Reflections on my first 3 years in business

Reflections on the first 3 years in business

This week marks the start of my 4th year in business.

‘Setting up on my own’ was something I was always keen to do, but I’d never got round to doing it. Ultimately I became bored of working in corporate and public sector organisations, with the internal politics and a few ‘interesting’ bosses shall we say.

What I hadn’t accounted for was leaving a safe, well paid, comfortable full time job, the week before a global pandemic, with a young family and a mortgage, and one ￡5k piece of work lined up.?There was no going back, so there was nothing else for it but to go for it.

This meant trying to grow a business from my house, meeting new clients and building rapport virtually, at a time when businesses were fighting for their own survival.

I figured at that time, my 10+ years of procurement experience and expertise was exactly what most business needed, and particularly within public sector which typically spends to keep the economy going. There was a short pause in contract opportunities while everyone figured what was going on, but it quickly picked up and hasn’t slowed down since.

Owning your own business is a fantastic experience – and one that I don’t regret at all. I suppose however the reality is different than what you might read in books or hear from gurus who make it all look so easy (even though most of them haven’t done it themselves!!).

Most people (like me) start a business because they have a particular skill set or area of expertise that they know can help other businesses. We are the ‘technicians’ when we are employees, and we think we can do it better than we are being allowed to do in our employed jobs.

The shiny idea of setting up on your own is often that you will be in control of your own time, make your own decisions, be in control of your own destiny, even make lots of money and retire early into the sunset.

The reality, especially when starting up on a shoestring in a pandemic is that on top of being the expert at the technical stuff, you also need to think about marketing, finance, compliance, promotion, networking, proposals, business development. I had to learn these things fast, delegated some things and tapped into the various support networks for help.

It’s not easy, and maybe not for everyone. The reality as a business owner is that if you don’t work, or your not out there getting work, you don’t get paid. It’s relentless. Even now, we’re 4 years in, growing, starting to employ people, working with some amazing businesses, we’re in a strong position. But I’m ambitious, and we want to help more businesses. On the flip side, I have the constant fear that the phone stops ringing, so I have a drive within me to not get complacent.

There are days when I think ‘why am I doing this’ or ‘what am I doing’. But those are less frequent than the good days, the days when you see the impact you’ve made on a client’s business, or the day when something I’ve been working on for a long time comes to fruition. The best moments are when clients tell you they’ve won a contract you’ve helped them bid for, and it’s made a significant difference to their company. The worst is when they tell you they’ve not won.

It can literally be a yo-yo, one day I can be on top of the world, the next I’m on a downer. I speak to many other business owners, and they say the same thing. In a way that is reassuring, on the other hand I often wonder why people choose to run their own business.

Some reflections on what I’ve learned over the last 3 years:

Value your knowledge and expertise – this can be difficult at the start when you need to generate income to survive. However as time goes on it gets easier. It’s taken years of graft for you to develop your skills and expertise so don’t accept less than your worth

Trust your own judgement – and be careful who you take advice from – owning your own business means you need to make hundreds of decisions everyday, and often you may not know the right answer. It can be overwhelming, especially in the beginning. I have learned the value of developing a network of trusted advisers – people who are the real experts in their field, and the areas of my business where I am weakest. That said, I ultimately take the decision I think is right for our business – whether that turns out to be the right or wrong decision. I’ve learned over time to trust my own judgement more.

Learning to say ‘no’ – I’ll admit, I’m still perfecting this one. However, I’ve realised that not all business is good business. For me, it’s vital to work with good people, who recognise the value of your expertise, and are good to work with. You don’t need to be best friends with everyone you work with, but a respectful and collaborative relationship based on trust, integrity and shared goals is important. Also, the opportunity has to be the right one – for both parties. If we can't help a client – i.e. were not the right fit for one another, or we don’t think they have a chance of winning a contract – then we will be upfront with them. We’re in a good position now where we are financially strong, with a good pipeline of work, some excellent clients, and lots of enquiries from prospective new clients. So we will only work with clients who fit with our values.

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The importance of processes and systems – I used to think processes and systems got in the way of getting things done, and stifling creativity. However over time I’ve come to appreciate the need for structure and discipline that is required to grow a business. Creativity is still possible within a structure, and the processes should be simple but effective for the needs of the business. If the process doesn’t add value, then get rid of it.

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Learn to enjoy the experience – it can be difficult sometimes to lift my head and look back at what we’ve achieved, and the experiences I’ve had in these last 3 years. I started the business with the intention of owning my own destiny, learning along the way and enjoying the journey. As I said, I was bored of the corporate and public sector bureaucracy, and the words ‘procurement’ and ‘fun’ don’t generally go together anyway. I have definitely learned along the way and had some great experiences, as well as a number of challenges. Though I’m probably guilty of quickly moving onto the next challenge without stopping to celebrate the successes and enjoy the experience (and there have been a lot of successes to enjoy!!)

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Try to switch off – I’ve not managed this at all yet. It’s not a badge of honour, and definitely something not sustainable. But when you’re trying to (a) survive and (b) grow a business, I find it all-consuming and difficult to switch off. In some ways I actually love being so consumed – I’m an ideas person and love thinking of new ideas for the business. On the other hand, I know it’s important to have a balance.

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I was delighted to launch our new name and brand in January, Optimum Business Growth. The re-brand project turned into a major exercise (one that took much longer than I’d thought it would).

As an example of how I’ve learned of the need to adapt and change quickly in business, our previous name, 4S Bid, sounded great in my head. But no-one else did, and we were being called Bid4S, 4BidS and Bids4U, which told me the name wasn't right. In saying that, it got us to where we are now, and goes to show that a brand is more than a nice logo and a website.

Our service, our values, our experience and my obsession with setting high standards for our clients is the same as it’s always been, but I feel that the new name and brand is more reflective of this.

I’m really looking forward to what the 4th year holds for the business, and for me personally I hope to be able to enjoy another year of experiences such as welcoming new employees, rolling out our new services and helping good people grow their business.

To business owners reading this – I love learning from other business owners, sharing experiences and your journey to where you are now. I’d love to hear from anyone who enjoyed my reflections and would like to share your own journey.?