The Strategic Startup is a great place to expand your Startup business

The best startup entrepreneurs are learning all of the time. They take on information and process things that can help them with their business all the time. One great way to gather information that can be useful to your startup business is by reading blogs. I have found a great blog that is interesting and full of useful information. It is called The Strategic Startup and it is full of tips and ideas on how to make a success of your startup business.

It is a sad fact that so many startups don’t make it through the first year. This is not through a lack of ability or knowledge but often through a lack of learning. I urge my readers to open their eyes to all potential sources of information that can help you to expand your horizons and become the best startup entrepreneur that you can possibly be. The Strategic Startup is a fantastic place to start. From the very first words in the very first entry you can feel the enthusiasm that Kishan, the writer of this blog, has for this subject. Enthusiasm goes a hell of a long way in startup business and this guy has it in spades.

I have looked at reading books and articles, attending meetings and listening to others in the same way throughout my career. You may well go to a meeting, for example, with the attitude that you have heard all of this before. You would actually be wrong. If you go in with the attitude that if you learn just one new thing then you will have made a success of that time. With The Strategic Startup blog from Kishan Modha you will learn all kinds of new things that can be applied to your startup business-

•          How to develop your potential
•          How to set up your startup business
•          The research you need to carry out at the start of your business
•          Planning your short-term and long-term goals
•          And more!

The Strategic Startup is a wonderful place to add to the knowledge and experience that you have when getting your startup business off the ground. As your business develops then you will want to arm yourself with more knowledge and more skills to cope with the oncoming challenges that any startup business faces.  By reading the informative and inspiring words of Kishan you will get a massive helping hand on your way to success.

It's caught me up and passed me by

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Just a week where I've felt that everything has caught me up and passed me by, and I've made little progress. I've conducted 4 mystery shops, done a couple of little chores around the house, but with a days overtime at work I've not really had the time to make much of an impact on anything and the what's next list feels like it hasn't changed since the start of the week.

I'm almost at the end of my photography course with just three weeks left. One to pull the folder together to hand in, one to frame and hang my prints for the exhibition and the last one is the exhibition itself. That will kick start the creative writing side of things. I've also looked at starting a distance marketing course run by a local university that will lead to diploma status if I follow through the three years (you only sign up for a year at a time.) I'm desperate to have as many skills as finely honed as possible and I believe that having all these things in place will hugely help me in setting up and running an estate agency. And I'm really interested in marketing. Looking three years into the future and having diplomas in marketing and photography will put me well ahead of the competition in terms of qualifications and it will be a case of applying this to the business.

I've made no moves towards even finishing my office for the business, after having found a wii senn strut gnawed through and mouse dropping in the floor if the garage I am still converting. The mouse bait has gone down and the strut has been patched up, pending a full repair. I need paint to finish this and then look at the desk, the flooring and the doors. A long way to go with this, but I'm sure there are brighter days ahead on this front.

I am the answer, but I don't totally understand what the question is yet

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I am the answer, but I don't totally understand what the question is yet.

I don't mind admitting that I sometimes have doubts over this new business estate agency thing. I suppose it's natural to have thoughts about maintaining the status quo, especially when I enjoy my life as it is. I have a many irons in the fire at the moment that I find I'm not concentrating on any one enough -

http://245daystogo.blogspot.com/2015/01/too-many-balls-to-juggle-what-to-let-go.html

I have to compartmentalise areas if my life and the what's next method has started to pay dividends -

http://245daystogo.blogspot.com/2015/02/what-next-my-new-strategy.html

I've refined it a little and now I'm having weeks concentrated in certain areas to emphasise and maximise the amount in each area I get done. This week is stuff around the house week and has consisted today of-

Filling and sanding bathroom ceiling

Painting hall and landing walls

Buying a new kettle and milk pan

Buying sealant for the bathroom

Tomorrow will be sorting out-

Painting the bathroom ceiling

Buying curtains for my bedroom

Buying curtains for the landing

Buying a beanbag for the newly-configured lounge

Buying a lampshade for the lamp in my bedroom

Buying a rug for the lounge

All might seem fairly mundane things but all need to be sorted so I can concentrate my efforts all in one place.

