Starting From Scratch: My First 90 Days of Entrepreneurship

It's been just over 3 months since I launched my website and, in turn, my business. There seems to be a level of curiosity about what it’s like to start a business, so here’s the lowdown on how I’ve spent my time and what I’ve done to promote and grow Organized Piggy as well as my general thoughts and opinions. 

Money. Let’s briefly talk about money. I am literally starting from scratch as the title suggests. Due to life events, I have nothing in savings. I have little income coming in. What this means is that I’ve had to be very choosy as to what I spend my money on when it comes to investing in the business. 

Website. One of the things I did invest in is purchasing a domain, a web development platform, and business e-mail. After some research and testing, I decided to use Wix as my web development platform. I found it was the easiest to use and comes with a lot of useful tools and widgets I can use on my website. Wix is partnered with Google so my business e-mail runs through Google and uses my domain, which is a plus. I think people take you more seriously if your e-mail address is your domain versus a free Gmail account or the like. Actually, I think it shows that YOU are serious about your business. It took many hours to write the content and choose photos for the website. It took many more hours to design the website. One way I lucked out is that my husband is a photographer and a graphic designer. He worked for ad agencies for many years and is extremely skilled in layout. I initially developed the website, but then handed it over to him for fine tuning. And it didn’t cost me anything. HUGE plus! 

Research. Since I don’t have the funds to hire a business coach or marketing firm, it’s all up to me to figure everything out. A chunk of my day is devoted to research via reading articles and watching YouTube videos. I read articles about what to put on a business card and what not to before I designed and printed my own. I researched methods on how to attract YouTube subscribers and LinkedIn followers. I learned about how to network effectively; what social media outlets to use and how to use them; creative and cheap ways to market yourself; using Google Analytics; the best blog sites to use; and much more. In fact, just yesterday I watched a one-hour video about SEO. More on that later. 

Networking. I can’t get business sitting behind my computer all day writing blogs and making videos. Nothing beats the good old-fashioned face-to-face: networking. My goal is to attend at least two networking events and meet up with at least one person for lunch or coffee per week. So far, I’m doing great on the networking event part and have had mixed results with the meetup part. Some people don’t get back to you or are unavailable. For me, there are three types of networking: direct, indirect, and mixed. I don’t know if these are official terms, but that’s what I call it. 
 

Direct Networking. This means attending events where the majority of the attendees are your target market. For me, this is small businesses. One thing I did was look on the Registrar of Contractors website for a list of trade associations (e.g. electricians, plumbers, masons). From there, I contacted the associations directly and asked if they had events or meetings where “vendors” could come and pitch their business. Six hours later, I had a calendar full of events to attend. Because of the direct contact I had with them, many of them invited me to come free of charge. Yes, some of them cost money to attend. One association didn’t have meetings, but offered to place a free ad for me in their monthly newsletter. To date, I’ve only had to spend $10 out-of-pocket on attending these events. I’ve come to discover that when you take the time to tell someone about yourself and what you’re trying to accomplish, most of them will help you as best they can. 

Indirect Networking. This means attending events where the majority of attendees are people who are in contact with your target market and can give you referrals. For me, business bankers and financial advisors are the ones to know. Their clients are small businesses or people who have a large enough financial portfolio where they might need assistance keeping it organized or maybe they want to go paperless. 

Mixed Networking. This is a cross between the first two. I have been loving Meetup.com to find networking groups located in my part of town and have already found a wonderful group with people who truly want to network and aren’t just there to get referrals and not give any. Another thing I like is that I get a chance to talk to other entrepreneurs and pick their brains and ask questions. I have gained a lot of valuable insight from these chats. Networking isn’t always about pitching your business. Actually, it’s rarely about the pitch. It’s truly about building relationships, gaining trust, and promoting commerce for all parties involved.

