“Life is too short to have anything but delusional notions about yourself.” - Gene Simmons
People have always said I have delusional notions about myself. Maybe that is what gave me the confidence to start my first business at 22. 18 years later I am still learning, still making mistakes and still delighted I had the balls to do it despite not having a clue what I was doing.
When I was younger and just starting my agency, people would come to me for advice on how to get started with their own big ideas and ambitions. I gave out a lot of terrible advice over the years - some of it really awful. But after a few years of trial and error, I've finally managed to hone in on a few principles that I can safely say are absolute, fact.
The overriding principle is this…If I can do it anyone can do it.
I'll start with the biggest myth of all. The big leap.
The number one thing that seems to stop people from starting their own thing is the big leap. From salary to no pay, from office to bedroom, from company benefits to government benefits.
From relative safety to perilous responsibility and expectation.
This….is bollocks.
Starting a business doesn't have to be a sudden and overwhelming thing. I didn't do it. In fact, I don't know many people who have.
Most successful entrepreneurs I know started their businesses as a side hustle, working in their spare time to build up their brand and their client base. It's a little extra work time than usual admittedly...but there comes a day...a magic day... where their side hustle generates just enough money to keep them fed and watered...and then the big perilous leap becomes a simple step.
Incubate your own business until it's ready to incubate you.
If you're lucky enough to have a big idea, good for you. You don't actually need one to start a successful business. At all.
The first and most obvious approach is to do something that already exists...just do it better than other people. Think tech...how many tech platforms are there that do the same thing but deliver in a certain way...or even just have a better UI/UX design?
Answer - loads.
That's exactly what I did for my first business. A film production company that would deliver the best performing, sexiest brand content on the planet (mission completed, obvs).
If you are hell-bent on a new 'big' idea…but struggling to find one, just find someone else who has it and buddy-up
The truth is, building a business can be lonely by yourself. Almost no one I know has done it solo. So you might as well buddy up with someone who has a big idea because they aren't going to want to do it alone either.
Whatever your skill set, start-up businesses and big ideas need all kinds of talent to get them off the ground. If you are a trained accountant…great…a founder with a great idea will need you to build a business…in fact…you will probably run the business for the next 40 years lol.
There are only a very few companies, brands and ideas that need a load of money to get a start. Most things can be started with nothing other than the will to succeed and as tech becomes more advanced it only becomes easier to present yourself as a credible company.
Also to repeat point 1…starting a business doesn’t need to be this gun-ho all-or-nothing exercise. Incrementally build the business and the associated burn rate step by step. Stay lean and find the margins on everything!
I might get pelters for this, but having an understanding of finances isn't particularly important. As my work wife Patrick will attest…18 years later I still don't know what I am doing with a spreadsheet and I still don’t forecast. Get a bookkeeper and accountant so you can spend your time focusing on the thing you love (and are good at).
A classic…but true. Sales and marketing for a start-up are almost always going to be challenging. Proving credibility in a skeptical marketplace with lots of competition can be brutal. Remember it's likely your client has a boss they need to impress…and your start-up might not be the safe option.
When first starting out, the people who already know and trust you are more likely to give you a chance and introduce you to their own networks. This process of meeting new people through mutual friends is called decentralised social networking, and it's one of the most effective ways to get leads and grow your business in the early days. So pick up the phone or meet someone for drinks—it'll be worth your while.
A friend once visited our office--the four of us housed in a one-man space--and brought a bottle of port he had gotten free at some conference. He told us to open and celebrate when we got our first big project...
That bottle collected dust for 2.5 years. We were barely making enough money to survive and I had several unsettling trips to the bank just to keep us afloat. When it appeared that the company was going under, we finally scored two huge contracts that changed everything forever.
In the end, it wasn’t a particular email campaign or advert that saved us…it was the culmination of luck that only work, persistence and sheer fucking over-confidence can create.
When I first started my business, I aimed high and wanted only the most prestigious projects. To me, it seemed the only way to gain these projects was by making my company look like a large, trustworthy agency with a truckload of employees. However, there was one small problem--there were only four of us. So when one of the Britain's largest broadcasters and telecommunications agencies came into our office to meet "the team", I paid a group of young actors to sit at desks and act like they were typing on laptops.
And it worked. We won the contract and it helped double our turnover that year.
Of course, you will need employees…the point is always to find the edge, try every trick in the book, and project the vision you want your clients to see…HARD.
Good luck heroes.
Patrick Lambert
#alwaysevolving
Entrepreneur, Presenter. Marketing, Web3, Cars, Property.