The quote at the start about being the answer but not knowing the question really related to the doubts I have and what I want to do to give me a contingency income to allow me to carry in with the estate agency without constantly worrying about money. The blogs, the self-published books, the photography, etc are designed to give me financial security and a small monthly income no matter what the business is doing. If I can add that to income from investments and perhaps rental income from a property, then it allows me to go for it and take the risks that may be necessary to become a success.

I'm still here!

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In case anyone was wondering if is fallen off the face of the earth, this is just a short note to say that in still here.

Quite a bit of progress since I last posted, so here goes-

The Business

Paint the left wall of the garage done

Assemble the table that will be my desk -table broken -buying new desk tomorrow

Paint the rest of the garage -ran out of paint, buy some more tomorrow

At Home

Sand and paint the bathroom ceiling - tomorrow morning

Glue stones on cupboards in kitchen -tomorrow morning

Paint hall and landing - still a work in progress

My "Books And Games" Selling Business

Get all stock out of loft and place in new office in garage -done

Check and update inventory -tomorrow

Writing

Finish a book I'm writing on how to buy a home -3 chapters done, 5 to go

Edit the book down to get it ready to publish - first edit if written chapters done, final edit when all finished

Start the creative writing course I've enrolled in - after my photography course finishes in March 

Mystery shops

Update my spreadsheet with all shop data on -done

Prepare for the 7 shops I have on Thursday -done (ended up being 8 shops!)

Look at adding to the 4 shops I have on Friday done (got it up to 6 jobs!)

Look up online about self-assessment and tax -tomorrow

Photography course

Go to the local city and get the final city photos for my final project, based on the main river that runs by here - done

Retake some of the other photos I have, in the golden hour, to ensure the sky is lit best - no need, as the photos from above were do good

This update helps me as much as you guys, but it's nice to see some meat on the homes and some progress to the planning.

Tomorrow is a day off, and it looks like a busy day! Add 3 mystery shops to the above activities, but I'm confident that I'll get this done!

What's next? - my new strategy

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After sounding off a bit on my last blog and feeling a bit rudderless, I've devised a new strategy to deal with all the different balls I'm trying to juggle at present. I've dubbed it the "what's next approach." On one sheet of paper I've made a note if all the areas I'm trying to progress in, then in each area I've written what I need to do next. Sounds simple? It has only started today after a little formulation in my brain last night and the process of writing these small steps down has been hugely refreshing in its own.

The list is-

The Business

Paint the left wall of the garage

Assemble the table that will be my desk

Paint the rest of the garage

At Home

Sand and paint the bathroom ceiling

Glue stones on cupboards in kitchen

Paint hall and landing

My "Books And Games" Selling Business

Get all stock out of loft and place in new office in garage

Check and update inventory

Writing

Finish a book I'm writing on how to buy a home

Edit the book down to get it ready to publish

Start the creative writing course I've enrolled in

Mystery shops

Update my spreadsheet with all shop data on

Prepare for the 7 shops I have on Thursday

Look at adding to the 4 shops I have on Friday

Look up online about self-assessment and tax

Photography course

Go to the local city and get the final city photos for my final project, based on the main river that runs by here

Retake some of the other photos I have, in the golden hour, to ensure the sky is lit best

Too many balls to juggle - what to let go?

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As the snow has set in to my part if the world this week, and I'm almost half way through the 245 days, it's become clear that I need some fresh impetus to be able to move forward.

The home office is more organised and is set up to take the next steps in weatherproofing, but the sealing needed on the roof and the painting on the inside have completely stalled when the weather is like this. With a few major other jobs to do around the house to get that up to scratch, I've struggled to make the time to get anything else done in the road to opening my estate agency.

