Opportunity November 8, 2008
Posted by townsend51 in business, credit crunch, entrepreneurship, start up.add a comment
I haven’t devoted a post to it yet, but I thought that I should. Basically, is it a good time to start a business? The financial system is in turmoil, unemployment is climbing, and the pound is in free fall. Personally, I can’t think of a better time to start a business. I’d go as far to say that now is a better time to start a business than potentially any other time in my life.
Interest rate cuts are inevitable, other companies are hunkering down as if a nuclear winter is on its way, the pool of potential employees is growing, and British exports are becoming more competitive again. If you can start a business on a shoe string, then there really is no better time to build. If all goes well you’ll be able to come out of this down turn like a steam train.
The Family Unit October 29, 2008
Posted by townsend51 in entrepreneurship, family, mother figure, team.add a comment
As part of my continuing series of posts about entrepreneurship I’m going to talk about something which is very close to my heart: family.
The family unit is incredibly robust. No entrepreneur should be without his/her family, and should strive as much as possible to bring some of the solidarity of the family unit into his/her working relationships. There’s clear parallels between what I consider to be an effective team, and a family. Firstly, I think that effective teams should be small and personable. Secondly, there should be a ‘mother figure’ who people can go and talk to. In the design office of my last employer there was a clear mother figure who had gained his status largely from the length of time that he’d worked there (and yes, mother figures can be male!). Even the managers went to him with problems. He had a soothing influence, and an easy familiarity with the work, and life in general, which made him the ultimate problem solver. Everyone felt dejected when he retired . But remarkably, another person assumed the role as ‘mother’ and all was well again. It may sound strange to someone who’s never observed such a relationship, and maybe its more likely to occur in a creative, or generally intimate environment, but all I can say is the team was much stronger because of these individuals.
Was there a father figure as well? I’m not sure; there was plenty of stick wavers, but I don’t think they qualified as dutiful father figures.
So next time you’re constructing a team, or considering a new employee, don’t grab a book on management theory, but think ‘how can I make this team more like a family?’ You’ll end up with a stronger, harder working, and healthier team as a result.
Dan is a founding member of Elephant Collective; a group of impassioned designers, engineers and entrepreneurs who work together to turn ideas into reality. See our website for contact details.
Push it out to gain some perspective October 27, 2008
Posted by townsend51 in collaboration, elephant collective, entrepreneurship, ideas, networks, perspective.add a comment
Are ideas the currency of the 21st century? I don’t think so. You see, an idea is worth nothing; at least, not until somebody’s done something with that idea. A trap that people can easily fall in to is becoming too precious about their ideas, and not telling anybody else about them. It may sound counter intuitive, but this is the worst possible thing that a person can do.
If I think about an idea for too long it becomes stagnant. An idea needs air, and it needs to meet other people. Otherwise your handsome prince will turn in to a gruesome ogre. It’s quite possible that your idea contains a kernel of promise, but it takes skill to tease it out. Almost every idea I’ve ever worked on has gone through countless iterations before its ‘complete’. This is because those eureka moments where it appears as if an idea has popped in to your head fully formed, often don’t stand up to scrutiny. The best thing to do is talk to somebody as quickly as possible; whether it’s your partner, your Mum, or a man on the street, it doesn’t matter. By talking to someone you’ll soon gauge whether or not it’s a good idea. But a word of warning: men are often much more enthusiastic about ideas than women, so listen to women; they’re much more sensible beings!
Once you’ve decided that your idea is a fantastic one, make sure that you don’t closet it up again as you work on it. It’s possible to get too close to an idea, and to get too concerned about the minutiae when it’s the ‘big picture’ that really matters. What’s needed is perspective! I rarely, if ever, work on an idea solely by myself, and there are a few less-than-obvious reasons for me doing this. Firstly, the day-to-day feedback is invaluable. Secondly, it’s not possible to know everything. And lastly, it’s a great relief to send off a finished drawing/piece of code/model/whatever at the end of the day. It allows your brain to rest, and when you come back to it, you’ll be able to be more subjective about its positives and negatives. It also provides distinction to your working life. If you’re working on the same idea for months at a time, being able to send it away for others to look at provides mile stones to work to, where otherwise, you could be going further and further down the rabbit hole into the unknown.
Where does the rabbit hole lead? I’m not sure, but by getting advice you’ll be much more likely to reach a better place at the end of it.