Keeping Track. When I get home from an event, I invariably have quite a few business cards. The first thing I usually do when I get home is load all that information into my Google contact list. I also write notes like where and when I met them and some piece of information to help me remember who everyone is (e.g. where they’re from originally, a funny story they told). I then e-mail everyone a personalized message and connect with them on LinkedIn if I can find them. For people who I think are super valuable connections or showed an overt interest in my services, I’ll ask them if they’d like to meet up for coffee or lunch in the near future. I’m not trying to assign “value” to people, but I just can’t meet with them all. And not all of them want to meet up with me. I then monitor my e-mail communications to see who has responded, who hasn’t, and then follow up with the non-responders a couple weeks later if I still think it’s worth it. So, when I get home from a 2 hour event, it takes me another 2 hours to do all the follow-up, sometimes longer. I DON’T send canned e-mails, nor will I ever. 

Making Friends with the Competition. That sounds like a dumb idea, but it’s not. At least, not for what I do for a living. I had lunch with a woman who owns a business very similar to mine, but not exactly. It’s close enough. What I did discover, however, is that no one in her practice was experienced in construction accounting. In fact, if a potential client approaches her and they’re in construction, she’s calling colleagues to see if anyone has that expertise. It just so happens that the majority of my experience is in construction! My hope is to stay in touch with her and that if she ever does get another construction company knocking on her door, she’ll keep me in mind. You never know. 

SEO. I had no idea what SEO was until I started building my website. I ignored it at first, knowing it wouldn’t hold up publishing the site. Then, when I started going to networking events, there were people there who did SEO for a living. That’s all they did! I realized I needed to research this thing. SEO is search engine optimization. It’s a set of algorithms Google uses to rank websites when people do keyword searches. The basic gist is if you want your website to be listed on page 1 of Google’s search results, you need to know SEO. Before yesterday, I thought Hummingbird, Penguin, Panda, and Pigeon were just animals. They’re the names of the algorithms Google uses. During my research of SEO, I also learned new words like schema, click through rates, H1 headers, demoters, long tail keywords, and negative SEO. I have a lot more to research, but I know more today than I did last week. If you ever have a website, either hire an expert or do a lot of research. SEO can’t be ignored. Don’t be like me. 

So How Am I Doing So Far? Right now, I have one bookkeeping client. I did a resume rewrite for someone and I’m also helping a pair of friends write a business plan. It’s slow, but that’s to be expected. It takes a long time to build relationships. It’s critical for my line of work since I’m dealing with people’s money! That takes a lot of trust and that takes time. I can’t expect to meet someone once and they’ll just magically give me referrals or call me and want to retain my services. 

The Emotions. It’s stressful starting a new venture. My mind is always running, around the clock. I’m thinking about what to write next on my blog, where I can look to find another networking group, how to make my website better, what other topics I need to learn more about, etc. I also get some social anxiety going to unstructured mixer-type networking events. Sure, I can stand on a stage and speak to hundreds of people no problem, but it’s very difficult for me to approach a stranger and introduce myself. I just tell myself “too bad” and suck it up. There is no other choice if I want to do this. And then there’s the bad days. I’ve gone to events and ended up driving home practically in tears because no one was interested in talking to me. And sometimes, I get a little voice inside my head that tells me I can’t do it. I’m going to fail. Those days are the worst. So what keeps me going? I truly believe in what I’m doing. One thing I do know is that I’m an excellent accountant. I also know that I care about people and small businesses. I want to see EVERYONE succeed and if there’s anything I can do to help, I want to do it. 

Final Thoughts. If you want to start your own business, loving what you do is an absolute must. Your conviction and enthusiasm will show in your vibe and your voice and it will attract people. If you have limited funds, you have to be resourceful and willing to put in the time and research to accomplish things that aren’t in your area of expertise. Follow up with people. A fellow entrepreneur told me that people aren’t very good with that. So be good with it! People will remember you. It will take about a year to see the fruits of your labor, so strap in and enjoy the ride. And above all, don’t let doubt steer you into a knee-jerk decision or, worse yet, make you give up. You CAN do it!

Going Paperless at Home

The idea of a paperless office was first envisioned in 1975…40 years ago. Yes, 40 years ago. The idea didn’t take off as hoped, but it’s been slowly gaining momentum in the past 7 years. As one article in The Economist states, it’s “not dead, just resting”. I converted my home office to a paperless environment 2 years ago and I haven’t looked back since. Here’s why you, too, should go paperless at home: 

It’s good for the environment. Yes, paper is recyclable, but why use it in the first place? The less paper you use and consume on the front end, the less demand. Less demand equals fewer trees being cut down each year. But what about paper that needs to be shredded due to it containing sensitive information? More and more cities are now accepting shredded paper in it recycling containers as long as it’s bagged. The City of Phoenix, my hometown, is one of those cities. 

