From Entrepreneur to Parentrepreneur 3: Taking time and making time

It’s been a while since I did one of these because I’ve been a busy parentrepreneur!

 

So, what’s been happening?

Well, for the first two months of our children’s lives, I didn’t work at all. The super team at OnlyExcel meant I was able to step back from the business and make the most of those early months when most needed. For the following four months, I worked 8-12 hours a week.

If you’ve ever worked in an agency, you’ll know you can reliably see about three months ahead. As you can imagine, if your main sales guy takes six months out of the business, things start to slow down a bit, and for us, new business certainly did.

Thankfully, we have been around for a while and plenty of existing clients asked us for work, which kept us going.

Then, diving back into the team on a four-day week (and working with excellent sales, advertising and marketing freelancers) we got the business pipeline filled up once again, and we took on some fab new clients.

 

So, what have I learned?

First and foremost, my wife and kids are awesome. This I already knew, but it has been deeply reinforced! You can actually see the family in this rather cool BBC / Brand Scotland film in which I have a small cameo:

Why Scotland punches above its weight with opportunities and lifestyle:

https://youtu.be/lqNYcIYkNHc?si=7EMLPIEQIBj7mLtp

The cliché is true: Your priorities do shift when you become a parent. And it’s true for a reason. When things that might have seemed unthinkable before (like stepping away for six months) become essential, you start getting resourceful and you find ways to make it work.

The business had its best year ever despite my absence and a year on, it continues to grow from strength to strength.

Sometimes, we have self-limiting beliefs and little rules that get in the way of real change and progress.

For example, I didn’t think I could take more time off work, but I needed some. So we increased daycare days, and I switched to a nine-day working fortnight, creating some much-needed “me-time” for both me and my wife. Or, I guess, “us-time”. (No, not that.)

I also didn’t feel like I had enough personal time in the morning. And realised I don’t need to start work at 9 AM. So now start at 9:30. The extra half hour off more than makes up for it in wellbeing and productivity.

Simple is better when it comes to a schedule

It’s easier to remember where things should get done, and much easier to arrange things with people. My day is split into morning and afternoon. Morning is sales, client calls and business admin. Afternoons (and every second Friday) are project work. Finally, I have some slots each morning and afternoon to do the inevitable ‘unplanned’ work. 

Turning the advice we give clients inwards has been invaluable. To “eliminate, automate and delegate” tasks.

  • We’ve rebuilt our internal CRM and project management system to better fit our processes
  • We’ve improved the way clients can book calls with us
  • We’re working on new service offerings to make it easier to do business with us
  • We’ve been working on the way we communicate, with more outside help

And what’s next?

I now feel like I have more time and headspace to deliver regular blog articles with handy tips, thoughts and strategies to help you thrive in business and in life. Watch this space

Previous Parentrepreneur blogs:

01: Balancing parenthood with business
02: Twins, things and wins

How to make “quick and easy” pieces of work worthwhile with value pricing

When you have an existing client contracted on a “time and materials” basis, pricing small jobs or consultancy calls is pretty straightforward. Job takes fifteen minutes? Charge them fifteen minutes. Bosh. 

But when a new prospect approaches with a quick piece of work or to ‘pick your brains’, it gets a bit more complicated. There’s a client onboarding overhead; an estimation cost, and you may never see the client again afterwards – so 15 minutes worth of fee isn’t worth taking on the job, is it? This is where value pricing is handy.

Paying for what is needed and delivered

If you’re approached for a “quick fix”, then the end result is just that. You will have fixed something for your client and, hopefully, have done it quickly. Whatever the product or service, for the client, the result is fairly binary. Whatever is broken goes from a 0 to a 1. Or broken to fixed. You, however, have to consider the following:

  • What other work do you have to displace to deliver this quick fix?
  • What is the cost associated with the member of staff performing the work?
  • How should this be priced for it to be profitable for the business?
  • What tools will you be using, and what is the tangible cost?
  • What about other associated tasks? Admin, testing, QA
  • Have you calculated the cost associated with taking the brief?
  • And what is the additional cost associated with sign-off and delivery?