I listened to a radio interview on BBC Radio Five Live a couple of weeks ago with the author Emma Healey. She spoke about dedicating your energy to one thing at one time. She said that if you are writing a book then put losing weight or any other long-term goals on the back burner as writing a book takes enough energy and concentration of its own. At the moment I've possibly got too many balls in the air, including-

Writing five different blogs

Writing a self-help book for home buyers

Attending a college class in photography

An Open University course on creative writing (with a view to writing a novel)

Mystery shopping, where I aim to conduct 10 shops per week

Expanding my Amazon and eBay selling accounts to generate income

As well as trying to set up the business, work part-time and live as part of a family of four with two children aged 8 and under.

I'm probably biting off more than I can chew and I need to look at everything I'm doing and decide what is important.

Watch this space.

245 days is worrying a little as the new venture starts in earnest

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I'm not sleeping the last bit in the night/morning very well. I have no trouble getting to sleep - I inherit this habit from my father. It's the last hour or two, usually from about four or five in the morning where I start thinking about what I'm doing and what I'm about to get myself into. I think that it's the mixed focus that's getting me in a spin at the moment. I've got three things in trying to focus on a they are all a drain on time and effort-

Making money to replace the list income from reducing my hours at work.

Getting the house in shape so I don't have to spend time and money in it when the business starts.

Actually setting up the business that I think will be the thing that keeps me gainfully employed (or self-employed) until I retire.

The extra money will come from the mystery shopping I do and from buying books and games and selling them on Amazon along with sales of my two existing self-published books plus any new ones I write.

There are several jobs that need to be completed around the house, most of it painting. I want the house in a condition where we have it just how we want it, as I won't have the time to spend on it when I'm setting up and starting the business. One of the most important of these is the home office. Getting this ready will give me the space to so what I need, without getting in the way of everyone else (and without them getting in my way as well.)

Which brings me to the reason for the whole blog, my change in working hours and everything I'm doing at the moment - the new estate agency business.

I've documented before in this blog what I feel needs to be done, so it's now a case of just doing it.

I'll keep you updated with the actual process of each step, as well as updated in how I feel about things.

Downtime helps the mind focus

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I've been wrestling with the amount of time I spend on setting up my estate agency business. It feels that alongside a full time job, two other small business interests and a family, the work put into setting up my estate agency means that I gave little or no downtime. I'm not talking about hour after your watching TV or playing video games, but some time spent doing not a great deal, and this helps me to reflect on where I am, decide on next best steps and do things like this - writing my blogs. I'm actually typing this whilst on the bus on the way to work (park and ride has changed the face of many cities) and therein lies the problem - every spare minute is filled with activity. Now this blog can be quite therapeutic, and I'm able to use it as a sounding board for me, as much as it provides an insight for you - the reader.

Ill blog again into lunch break, and probably again on the bus on the way home, and possibly again tonight whilst I'm back on the PC.

However, there needs to be more time spent on playing with the kids, family days out, quality time with my wife, etc to ensure I keep a focus on why I'm doing all this.

Don't think that this is a moan about how things are going, it's just me putting down some thoughts and fears about how it's going.

Presently I've got about 100 emails needing some action - the vast majority are surveys, which bring in Christmas spending money. I carry out loads of mystery shops, as I looked at in yesterday's blog. Yesterday afternoon I had 3 jobs to sort out in the bathroom and there's a couple more to sort out in the house.

In all, I need to carry out the following-

*get all the jobs in the house done and straightened our before the business starts

*decide on whether I will continue with surveys and mystery shops when I start the business

*set aside times for certain tasks, such as surveys, emails, time with the kids - in other words, plan my time (I'll get a diary today)

*decide when the best time to stop my full-time job and start full-time in the business is

Looking forward, not backwards.

Tomorrow is key time for the next steps in my start up

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New job started today, a non-stop day, that was followed by my 3-hour evening class on photography.

This is my last thoughts of the day before I go to sleep and prepare for another!

I'm happy with the first day in my new role at my new location - it all went to plan and everything fell into place.