It frees up space in your home. I hear a lot of people make comments about how space is at a premium at home. In a paperless environment, there are no file cabinets, no archive boxes, and no stacks of paper laying around. In fact, the only thing you need is a flat surface to put your laptop or desktop on. If you have a laptop, your “office” could actually be anywhere in the house. So that room you’ve been calling your “office” all these years can now be a man cave, a craft room, a kids’ play room, or whatever you want it to be. There are very few documents that have to be retained in original form (e.g. vehicle titles, life insurance policies). One manila folder or one safety deposit box is all you need. 

You’ll never lose your information. This sounds a little motherly, but what if there was a fire or some other calamity where your paper files are damaged beyond repair? As long as you back up your files properly, you will never lose your information. Options like storing data on the Cloud, e-mailing files to yourself, or storing an external drive out-of-home guarantee that. 

The IRS is on board too. Getting audited by the IRS or some other agency invariably gets brought up whenever I talk to someone about going paperless with personal finances. The IRS has been accepting scanned documents since 1997. Other agencies have followed suit as well. Originals are not required anymore. 

It will make certain tasks faster and easier. Things happen in life where you’re required to send documentation to someone; things like buying or refinancing a home or a divorce. When you get that e-mail requesting that documentation, it’s as simple as hitting “Reply” and attaching the files that you already have on your computer. It literally takes minutes. You can be done with it and move on to the next thing on your list.

So when are you going paperless?

Live in the Metro Phoenix area and need help? Visit www.organizedpiggy.com to learn more.

Click HERE to read the original article from The Economist mentioned above.

Don't Think You Need a Business Plan? Think Again.

In the past few months, I’ve had several discussions with people who are either starting a business or thinking about starting a business. Being a startup myself, I applaud anyone who wants to take on the challenge of business ownership. It requires a lot of hard work, determination, courage, and creativity. It also requires a business plan. Some people are under the impression that a business plan is needed only if financing is going to be sought out, but that impression is far from the truth.

Banks and other lenders review a business plan to determine if there would be an adequate return on their investment, amongst other things. So, if you don’t want or need financing, it’s safe to assume that YOU are the investor and you, too, would like an adequate return on your investment. Compiling a business plan aids in quantifying that number and determining if it’s what you thought or hoped it would be.

Other benefits exist as well. It gives you clarity. It reveals your strengths and weaknesses so you can play up on those strengths and mitigate those weaknesses. You get a better idea of the specific industry you plan on entering like competition, ease of entry into the market, and the best way to reach your target demographic.

A business plan is even more important if you’re going to sell a product versus a service. How will you source your material? What payment arrangements do you have with your vendors? Do you have to pay immediately but won’t sell your product immediately, causing a cash flow issue? How much will it cost to make your product? Will your selling price cover the cost of your product AND give you the gross margin you’re targeting? Will it be enough where you can pay yourself the salary you have in mind?

You have to have a plan in place to maximize your chance of a good outcome. It helps you address all the facets of the business, not just the facets you’re good at. I’ve spoken to many business owners and most of them admit that they’re really good at what they do, but they’re not a “businessperson”. They’re good at plumbing, but know nothing about marketing. They’re good at making jewelry, but know nothing about accounting. They’re good at building custom furniture, but know nothing about supply chain management.

And that’s okay! Once a business plan has been compiled, it provides you a set of high-level instructions on how to market, how to handle the accounting, how to manage the supply chain, and much more. It also minimizes those little “surprises” that arise down the road; the surprises that come about due to lack of planning.

As I said before, I applaud anyone who wants to become a business owner. I also want them to succeed. Increase your chance of success by making a plan…a business plan.

Everything I Know About Life I Learned From Playing Pool

Wikipedia

In a previous chapter of my life, I played pool competitively for about 9 years. I took lessons, I practiced, I played in tournaments. It was the hardest thing I ever had to learn. Although I never got good enough to play professionally, I did enjoy the successes of working hard and improving over the years. What I did take away from it, however, was using what I learned from playing pool and applying it to real life. No matter what the topic is…from career advancement to competitive sports to just life in general…everything I know about life I learned from pool.

