all blogsVeerle's thoughts on starting a business
There's plenty of advice going round the internet on setting up a business. I've been reading it for a couple of years now and if there is one thing I've learnt it is this:
The most valuable advice is advice you don't want to hear.
This is not to say advice you want-to-hear is worthless. Most of it is pretty accurate and true. It's just that the stuff you want to hear is probably not your sticky point. It's not the thing you are having trouble with.
Going into business on your own is such a hard experience because it makes you confront those sticky points. Bad discipline, sales skills, job expertise, focus, financial awareness and so on, show their ugly heads and don't go away until you become stronger. Good advice helps bring those weaknesses into your awareness. It's not pleasant, but it's necessary.
Veerle has posted some ugly heads I don't want to hear:
1:
The very first days when I started freelancing I was so motivated and thought I could conquer the world, but reality told me differently and I needed a lot of courage and energy to put myself over this and not to give up. Financially it was very difficult to survive and you start to wonder if it's worth the effort.
2:
Geert's idea was to approach and confront potential clients directly with my work. This was something I didn't dare to do, but I had no choice and so I did it and after a while I might have gotten the hang of it even. One morning, I visited about 20 companies, handed over my business card and even had a chance to present my work here and there and landed myself two real jobs.
3:
Another warning sign is clients telling you that they could give you tons of work if you just dance to their tune. For example making endless logos because they can't make up their mind. Put a number on this from the start to avoid this kind of thing. Believe me when I say that you will be surprised to what length some people go to make you do what they want. The guilt trip is something I experienced, the client makes you feel you didn't do enough and hopes you will do more for free.
I can think of counter arguments to all three pieces of advice here. Reasons why my situation is different and this advice doesn't quite apply to me.
It's not easy to admit these are excuses in disguise, but they are.