Post on 18-Jul-2016
description
12 MONTHS AS AN ENTREPRENEUR
Ideas, noodles, troubles, laughs and dreams
THIS IS NOT A GUIDE
MERELY A RECALL ON MY LAST YEAR OF ACTIVITY
AND WHAT I WISH I KNEW 12 MONTHS AGO
WARNING 2
FREDERIC CHANUT
‣ Experienced Suit & Marketing Guy
‣ Closet engineer
‣ Special powers:
Can see company through Google’s goggles
Workoholic and near insomniac
Self aware, daredevil, stubborn
A bit slow but learn skills quickly
Terrible driver taking unsuitable vehicles
across the globe in the name of charity =>
ABOUT ME
DON’T REALLY HAVE TRAITS OF AN ENTREPRENEUR
ABOUT ME
A HYBRID MODEL OF MARKETING AGENCY
‣ Try to combine effective tools and leverage
implementation for most effective results.
‣ Issues:
‣ Bootstrapped
‣ Limited client base
‣ No experience running an agency
ABOUT MY IDEA
WHY DID I STARTED
ABOUT MY COMPANY
Of course because it was cool, thrilling and exciting but beyond that…
I wanted to scratch my itch.
As in-house marketer, I couldn’t find decent agencies
I developed a certain passion against the whole agency model.
As an ex-agency worker, I found how dreadful the process was for
anyone with a touch of sagacity
Rather than bitching about it. I decided to see if I could change it.
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SO I HAD
ABOUT MY SITUATION
the ambition, the vision, most skills
But…
I was unsure of my vision
I didn’t know where to start
I didn’t have the xp
I didn’t have the cash
…all of that cost me a lot (time & $$)
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WHAT I WISH I KNEW BEFOREHAND
ABOUT MY SITUATION
Reality/Difficulty
Literature
How to Setup
How to Position my offering
What Resources I could use
How to trust myself
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HOW PICTURED IT?
REALITY/DIFFICULTY 9
THE ROLLER COASTER
REALITY/DIFFICULTY 10
HOW IT FEELS SOMETIMES(STILL… NICE VIEW)
REALITY/DIFFICULTY 11
PERSONAL LIFE TOLL
REALITY/DIFFICULTY
• +15 Kgs of fat
• Min 70hrs work
• Rarely see my GF
• No/Limited physical activity
• No social life
• Only a few people understand your situation
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QUIT ENTREPRENEUR PRESS
REALITY/DIFFICULTY 13
FAME, FORTUNE, FLAMES
REALITY/DIFFICULTY 14
FINDING MARKET FIT =
FOCUS
ADJUSTING THE COURSE
Picking the wrong niche = near death of any startup
Revised my offers.
Stopped taking on small biz and Startups.
Getting more clients
Higher quality
Healthier
Happier
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PIVOTING =
MOVE ON AND QUICK
ADJUSTING THE COURSE
Can’t do everything at once.
Pick on thing you are really good at.
Build on it and consolidate later.
Learn to Say No
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BE PATIENT
ADJUSTING THE COURSE 17
Source
LEARN TO ADAPT
ADJUSTING THE COURSE 18
Google Changes
WHY WE MEASURE
Source
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WHAT TO MEASURE
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FINANCE
RESOURCES
Focus on your financials
Automate the management
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KNOW YOUR WORTH
RESOURCES
Average Work Week 60hrs
Hours per annum 3k
Time frame for sale 5 years
Total hours invested 15k
Exit worth $5 Mln
Salary paid ($60k/yr) 300k
(5,000-300k)/15 = $313 per hour
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LITERATURE
RESOURCES
Purple Cow – Seth Godin
The e-myth
KPI – Key Person of Influence
Rework – 37 Signals
Startup school – Seth Godin
The 8 weeks startup
Lean Startup – Eric Ries
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HARNESS TECHNOLOGY
RESOURCES
CHOOSE THE RIGHT PEOPLE
Very few can build a success alone. Tools can’t help w/out people doing
the work.
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‣ Watch out for:
• Bad fit investors
• Juniors/ Interns
• Wantrepreneurs
• Technicians/ Experts
• Equity schemes
• Business partners/ co-founders
‣ Get instead‣ Client revenue
‣ Contractors
‣ Hire slow. Fire fast
‣ Take classes
‣ Wait if you can
‣ Are you marrying the right guy
RESOURCES 27
CHOOSE THE RIGHT PEOPLE
2013 WAS A BLAST
…AND HERE IS WHY
STARTUP = AWESOME
46,000,000 bytes Initial data used for our latest 'little' experiment
+10,000 SEO visits/mths to one of our SMB client.
1,026 coffees - conservative consumption estimate
+306 % visits to our site from last year
+157% SEO visits in just 2 months
151 Events attended to learn, network, teach
7 Digital cadets trained at In Marketing We Trust HQ
#1 rated presenter at a leading event for Search Marketing
professionals. (I am scared of doing public talks btw)
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