Future positive

[bunn]

A&T, my colleagues and relations, have decided that they settled down and became sensible far too young, and now want to go off and explore the world. This is excellent for them, but a bit alarming for me, as it leaves me with a whole pile of customers, no programmers, and no-one but me to answer the phone (well, apart from Polo one day a week).

I was feeling a bit down about this. It is scary. I am nervous.

However, I've now got my act together and started talking to a couple of local freelance programmers. I am reminded that the big problem for programmers is that they have problems talking up sales, and the big problem for people who buy web stuff is that they don't know the words and have no idea what's easy and what's hard. I'm now feeling a lot more confident that I can get on and bridge that gap, even if I am doing it on my own.

Just hope I don't get ill, and that I can make some alliances with reliable people. After all, usually it's the getting the customers that is the hard bit, and that bit is done now, so it's just a matter of keeping the good word of mouth going...

I think maybe it can work after all. I'm almost excited!

Comments

[king-pellinor.livejournal.com]

If you can do the sales bit, you have a business. All you need then is reliable people to actually do the work, and they tend to be easier to come by than good sales people (judging by what I see here, anyway).

You may even find that this gets you more business than you would have had beforehand: not only can you sell "talking to programmers" services to your existing customers, you can sell "talking to customers" services to your new programmers :-)

You could always look at Key Man insurance if you're worried about illness etc. I've no idea how expensive it is, but's got to be an ego boost :-)

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I hope you are right!

I have never really tried hard on the sales thing - I just explain how stuff works and come up with a few ideas, and people seem to like that.

I suspect with the insurance thing I would end up having to work harder to pay for it, thus increasing the stress and likelihood of illness - but you never know. I'll check.

[kargicq.livejournal.com]

Good luck with all this. I would be far too nervous to set up in business on my own -- it sounds like you have an excellent customer base and I'm sure that you'll be able to keep them happy!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I hope so. Getting the local airport and airline as customers seems to have helped a lot, as they are fairly high profile locally.

As businesses go, at least website development involves practically no fixed assets or investment - I imagine something like setting up a manufacturing business is much more tense!

[chainmailmaiden]

I know when I was running my own business getting ill was always something that bothered me. Unfortunately because of various medical conditions I couldn't get insurance to cover me either. Thankfully the longest I had to have off was 3 days, when I burnt my hand badly. Once the swelling went down and I could move my fingers again, I just popped a large plastic glove over the bandages and went back.

Hope it all goes well and that you manage to find the people you need to help make it work.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I have always been vaguely unhealthy - thus the concern: I get stupid little ailments like lots of colds that make it hard to think straight - OK for a day or so, but if you get several in succession it can really knock a deadline, without really being anything you could point to and claim for.

I sit there and stare at the screen with a head full of gunk, hearing the minutes ticking by and totally unable to focus or get something to work. This is a bad, bad feeling...

At least now I work from home the opportunities for infection are fewer!

[chainmailmaiden]

I should give you a bottle of Mrs Mosses Miracle Mucous Mover (that's what my Dad calls it) the next time I see you. It's a blend of various essential oils that all have anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-septic and well anti-just about anything that's bad, properties. You sprinkle it on a tissue and inhale it frequently at the first sign of a cold/sniffle/cough etc. We often sleep with some on a tissue by the bed if one of us thinks we're coming down with something.

Even if it doesn't knock the cold out before it starts it certainly helps clear your nose and sinuses and it smells nice too - well I think it does, but then again since I blend it, I probably would.

Come to think of it, I could do with some now as I have a distinctly cold-like feeling in my head, but that could just be due to lack of sleep I suppose.