Now, if you want to sit down with a notepad or a calculator and work out the costs of all of the above factors by using an hourly rate, then go for it. But that is not a fun or easy task. In fact, that’s a case in itself for having a fixed cost or minimum cost for quick jobs.

Price these jobs based on “value”

Value-based pricing is nothing new. However, the concept almost always places value on the client’s side. For instance, a brand for a large organisation is priced at a five or six-figure sum because, well, they are a large organisation, and the impact of a good job will be significant

That method still stands, but remember, value is a two-way concept. Your people, processes and expertise all have a value too, and it’s not something that can easily be boiled down into an hourly rate.

Imagine several of these requests coming in per day. Think how disruptive that could be to bigger projects. It would only take a couple of weeks to see that the revenue from quick-fix jobs really doesn’t justify the opportunity cost and the knock-on effect it has on the rest of your business.

A fixed price is good for everyone

By fixing your cost for quick fixes or consultancy calls at, say, £300-800, you are well covered for all the factors listed in the bullet points above. You also give your prospects a clear understanding of what they will be charged. And if you know your stuff, it shouldn’t be a hard sell. Your prospect came to you, after all.

The new client gets what they need, and they know what it’s going to cost. Honestly, a problem that isn’t worth £300 isn’t a problem that needs to be solved.

Need some help from an outstanding team? Give us a shout!
We’d happily work with you to make improvements to your organisation.

Even if it’s a “quick fix”.

 

When the going gets tough, the tough rethink their business processes

You don’t need us to tell you that companies have ups and downs – we’ve seen a fair few in our time. So what does tough look like? It might be projects on hold, clients reducing budgets, or simply a struggle to hire. Over the years, we’ve learned to ride this out by utilising this unutilised time to think about our own business, and if you’re in a temporary slump, now is the time to think hard about how you can better your business.

Rethink your own business processes

You can afford to take your eye off the pipeline for a few days, however scary the concept is, and it will be hugely beneficial to use quiet periods to improve business-critical processes. This is something that we did earlier in the year, and I’m glad to say it made a difference. Here are some things we learned that you can borrow from.

Improve your time tracking and time management

Lofty statement incoming: Time tracking is one of the best things you can implement to help with revenue, forecasting and reporting, particularly in a business where labour is the main cost. Time is your biggest resource, and if you can’t see where it’s being spent, you have poor visibility of your business. Worse still, you could be losing money.

The trick is implementing thorough time tracking without your people feeling they’re being watched. In our case, that meant explaining the rationale and importance:

  • Ensuring hourly paid work is being categorised correctly and charged (at least 5% of our billables weren’t getting billed)
  • Assessing the profitability of fixed-price projects, service retainers, and client accounts
  • Improving the accuracy of project estimation in future

Improve your processes

With the joyful arrival of twins last year, and as a director in the business, Nic made an effort to not only improve time tracking to see where exactly his time was going but to use that data to identify ‘time sucks’ and “eliminate, automate and delegate” as many as possible (read more about this in a recent blog). In short, we made the business more efficient. 

In the long run, this reduces opportunity costs, creates better working practices, and can be applied across the business and even to other members of staff. It also means that you can review and re-review where your time is going whenever you want. And then make any necessary adjustments.

Founders and business owners, don’t be afraid to track your own time. You may be shocked to discover where it’s going.

Review your finances

Cash is king. Do you have enough stashed away to weather a storm? How do you know?

Quality forecasting, monthly reviews, and developing a set of KPIs, a business dashboard or a scorecard are all essential to understanding your business and what levers you can pull to ensure long-term viability. 

This doesn’t necessarily mean cutting costs and calling it profit. Short-term profits might seem tasty, but you have to keep an eye on the long-term profits too.