1. It takes time and practice to get good at something. Really good. – Professional pool players, as a general rule, play pool about 40 hours a week. It sounds like a job because it IS a job. They earn an income via tournament winnings and landing endorsement deals. If you want to get good at ANYTHING, you must commit a lot of time and effort no matter what that anything is and no matter what your natural aptitude is.
2. The “best man” doesn’t always win. – It’s rather easy to show up at a tournament and point out the best player in the field. Is that the person who’s going to win? Not necessarily. That person could wind up having a bad day while a lesser player is experiencing a phenomenal day. It happens all the time. Same with real life. Never feel discouraged if you’re up against someone who you feel is superior to you in some way. You will always find someone who’s better than you at something. Today, however, could be YOUR phenomenal day.
3. Attitude is everything. – My pool instructor asked me one day during my lesson, “If two people of the same ability play a match, who will win?” Being new to the game and not having a clue, I just shrugged my shoulders. He said, “The one coming in with the better attitude.” A few years and a couple hundred tournaments later, I understood. Entering any endeavor with a positive attitude will yield a higher possibility of favorable results.
4. A killer instinct is crucial to success. – This does NOT, in any way, mean treating people poorly or going to any length to succeed, even if it means throwing people under the bus. This is all about the fire that burns inside of YOU. Success is not synonymous with winning. Success is about constant self-improvement, which can lead in to winning.
5. Focus on the task at hand and think of nothing else. – Another thing my instructor drilled into my head was, “When you’re down shooting, the ONLY thing you should be thinking about is making the ball. If you’re thinking about your next shot, you’ll miss. If you’re thinking about how hungry you are, you’ll miss. Make all your decisions about your present and future shots before you lean over the table. If you find yourself thinking about anything else other than making the ball, stand back up and regroup.” There is no such thing as multi-tasking.
6. It’s not over until it’s over. – In pool, a truer statement has never been spoken. I remember playing in this big tournament in California and I was in a match, down 4-0. The first person to win seven games wins the match so a 4-0 deficit was pretty serious. Not only did I come back to tie it up, I ended up winning the match in a 7-6 nail biter. That day, I got it right. I didn’t dwell on the fact that I lost the first four games. I didn’t let the immediate past affect my attitude about the present. I didn’t have the mentality that the match was already lost, being down by so many games. No, the match wasn’t over until someone won seven games. And four games isn’t seven games, right? There’s ALWAYS a chance. Don’t give up.
7. Don’t stay in your comfort zone and learn to adapt quickly. – One of the biggest mistakes a person can make who’s attempting to be successful at pool is to play on the same table all of the time. Sure, you’ll get good playing on THAT table, but what happens if you go to another venue? Pool tables are like snowflakes. Some are more level than others. Some have cloth that is more worn out, or runs faster or slower. The action of the rails varies depending on the age and elasticity of the rubber. Making a habit of playing on different tables enables you to learn how to adjust quickly to variables and play your best game. Life is the same. The only constant is change. The faster you adapt to those changes, the faster you can resume your trip down the road to success.
8. Winning builds confidence. Losing builds character. – When I started playing pool, I was obviously not very good. When I played in my first tournament, my instructor warned me that I probably wouldn’t win a match, even if I was playing someone who I was clearly better than. He was right. Part of the reason was due to having no experience with competitive play. The other part was lack of confidence. I had no reason TO be confident yet. From that point forward, each win was not only a testament of my hard work, but also the growing faith in myself to succeed. Before playing pool, I can honestly say that I was a sore loser. Once I started entering tournaments, I was given a lesson (over and over again) in humility. But, instead of dwelling on the fact that I lost, my instructor trained me to think about the loss as a learning experience. Did I lose because I made too many mistakes? Did I lose because I didn’t capitalize on the mistakes that my opponent made? Did I lose because I wasn’t focused? Did I lose because I didn’t enter the match in the right frame of mind? So instead of being upset about a loss, I started being reflective and using the loss as a lesson in what I should or shouldn’t do next time. From that point forward, I stopped becoming a sore loser about ANYTHING, not just pool.
   