Currently working on uGen: Web3 social content platform
Ben Collins is a Creative Director 👑
Business Founder x 5 🚀
Loves nuts 🥜
Writes about entrepreneurship, marketing and the gym
“Life is too short to have anything but delusional notions about yourself.” - Gene Simmons
People have always said I have delusional notions about myself. Maybe that is what gave me the confidence to start my first business at 22. 18 years later I am still learning, still making mistakes and still delighted I had the balls to do it despite not having a clue what I was doing.
When I was younger and just starting my agency, people would come to me for advice on how to get started with their own big ideas and ambitions. I gave out a lot of terrible advice over the years - some of it really awful. But after a few years of trial and error, I've finally managed to hone in on a few principles that I can safely say are absolute, fact.
The overriding principle is this…If I can do it anyone can do it.
I'll start with the biggest myth of all. The big leap.
The number one thing that seems to stop people from starting their own thing is the big leap. From salary to no pay, from office to bedroom, from company benefits to government benefits.
From relative safety to perilous responsibility and expectation.
This….is bollocks.
Starting a business doesn't have to be a sudden and overwhelming thing. I didn't do it. In fact, I don't know many people who have.
Most successful entrepreneurs I know started their businesses as a side hustle, working in their spare time to build up their brand and their client base. It's a little extra work time than usual admittedly...but there comes a day...a magic day... where their side hustle generates just enough money to keep them fed and watered...and then the big perilous leap becomes a simple step.
Incubate your own business until it's ready to incubate you.
If you're lucky enough to have a big idea, good for you. You don't actually need one to start a successful business. At all.
The first and most obvious approach is to do something that already exists...just do it better than other people. Think tech...how many tech platforms are there that do the same thing but deliver in a certain way...or even just have a better UI/UX design?
Answer - loads.
That's exactly what I did for my first business. A film production company that would deliver the best performing, sexiest brand content on the planet (mission completed, obvs).
If you are hell-bent on a new 'big' idea…but struggling to find one, just find someone else who has it and buddy-up
The truth is, building a business can be lonely by yourself. Almost no one I know has done it solo. So you might as well buddy up with someone who has a big idea because they aren't going to want to do it alone either.
Whatever your skill set, start-up businesses and big ideas need all kinds of talent to get them off the ground. If you are a trained accountant…great…a founder with a great idea will need you to build a business…in fact…you will probably run the business for the next 40 years lol.
There are only a very few companies, brands and ideas that need a load of money to get a start. Most things can be started with nothing other than the will to succeed and as tech becomes more advanced it only becomes easier to present yourself as a credible company.
Also to repeat point 1…starting a business doesn’t need to be this gun-ho all-or-nothing exercise. Incrementally build the business and the associated burn rate step by step. Stay lean and find the margins on everything!
I might get pelters for this, but having an understanding of finances isn't particularly important. As my work wife Patrick will attest…18 years later I still don't know what I am doing with a spreadsheet and I still don’t forecast. Get a bookkeeper and accountant so you can spend your time focusing on the thing you love (and are good at).
A classic…but true. Sales and marketing for a start-up are almost always going to be challenging. Proving credibility in a skeptical marketplace with lots of competition can be brutal. Remember it's likely your client has a boss they need to impress…and your start-up might not be the safe option.
When first starting out, the people who already know and trust you are more likely to give you a chance and introduce you to their own networks. This process of meeting new people through mutual friends is called decentralised social networking, and it's one of the most effective ways to get leads and grow your business in the early days. So pick up the phone or meet someone for drinks—it'll be worth your while.
A friend once visited our office--the four of us housed in a one-man space--and brought a bottle of port he had gotten free at some conference. He told us to open and celebrate when we got our first big project...
That bottle collected dust for 2.5 years. We were barely making enough money to survive and I had several unsettling trips to the bank just to keep us afloat. When it appeared that the company was going under, we finally scored two huge contracts that changed everything forever.
In the end, it wasn’t a particular email campaign or advert that saved us…it was the culmination of luck that only work, persistence and sheer fucking over-confidence can create.
When I first started my business, I aimed high and wanted only the most prestigious projects. To me, it seemed the only way to gain these projects was by making my company look like a large, trustworthy agency with a truckload of employees. However, there was one small problem--there were only four of us. So when one of the Britain's largest broadcasters and telecommunications agencies came into our office to meet "the team", I paid a group of young actors to sit at desks and act like they were typing on laptops.
And it worked. We won the contract and it helped double our turnover that year.
Of course, you will need employees…the point is always to find the edge, try every trick in the book, and project the vision you want your clients to see…HARD.
Good luck heroes.