Understand more about your customers

You can build a company from the inside out and it might look and feel great to you and your staff. But what about your customers? It’s also beneficial to build from the outside in. Listen to what your customers or clients are saying and use it to instruct practices, pricing models, communication and marketing. They are a direct conduit for feedback, and many businesses completely overlook this. 

Don’t forget your network

Networking is no longer standing around in hotel function rooms with a “My name is” badge, questionable coffee and lukewarm croissants. Networking can be WhatsApp groups, walks and talks, online communities, and so much more. It’s important to remember to network, not only for new business but for new partnerships, too. Businesses and business leaders often help each other out, whether that’s with relevant services, shared ideas or just a shoulder to lean on. Get out there!

Revisit and optimise your service agreements

We see many organisations applying a “set it and forget it” mindset to SLAs. Ie: “It’s always been this way.” Well, it doesn’t have to be. Review your SLAs periodically, and specifically, put a formal process in place that helps you calculate exactly what they’re costing you and where the money’s going.

We built an SLA retainer model that takes into account time for planned and reactive maintenance, client communications, desired response times, and small feature requests. It enables us to give transparency to clients so they can see how we’ve calculated our SLA retainers. And by plugging these budgets into our time tracking, we can identify whether we’re delivering value.

While most of our SLA retainers were about right, unsurprisingly, some were unprofitable. Others were revised to work a little more in our clients’ favour, delivering them more value for money. It’s a rare but pleasant day being able to go to a client and offer them more for less!

But, your mileage may vary. You may find that you’re overservicing your clients, or at the other end of the stick, you’re not giving them enough, and perhaps that’s why they’re taking their business elsewhere. It’s all about providing better value and having the data in place to help you understand exactly how to do that.

From there, you can make the bigger, broader decisions. Perhaps you stop doing fixed-price work. Maybe you completely overhaul your SLAs for the first time since you started the business.

Either way, this is about both long-term customer retention and business profitability.

Pay for some advice

Yes, money may be tight and you may feel like you can’t afford to. But the question is, can you afford not to? Sometimes, you can’t see the wood for the trees. We invested in great people to improve our business, and while they are all very separate in what they do and deliver, and none of them are remarkably expensive, their collective efforts across the business are significant. In our case:

  • Fractional CFO: Frank chat about numbers
  • Marketing guy Ben: For digital content and things
  • Ad guy: For targeting and pulling in leads
  • Brilliant and Human: Helping us love our clients

In summary

So, let’s recap. If you do find yourself with quiet moments, put them to good use. Turn the focus inwards, if only for a few days. Spread that over a few months, maybe. It’ll quickly add up and help you tweak what needs tweaking. It might even open your eyes to a problem that’s been right in front of you the whole time.

Whether you apply automation, integration, an improved set of tools, or an entirely new application, it’s all part of the bigger story of building a better business and making business a breeze.

Sound like something you need?
Give us a shout. We’d happily work with you to make improvements to your organisation.

 

Plus-addressing: Get more email addresses without adding mailboxes or aliases

Digital transformation isn’t always about the big stuff. Sometimes, there are “quick wins” that are relatively small in their execution but huge in their effectiveness. One such example is creating multiple email addresses from your existing email address simply by using the “+” symbol.

For example, you might do your day-to-day email through yourname@yourdomain.com, but you could add yourname+invoices@yourdomain.com. This creates a “virtual” address, but the emails still reach your regular inbox. Why would you want to do this, and how’s it different from an alias? Let’s take a quick look:

It’s great for tracking

In the age of spam and cold emails, sometimes it’s helpful to know who or where they’re coming from. Of course, this isn’t MI5 levels of espionage, but it provides a pretty reliable audit trail. For example, yourname+web might suggest that the email address you have on your website has been scraped. Or yourname+newsletter would suggest that something you’ve signed up to has shared your data with a third party. Naughty.

