among people you already know and make sure you tell them what you’re up to
- Make sure you are always paid on time, ideally in advance
- Don’t undersell yourself
- Don’t be shy about referring to your company as ‘we’ not ‘I’
- Always be clear and focussed about what you have to offer. It’ll help clients know quickly if you’re a good fit
- When you are quoting for a job, make sure you understand what the client’s needs are and what problems they need solving: understand your customer
- Know that you must trust your team, and if you don’t, then make the necessary changes
- When you’re growing a business, get used to the cycle of ‘storming, norming, performing’
- Keep in mind you may need external senior support if you’re the company’s sole shareholder
- Maintain transparent communications with your team
- In a crisis, always look for the opportunity as with risk also comes reward
Links:
I would be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company in 2020 as it helps others to find it.
Hosted by Juliet Fallowfield, founder of PR for startups advisory Fallow, Field & Mason, How To Start Up hopes to bring you confidence, encouragement and reassurance that you’re on the right track.
Recorded, hosted & produced by Juliet Fallowfield and edited by Emma Dewhurst in December 2020. MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link & Licence
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