BE YOUR OWN BOSS Foreword by Alex Carvalho
Launched with David Cameron’s former adviser,
Public.io founder talks us through making the jump
“Could you come and help me with some excel stuff on the weekend?” I caught the
entrepreneurial bug one afternoon in a co- working space in Farringdon when my wife Stephanie – an NHS Orthopaedic Surgeon – asked me if I could come and lend a hand at her startup which she had just launched. The company, Doctify (
doctify.co.uk) was only three- people strong and Stephanie was thankful for any help I could off er. That weekend I was blown away by what I
saw. I met her CTO, watched him turn ideas into code and watched that code provide tangible functionality. I cold-called potential clients, I started to learn how to see how you use search engines and social media to drive awareness, I walked the streets of London clandestinely dropping flyers in cafés, I grappled with acronyms, I worked on strategy, I tried to understand where to hire people who knew more than I did about all of this. In short, I went from having one job that I was good at to having ten jobs where I was out of my depth – and I was happier than I had ever been. I spent 18 months helping my wife build her business to a team of 40 brilliant people before deciding to head off on my own and start PUBLIC (
public.io) in April 2017.
Starting a business is fun, exciting and
extremely rewarding. But it is also really hard. It is one of the hardest, most physically and mentally challenging things that I have ever done. It can be lonely, confusing, bewildering and exhausting, and there are many times when I have questioned whether any of it is worth it. The respect I have for every micro and small business owner has never been higher. Whilst writing this piece, I have tried to refl ect on my own experiences and signpost useful
Starting a business is fun, exciting and extremely rewarding
resources so that people looking to make the jump to self-employment have a better understanding of some of the risks and rewards.
The benefi ts of being your own boss For all the autonomy, fl exibility and reward that being your own boss can bring, you need to make sure that you are truly committed to what you are setting out to achieve. The most important message: make sure you are passionate about what you are trying to do. If you are not, the naysayers, those who are risk-averse, and the untold setbacks you will
likely face will hold you back. Stick to your vision and find someone who believes in you and who will back you to deliver that vision. Armed with that
passion, belief and long-term vision, all the bumps, the emotional ups and downs and the setbacks will pale in comparison. Because you are your own boss and you are in control of your destiny and how you shape it.
The help available to people who want to make that jump
Gov.uk’s Business and Self-Employed page has a lot of useful procedural steps and advice, and is a great place to start. In addition, Great Business UK have launched an excellent online support page for entrepreneurs setting up their own businesses, including advice on how to write a business plan, access funding opportunities, and connect with mentors and support networks. In a similar vein, Mentorsme is an online platform that allows entrepreneurs to search for mentors across the UK, both
O Stick to your vision
and fi nd someone who believes in you and will back you to deliver that vision
Alex Carvalho
Stephanie Carvalho - Founder of Docify
by region and sector, and connect with them to fi nd support from experienced business professionals. Sometimes, the most useful support can
come from other entrepreneurs who are going through the same challenges as you. BizWarriors, Alignable and UK Business Labs are all examples of entrepreneur support forums, helping to make the process of starting out a little less isolating. More recently, a number of start-ups have launched platforms dedicated to connecting entrepreneurs, innovators and investors – the most famous
U
of which is Shapr. No matter what stage you are at in your business journey, platforms like these off er the opportunity to meet and connect with others who might share their vision. B.
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