My spare time now will be in the evenings, so tomorrow evening will be a full session in the PC to be getting back up to speed. I've got a blog to put together here only photos taken on my trip away from home.  I've got a blog to write on the town I will operate in. I've got some research to do about grants for small business.

Wish me luck!

Options for my home office

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I've started my home garage, changing it from this-

and now, today I've got to this point-

Whilst spending my day painting the walls and floor with a weatherproof sealant, I have been thinking about what the next steps will be in converting this space into an office that will allow me to work in quiet and comfort, whatever the weather conditions outside.  First consideration has been to waterproof the walls and floor, as the UK winter (and often the other seasons) can have a big impact on the security and safety of this potential workspace.  It has flooded more than once, through the walls from the outside garden flower beds, so I have accentuated the beds and put in more plants to soak up any excess water.  Next step is to make the office a place where I can work and be inspired to market properties as well as I can.

Options-

Option	Pros	Cons
Leave it as it is	Least cost and time/effort            Has the effect of a New York loft	Will be more expensive to heat, as there is no insulation
Another coat of white paint	Low cost and effort again            A blank canvas to add pictures and effects to inspire	Doesn’t solve the heat and insulation problem
Lining the walls with an insulating material	Will help to keep long-term heating costs down            Cheapest option that involves further action	Major concerns over building regulations            Brings fire safety issues in to play            Time and money to source the right materials at the right cost
Line the walls and then plaster/board over and decorate	Will look like a conventional office            Will be more insulated and save on heating costs	Expense starts to grow            Sourcing materials is even more costly and time consuming than above
Pay a builder to convert officially	Will add value to my home            Will be official and legitimate	High cost solution to what may be a temporary problem            Will accentuate my desire to permanently work from home, rather than eventually build up the business to an office base.

I am genuinely undecided about the best way forward, as I want this to be a low-cost solution to a problem, for the time period that I am working from home, and I also want it to be weather-proof, comfortable, safe and inspiring.

Decision time will be my next full day off work, 2 weeks from now.

Making time for everything needs planning

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Here comes another weekend, another weekend off work and another weekend where I've made loads of and for what I'm going to do to entertain the kids. But I am using today's blog to remind mysf that I need to make time and make plans for my fledgling business.

A trip out tonight and a quite full day out tomorrow make the weekend feel hectic at the outset, but there's light at the end if the tunnel. I'm going to a talk and discussion on the future of social housing tomorrow - a sort of busman's holiday. During the day out with my wife and kids, I will break away for a couple of hours, leaving them to explore the city. I'll be interested in the theory of the talk, in the future of social housing, but with always a slant towards how this relates to my business and how I can use the information to expand the business and earn money.

Tonight's trip out will be to an illuminations, and I need to use this time to get my homework done for my photography class.  I need to take one photo, bearing in mind the discussions we had last week on composition. It needs to be well composed, using the rule of thirds, leading lines, the balance of colours and textures. I will also need to present it to the rest of the group and explain my photo in technical language. Wish me luck!

I'll share the photo on here and the feedback I receive.

Everything I think I need to sort out before opening

228 After a whirlwind and scattergun start to my plans for opening an estate agency next year, I have decided that the next best step is to gather together all the aspects that I think I need to cover before the grand opening.