It enables multiple logins with one email

If, like us, you need access to admin consoles, back ends, portals and such like, there is often a need for several email addresses for different user types, such as admin, manager, employee and suchlike. Here, you can simply use youname+admin, yourname+manager and yourname+employee. This means you can log in with different user permissions without creating three different email addresses.

It’s quicker and easier than aliases

Aliases are brilliant, and they certainly have their place. However, not everyone knows how to create them, or people forget. We often walk clients (or each other) through the steps. On a “quickly do this” level, the “+” trick is far more efficient and straightforward.

It can save you a lot of money

Similar to the multiple logins tip, we often find a need to create multiple emails for testing purposes. Using yourname+test1, yourname+test2, yourname+test3 and so on can save you from having to create additional seats or emails within your workspace.

It’s suitable for search

Ever lost an email? Or have you found yourself frantically searching your inbox using one keyword after another? Searching for “+newsletter” or “+invoice”, for example, can quickly narrow down your search. Better still, you can set up smart rules or actions to put emails to said addresses into their own folders.

This clever little trick is widely supported, so whether you’re using Google, Microsoft, or something crazy like Lotus Notes, you’ll have no trouble implementing it.

We love little hacks like this. They’re super satisfying, and while it won’t seem like much at the time, you’ll thank yourself in the future, and you’ll quickly see how much it improves time management and organisation.

If you’re a business looking for quick wins or larger digital transformation across your organisation, let’s talk!

Transform your business with a custom inventory management system

Many of our clients have engaged us to create a custom web application to improve their inventory management. This is a broad term and can refer to stock control, warehouse management, goods in and goods out, stocking tracking and auditing.

An effective inventory management system will significantly enhance productivity and the ability to have oversight of each and every piece of inventory and its movement through your business. Here are several reasons why a custom inventory management web application is crucial for the growth of your business.

Real-time visibility

Custom web apps provide real-time visibility of your inventory. You can track stock levels, product movements, and location information instantly, reducing the risk of running low on stock or overstocking.

Automation

Custom web apps can automate various inventory-related tasks, such as order processing, reordering, and notifications. This minimises manual errors, reduces staff overheads and saves time.

Centralised data

All of your inventory data is stored in one central location, making it easy to access and update. This reduces data discrepancies, cuts down on paperwork, and ensures everyone in your organisation has access to the latest information.

Customisation

You can tailor the web app to your specific needs. This means you can track the data points that matter most to your business, set custom alerts, and design reports that help you make well-informed decisions.

Integration

A custom web app can integrate with other systems, such as your ecommerce platform or accounting software. This ensures seamless data flow and prevents data silos across your organisation.

Mobile accessibility

A web app can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. Mobile responsive web apps make it simple and straightforward to view your inventory information through a smartphone. This is especially useful for on-the-go decision-making and remote management.

Scalability

As your business grows, your custom web app can evolve too. You can add new features and capabilities as needed, including specific plug-ins, features or integrations, ensuring your inventory management system remains efficient and effective.

Analytics and insights

Our custom web apps often include reporting and analytics features. These will give you access to key measurables that provide insights into trends, sales performance, staffing levels, warehouse efficiency and much more.

User-friendly interface

We take good care in ensuring that our custom web apps are well-designed, accessible and user-friendly. They offer intuitive interfaces that make it easy for your staff to navigate and use the system effectively, whether they’re an old hand or a new starter.

Cost efficiency

While there may be an initial development cost, the long-term cost savings from improved inventory management, reduced carrying costs, and decreased manual labour can be substantial.

 

In summary, custom web apps can revolutionise inventory management by providing real-time data, automation, customisation, and integration, leading to greater efficiency, cost savings, and improved decision-making for your business.

So whether you’re a large organisation that’s only getting larger, or you’re a small business looking to understand how digital transformation can revolutionise your business, then drop us a line. We’d love to talk.

Improving cash flow and logistics. All in a month’s work.