It might sound silly, but I can honestly say that playing pool competitively has developed me as an employee, a spouse, a daughter, a friend, and as a human being in general. It also helps me win a few bets at the local tavern, but that’s a whole other story.

The Cost of Using Coupons

We all love a bargain, which makes coupons so appealing. Why pay more for something if you don’t have to, right? Some people take couponing to the extremes, like June Shannon (aka Honey Boo Boo’s mother), almost to the point where they might be considered hoarders. But is it worth it?

When it comes to saving money, it’s a big picture type of thing for me. I’m not only thinking of ways I can save money today, but how I can save money in the future. This is why I don’t actively search for or clip food coupons. More on that later.

Out of curiosity, I got on a grocery store’s website to see the digital coupons offered for food products. It’s a store that I shop at for some of my groceries. I didn’t download a single one. Why? Because every single item was unhealthy or potentially unhealthy. Every coupon was for a processed, pre-packaged item.

Like many people, I’m trying to watch what I eat and make better food choices. I strive to buy as little processed food as I can. I’m cooking more at home so I know EXACTLY what I’m putting into my body. As a result, the weekly grocery list is comprised of mostly fresh fruits and vegetables and very little processed food.

Processed food scares me. We’ve had listeria show up in ice cream, E. coli in bottled water, and metal parts in boxes of macaroni and cheese. There was a listeria concern with spinach, so fresh produce isn’t completely immune from being tainted either. Processed foods also contain ingredients that we can’t pronounce or clearly picture in our mind, much less know how our bodies truly react to them.

Our eating habits have changed over the years. We eat more fast food and cook less because we’re all busier than ever or, at least, we perceive ourselves to be busier. When we do cook, it’s from a box to minimize the time from stove to table. We’re consuming more meat, more sugar, and more fat. Childhood obesity is more prolific than it was 20 years ago; so prolific that gastric bypass surgeries are now performed on children before they reach their teens. The procedure wasn’t even an option for children decades ago. Also, the medical profession predicts 1 in 3 Americans will have diabetes by 2050.

So why don’t I clip coupons? Simple answer is that there’s nothing for me to clip. There just aren’t coupons for fresh produce. Organic and other healthy foods rarely have coupons available either. Am I spending more money than the neighbor? Probably.

But that’s only for now. I sincerely believe that what we eat today will affect us in the long run. I am willing to spend an extra $15-$20 per shopping trip buying healthy food versus saving a few bucks but running the risk of having medical complications in the future because of the unhealthy food I bought with a coupon and ate. I’m not a doctor, but it just makes sense that unhealthy eating can lead to medical problems down the road. We all know how expensive health insurance and medical bills are. Think of how much they’ll be 20 years from now!

That extra $15-$20 is my investment toward the future. A future where I will have a lower risk of serious medical issues, a lower risk of paying exorbitant medical bills due to those serious issues, and a higher quality of life because I feel good. It’s not a 100% guarantee, of course, but I’m stacking the deck in my favor by eating right.

Using the "So What?" Factor When Writing E-Mails

In today's world, e-mails are one of the most preferred methods of communication. It’s not uncommon for people to receive dozens, if not, hundreds of e-mails per day at their place of work. Managing and prioritizing these e-mails now has become an integral part of their work day as well as whatever their everyday duties may be. And whether it’s real or perceived, many people feel this additional task eats up a significant portion of their day. As a result, e-mails are scanned instead of read word-for-word. If an e-mail is opened up and it’s exceptionally long, it might be skipped or not read to the end. It could be one of your e-mails.

By nature, I am a talkative person and that chattiness carries over to my written communication as well. I always feel the need to explain everything in painstaking detail to let the receiver know there is a valid reason for whatever request I’m making. Over the years, I noticed that I was receiving fewer responses to my e-mails or the response I did receive didn’t answer my question or address the issue I was e-mailing about. I then realized my e-mails frequently contained information that was completely irrelevant to the receiver. That’s when I started using the “So What?” factor. I thought of the term myself, but I do see it’s used by others, so it’s not a novel concept and I certainly can’t take credit for inventing it.