Here goes (in no particular order)-

• A new computer or laptop. My current one is fine for family use but I need a separate workstation with more memory.
• A dedicated telephone line for the business.  Either an extra landline at home or a dedicated mobile phone and number.
• Sorting out the 2nd garage at the rear of the house that I will convert into an office space.
• Furniture for this home office, including a desk, lockable filing cabinets, chairs and stationery.  I have an old dining room table, dining chairs, an office chair, a sideboard, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers and some other smaller pieces of furniture in the garage already, so some of these will be re-used or upcycled.
• A cashflow forecast and business plan for the first year of trading.
• I need a website designed and built.  The design and content are still to be decided, and will take the form of a complete blog of it's own.
• I need to source a provider of for sale boards, design what my boards will look like and have them produced.
• I need to get a grip on what advertising I will use, how it will look, where it will appear, etc.  This is a massive subject and will be it's own blog subject in the future.
• I'm looking at links to the local community to run alongside my advertising and other marketing.  I'm thinking about links to a local school, a local sports club and some other community projects.  I will provide them with support and financial help, maybe with a twist.
• I will need a solicitor for 2 reasons.  Firstly for advice for setting up my business as a legal entitiy, then a reliable referral point for any conveyancing business that I come across.
• An accountant, for the setting up of the business as well.  I will need advice regarding how to set up the business, whether a sole tradership, a partnership or a limited company will best serve my needs.
• I will need to open a business bank account, with online access, but also a local branch for paying in any rent money taken in cash or by cheque.
• A final decision on whether I open with sales and lettings.  If I have lettings as well then I will need contacts for the management of the properties, such as electricians, plumbers, glaziers and central heating engineers.
• I will be looking into the availability of business grants in my area to help with the set-up costs.  As I type this, I have now put this to the top of my mental list.
• I have an idea about becoming a "hybrid" of online and offline state agents by using the window of a High Street business to display my properties and contact details.  I'll need to look into this and start to speak to local businesses about the possibility of this.
• I will need to register with the ombudsman service for estate agency, look at membership of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and, if relevant, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA)
• I will need to look at contacting, and forging a working relationship with a local mortgage adviser that will be able to assist my clients with their financial needs.
• Likewise with a local surveyor, especially for clients that are buying without arranging finance.
• I have spoken to several companies in the past that supply a software tool for managing an estate agency.  A sort of client and property database, with the ability to upload properties to portals, match clients with properties, email property details to clients and other daily functions.
• On that note, I will need to look at which property portals I am considering and from there, look at costs and fit this into my marketing plan.
• I will need to look at several levels of insurance - any changes to my car insurance, any changes to my home insurance from having a business operate from home and any business insurance I need for operating in clients homes.
• I will most probably set up a charitable foundation where any fundraising will go.  I also intend to donate a percentage of my profits to this charitable foundation.  In the early stages of my thought process, I want some of this money to go to a local charity and some to go to a charity related to housing, maybe Shelter.

I know that this won't be a comprehensive list, and other things will pop up as time goes by.  If anyone has any ideas, suggestions or can see any glaring ommissions then please let me know!

Keeping up the spirits takes things to look forward to

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When the weather is awful, as it is today, it can be difficult to raise your spirits and raise your mood. Especially as today feels to me like the first day of what's going to be a long Winter.

So, what do I do to get in the mood to work, develop and get my blood going.

I've already mentioned in previous editions of my bold that I have taken up brain training and have goneback to   running. Both make me feel alone and ready to go for the day, but on a non-run day, and with brain training over and done with for the day, what keeps me going?

The light at the end if the tunnel seems far away, and most of what I'm getting into for the business are slow burners or things that are still at the planning stage. There is the burning desire to do this properly, the countdown that you are at the top of every blog page (now only 231 days to go) but I need smaller steps along the way to keep spirits up and focus on the task at hand-

I went to the Sunderland v Stoke march on Saturday with my family

It's my eldest's birthday on Saturday, so we're going out for the day.

We're going to see the family and meet up with some friends in Essex for 5 days in late October.

There's a midweek evening kickoff Sunderland match in early November that I'll take myself along to.

We always do something really Christmassy in early December to start off the season. It was the Polar Express train ride last year.

Christmas and New Year will be celebrated heartily in our house, with children of only 7 and 6.

In January I'm looking to go to Spain with  the lads for a few days of drinking and relaxing in the sun.

My birthday in February.

We're planning on a family trip to Disney/Florida in March, or to Disneyland Paris and a trip around France (depending on finance.)

All these small steps build up to give me the next focus and keep me on an even keel whilst working full-time and trying to prepare a new business at the same time.