We march into spring with a busy few months behind us. We’ve enjoyed several exciting problem-solving projects. There’s no greater feeling for us than tackling business owners’ challenges and ultimately giving them that “Ahhhh!” moment.

Sometimes it’s something as small as a simple software integration. Other times, it’s a deeper dive into their processes. Either way, we always rise to the challenge. Here’s what challenged us this month:

 

We significantly improved cashflow for a client

A growing client was keen to improve their cash flow as the business expanded, so helped them become more nimble and better protected from a financial perspective. We did this by adjusting their payment model and related systems from ‘arrears’ to ‘upfront’.

Any business owner will know the benefits that something like this can bring, but it’s not always so easy to implement, especially with so many legacy payment systems still in heavy usage. The win here? Vastly improved cash flow and less time/fewer resources being used up in credit control!

Scannable and scalable inventory management 

QR code use continues to exceed expectations, with so many businesses using them for inventory management. Our logistics client is no exception, utilising these handy little patterns to tie together all aspects of their stock movements throughout their organisation. 

A newly implemented QR code-based system has enabled them to track products’ movements throughout their warehouse locations and across their vehicle network. Right now, there is no better system for understanding your stock levels and ensuring the right shipments are going to the right place. Long live the QR code!

Digitised trip sheets for a busy logistics company

Anyone who has worked in logistics will be familiar with trip sheets, which have historically been a pen/paper/clipboard system. Times have changed, and systems have grown around organisations, with our logistics client being no exception. 

By digitising their trip sheets, we have been able to link them to their scheduler so the team can now easily reference itineraries and job sheets wherever they are in their day and wherever they work in the business.

As the clocks change and we find more daylight, we are excited to see what our clients bring our way as we continue to help founders and owners make business a breeze.

If you feel like your business could do with some tweaks and twiddles, give us a shout. We’d love to help.

 

15 ways a custom web application could benefit your business

Our primary goal when it comes to building custom web apps is to support businesses in their growth, increase their profits and unlock time, allowing owners and employees alike more time to get on with the good stuff.

These are lofty ambitions, but there’s no reason a business shouldn’t be running efficiently in the software, automation and integration age. In fact, this is our bread and butter. We love nothing more than helping a business grow and succeed by solving its internal challenges with technology.

We build bespoke web applications for our clients. That’s right – no off-the-shelf products here. Our clients are all unique, so their software solution should be, too. A bespoke management solution can become a valuable asset and perhaps even the backbone to your business.

Here are fifteen ways that a custom web application could benefit your business.

 

1. Process automation

A custom web application can automate repetitive tasks and processes. The obvious benefit here is around time-saving, but it can also reduce the risk of human error as well as open you up to opportunities where tasks can be linked together for improved efficiency and productivity.

2. Better data control

If your business is operating large amounts of data, then a custom web application can help to manage, process and store this data more effectively. Doing away with paperwork and manual spreadsheets is not only great for peace of mind but safety and sanity too.

3. Improved customer experience

A tailored web application isn’t all about the back end. A customer-facing application can provide a better user experience, leading to improved conversion rates. It can also present a better way for customers to use or purchase your products and services.

4. Streamlined communication

Many organisational issues are caused by poor communication. A custom web application can facilitate communication through providing internal messaging and collaboration, not to mention a huge opportunity for integration into other areas of the business, such as finance, sales or logistics.

5. Scaling

Scaling a team can be hard. When it comes to hiring, you need to recruit, interview and hire, which can vary in difficulty depending on the expertise you’re looking for. A custom web application, whilst not a direct replacement for employees, can scale to accommodate an increase in workload or user demand.

6. Competitive advantage

A unique web application can give your business a competitive edge by offering features or services your competitors do not have. It can also make you more nimble and proactive as a business, quickly reacting to change or demand in your sector.

7. Integration with existing systems

A well-built custom web app will have been created with integration in mind. Modern-day businesses can use all manner of digital products and services, and the more that can plug into your central application, the better. Integration is one of the most effective ways to unlock profitability and efficiency.

