Lean Startups & Bartering Relationships (Part1)

Being self-employed, and a 'free agent' for the last 15 years, I have been asked questions pertaining to start-ups and sustainability. Here are my thoughts distilled over the years for those who are thinking seriously about taking that quantum leap of faith into self-employment. 

To start your own company, and launch it, you can start lean and still be mean. Key considerations are:

A) Have 12 Months of Salary

In case things do not work according to plan, you have a year's worth of savings to tide over your overheads. These include purchase of capital expenses (notebook, work-station, peripherals), operating costs (rental, staff salary, software,licenses, taxes), business expenses (transportation, travel, accommodation) and developmental costs (education, seminars, courses, books, DVDs, EBooks). Do your 'books' according to a simple plan of Input/Output, or Cost/Income. Learn about basic Accounting, if you will, as it is important to be compliant with taxation laws and enjoy prevailing tax reliefs and start-up benefits.

Now, this window of 12 months gives you an 'out', in case things do not pan out for reasons. You still have a sense of relevance and 'recency', as you have not been too long 'out in the cold'.

Leadership Lessons: Plan to succeed. Success comes with planning and working your plan. A 12-month bank of salary gives you an assurance that you can manage your current lifestyle or alter it. What endurance sports can teach us are values of patience, optimism, determination, persistence, and purpose. I used 'The Art of The Start' by Guy Kawasaki as a working manual, and it has useful orientations for business start-ups and entrepreneurial approaches. 

Bespoke-Tailored New Year Plans

I recently commissioned a London-trained, Saville Row, bespoke tailor to make me a few shirts and a coat (jacket). What I learnt from the strenuous but needful process – selecting fabric, style, collar, button, button-holes, cuffs, pocket, inner-lining and monogram – is the true meaning about ‘If it fits, wear it!’ The best clothes take time to sew, and they feel good to the skin, and makes the wearer feel good about themselves. Having watched many episodes of 'Project Runway', I have acquired the lingo in tailoring and designing and am more educated about 'threads'; I am not a connoisseur of fine raiments, well not yet.

I did not use the words ‘resolution’ as I have found it to be errantly ineffective for goal-setting. How many of us end up, starting the New Year, with revisions to previous year’s resolutions? The mounting weight gain shows no respite, despite upgrades and mounting mantras to attain the flimsy constructed goals. Resolution may be described as ‘re-solution’; ‘resolve’ is to ‘re-solve’. That suggests, on an unconscious level, that we are sabotaging our efforts for success by imprinting a ‘panic button’ to fail. How about you sticking to a plan of action and committing to it like a bridegroom fitting into his finely-made suit? The dateline/deadline matters as much as the intention. A goal is a dream with a deadline. A resolution sounds cool like satin, so few are hot about it like a rip in your pants.

Instead, stay steadfast to your original goal by dissecting it into smaller chunks. As in proper nutrition, chew thoroughly before you swallow. Mastication or chewing, increases the surface area for thorough digestion. The larger the food size that you consume, the higher the risk of choking on your food. Your goals can be re-sized for a higher chance of achieving it. Chunk it down into manageable portions. Split it into intermediate goals.

Let’s avoid corporate buzzwords like ‘right-sizing’ and ‘re-engineering’, and call a spade a spade. Go back to accounting basics like the reliable mathematical signs of Plus, Minus, Multiply and Divide. Relook your goals and see how each can be tweaked to meet your specific needs. Add value to your profession; be valuable. Remove annoyances and minimise distractions. Accelerate and amplify your influence. Share recognition and celebrate together. These are like hand-stitched clothes, and the monogram the fine embroidery that completes your personal attire.

With a custom-fitted bicycle, you will ride comfortably and injury-less, and thus better. With a custom-made, hand-crafted bike, you would benefit even more with your body’s unique measurements. With a bespoke tailor, you can specify how you would like your cloth cut. With a nutritionist, you can learn which foods to avoid (allergy-causing) and which superfoods to eat. With a sports coach, you can turn into an awesome time-crunched athlete. In a world of ‘less may be more’, we need to explore options that enhance our time and resources.

Take some time to lay out your better plans.