A final word about competitors; Microsoft, Apple et al will not steal your idea! These massive companies have lengthy development pipelines, and by the time they’ve noticed your idea, and responded to it, you’ll be two years ahead of the game and gaining market share by the day.
Good luck with your idea, and don’t forget: ‘Get some perspective!’
Dan is a founding member of Elephant Collective; a group of impassioned designers, engineers and entrepreneurs who work together to turn ideas into reality. See our website for contact details.
Look for a great team, not a great audience October 26, 2008
Posted by townsend51 in bootstrapping, business, entrepreneurship, networks, team.add a comment
My current preoccupation with ‘bootstrapping’ has led me to a rather counter intuitive conclusion. When starting a business, you don’t necessarily have to go into the hottest area. What really matters for the frugal entrepreneur are the people that are available. If you already know a great group of people with experience in an area, then surely this is the sensible place to start. This is especially true in the early days, where the business may have limited or no spare capital, and paying for expensive consultants or free lancers is out of the question. It’s an interesting exercise for oneself. Just think “what amazing things could I do with my existing networks of people?” I’m willing to bet that there’s at least one great venture waiting to happen.
Portfolio Workers October 14, 2008
Posted by townsend51 in elephant collective, entrepreneurship, portfolio worker.add a comment
I visited the Royal College of Art last week, and picked up a research leaflet which contained the intriguing term ‘portfolio worker’. I hadn’t heard the expression before, but I quickly realised that I wanted to be one.
A portfolio worker is someone who’s income is derived from a variety of sources, such as consultancy work, teaching, and personal business interests. This arguably leads to a more fulfilling life, whereby the person has greater variety, and a more homogeneous work-life blend. The downside is that money comes in fits and starts, and can often give rise to the popular saying “I’m having cash-flow problems.”
It may seem at first that this sort of lifestyle is only suited to young, happy-go-lucky singletons for whom the inconsistent income is not too much of a problem. However, it is equally well suited to those with dependants, and people nearing retirement age.
For instance, a mother with young children at home could take on short term contractual work to supplement her income. The benefit of this is the increased visibility that it gives her amongst the business community for when she returns to work. And all that’s required to set up as a portfolio worker is a laptop, an internet connection, and a propensity for self-promotion.
But if it’s so easy, why isn’t everyone a portfolio worker? Firstly, it won’t suit everyone. Once people are used to a salary, and the trappings of a regular income, they won’t be willing to give it up. But the main problem for prospective portfolio workers is obscurity.
Even though the internet is a fantastic way to publicise oneself, there are so many people out there doing the same thing that you can often be drowned out. And the prospect of setting up a website can be daunting, or cost prohibitive for some people. So what can they do to increase their visibility?
The best way is the old fashioned way. Ring up old contacts, and get the word out there. Present the main strength that you have: your flexibility. And when looking for new contacts, don’t be afraid to pound the streets promoting your services. People are a lot more responsive to someone calling in person that receiving an email. And if you do a good job for these people then they’re likely to recommend you to other people in the community. Just don’t get bogged down with social networks. Look outside, and consider the people who are already in your geographical network.
The challenge is breaking the old habits and the old routines, and making time for the things that matter. What you’ll find is a balanced portfolio of work which guarantees a fixed income, and work which is more forward looking and concept based. The beauty of this is a returning to old values, where each person is only as good as their next idea. And in times of financial turbulence, and economic uncertainty, ideas are the best currency that a person has.
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I’m part of a group of inventors and entrepreneurs called the Elephant Collective, who whole heartedly believe in this new way of doing business. We don’t have any office space, and we don’t have any fixed costs, but me manage to make innovative products. We’re always on the look out for talented, driven individuals to partner with, no matter what their background. You can find contact details on our website, or alternatively, follow Elephant Collective on Twitter. Thanks.
Conquering the Innovation Game July 31, 2008
Posted by townsend51 in brain storming, business, design, entrepreneurship, ideas, killer innovations, phil mckinney, questions.add a comment
This article contains some of the ‘power questions’ which I ask myself when seeking to create a new product, or innovate around an existing one. A sizeable portion of the content comes from the Killer Innovations podcast by Phil McKinney. For anyone looking for more content on the area of innovation, these podcasts should be your first port of call, mainly because they are so informative, and based on real life experience. They’re also free to download, and fairly regular (every week or so). A blog accompanies the show, and I think that there’s a Facebook group too.