Using the “So What?” factor is quite easy. Write your e-mail like you normally would. When you’re done, read through it and, as best you can, pretend you’re the receiver of the e-mail. After each sentence or talking point, see if you find yourself asking, “So What?” If you do, it’s likely the receiver will too. Determine if deleting the sentence or sentences will make the e-mail’s purpose unclear. If not, get rid of it. The shorter and more succinct your message is, the better. Here’s a short example:

“Hi Jane,

The sales report is due by the end of today and I still haven’t received the commission numbers from your department yet to complete the report. When I receive your report, it takes me about an hour to import the information into the master template, incorporate it with the other department’s commission numbers, and generate the charts. Would you let me know when you’ll be able to send it to me?

Thanks,

John”

Odds have it that Jane doesn’t care about how the process works on your end or how long it takes you to complete YOUR part of the job. Also, assuming Jane is competent, she already knows you don’t have the commission numbers yet. It doesn’t help to know when she will be able to send the numbers to you, either. It’s just an additional e-mail you’re asking her to send. Just what she wants to do, right? Send two e-mails instead of one. Let’s rewrite the body of the e-mail:

“Would you please send me your department’s commission numbers by 2:00 today? The sales report is due by end of day. If this isn’t possible, let me know so I can inform management of the delay.”

The rewrite might come off as a little abrupt, but it’s concrete, close-ended, and factual. If the person wants to know why it has to be 2:00, then you can tell them how long the process takes on your end.

On a personal level, the “So What?” factor also applies to e-mails you’re sending to companies to complain about an issue with their products or services. If you want timely rectification, avoid telling your life story. Customer services representatives read and hear life stories all day long. Clearly state the issue, describe how you would like to see the issue resolved, and ask what can be done on their end to resolve it. Anything outside of that will probably be just white noise and doesn’t contribute to the resolution.

Remember, most people are busy, feel like they’re busy, or both. Perception is reality. Staying courteous, cutting the fluff, and using the “So What?” factor will increase your chances of getting your questions answered or issues resolved and reduce the time spent following up on sent e-mails. It’s a win-win for both the sender and receiver.

Got Pre-Interview Jitters?

The thought of going on a job interview does not appeal to most people. For some, however, it deals them a hand of heightened anxiety. They feel like they’re being put under a microscope and dissected. The feeling’s not unwarranted. Who really wants to sit there and discuss, in detail, their greatest weakness? Who wants to relive a time when they had to deal with a negative situation at work and then explain what they did to resolve it? Then, five minutes later, switch gears entirely and try to convince the interviewer that they’re wonderful.

Years ago, I was chatting with a woman who was a human resources director. We started talking about interviewing and she made a confession to me. “Most of the time, the interviewer is just as nervous as the interviewee.” This was such a shocking revelation and I asked her how this could be. Here’s the answer:

Scenario One: The interviewer is from the human resources department

These people have been hired based on their skill or experience to select the right candidate for the right job. In fact, part of their job performance is based on that. What’s their retention rate? Their turnover rate? If they continually select people who don’t work out for one reason or another, their own job might be in jeopardy. No pressure there! Also, they have to be forever mindful of the questions they ask a candidate. Due to discrimination laws and such, interviewers must be careful that their questions do not come across as discriminatory or otherwise illegal, even in the slightest. As a rule, employers don’t like to be sued by a person who believes, whether rightfully so or not, that he or she wasn’t selected due to age, gender, race, religion, etc.

Scenario Two: The interviewer is someone in the department you’d be working in, possibly the supervisor 

These people usually have no education or training on how to interview and select candidates. Sure the person might be educated, but not in human resources. Their sphere of concern is different compared to an HR employee. They need to select someone that will fit into the department seamlessly so they don’t upset the existing employees. Their reputation is at stake. If the new employee ends up being incompetent, their superiors will question their competency to choose a good employee. If the new employee ends up being disruptive or has a bad attitude, their superiors might question how sound their judgment of character is. It might be part of their performance review as well. And just like a human resources employee, they, too, have to be mindful that the questions they ask are allowed by law. 

This information might not magically make your pre-interview jitters go away, but rest assured that you probably aren’t the only nervous person in the room. Take a deep breath, smile, offer a firm and confident handshake, and be yourself. You can do it!