8. Data security

Security has never been more important. A custom web app works well to digitise important processes and documentation that would otherwise be subject to a physical security risk. Of course, digital processes are vulnerable too, but with the right measures in place you can keep sensitive business data safe.

9. Cost saving

As we’ve touched upon already, a custom web application can reduce the amount of hours your business is spending on laborious or onerous tasks. While the initial development of a custom web app may be an investment, the long-term cost savings by streamlining operations can really help your bottom line.

10. Analytics and reporting

Custom web apps provide no end of advanced analytics and reporting capabilities, helping businesses gain insights into their operations and make data-driven decisions. It also creates the possibility of dashboards, which are incredibly useful for operational units, finance departments and sales teams.

11. Accessibility

An often overlooked area of digitisation is accessibility. It’s important to remember that we don’t all have the same ability when it comes to accessing products and services. Custom web apps integrate with tools that ensure your organisation complies with accessibility standards.

12. Flexibility

“Computer says no” is a huge frustration point for many businesses tied into pre-built software. Unlike off-the-shelf solutions, our custom web apps can be updated, modified and adjusted to meet the ever-changing needs of your business or wider requirements in your sector.

13. Monetisation and productisation

Some of our clients provide a B2B service, meaning that the custom web app can be used by their clients. This presents an interesting revenue stream for businesses looking to re-sell the software or charge for access. This is generally a special request, so speak to us if this is something you’re considering.

14. Customer engagement

There is no better way to have your finger on the pulse of your business than by asking for direct feedback from customers or clients. With a custom web app, we can integrate NPS surveys, feedback forms or review functionality, helping you build a better business and a stronger connection with your audience.

15. Regulatory compliance

We’ve saved the best ‘til last. Everybody loves compliance, right? The truth is, that it’s a crucial part of many industries, so it’s important that businesses stay on top of their responsibilities. Custom web applications can be developed with specific regulatory requirements in mind.

 

The beauty of a custom web app, and the main reason that we love building them so much, is that no two clients are the same. We love to build a unique application that is perfectly tailored for our client.

So whether you’re a large organisation that’s only getting larger, or you’re a small business looking to understand how digital transformation can revolutionise your business, then drop us a line. We’d love to talk.

 

From Entrepreneur to Parentrepreneur 2: Twins, things and wins

So, it’s been a little hectic since the last post, and lessons have been learned – many of them! 

My number one lesson? As soon as you think you know something, it changes. 

No kidding! Not only is every baby different—trust me, we have twins, and what works for one doesn’t for the other—but also what worked yesterday doesn’t work today. They also have no regard for your plans, schedules, or client calls. So inconsiderate! 

Anyway, it’s been an interesting few months, and I’m squeezing in some part-time work around the twins. It’s been quite transformative in terms of: 

  • Prioritisation: Dropping from 7.5 hours to 2 a day, the focus has to be on impact 
  • Delegation: You have to utilise your team. You can’t hold on to what you did before 
  • Procrastination: There’s no time to waste time here – efficiency is key

The net result has been both the good and bad end of the stick for our newest team member, who joined to help take work off my plate and allow us to keep growing. There’s definitely some good freedom and autonomy in this role, both through necessity and high trust levels. And he has demonstrated he’s more than up to task!  

Case in point: The day the twins arrived, I had to tell him, “That project we were going to do a handover on is all yours now – good luck!” 

 

Things that help as a parent and business owner

🗓️ In the main, working to a (semi-flexible) feeding and sleeping schedule has been a game changer. As parents, we have at least some predictability and, for the business, can plan in a few calls. 

👥 Trusting the team! All of them have stepped up and taken things off my plate at various points. We have great people, and it’s made life much more manageable. 

🍼 Nanny! We have some help a few times a week, and similar to the schedule benefit, it’s glorious to know when you might have some uninterrupted time to plan in calls or high-impact delivery work. 

 

Things that have been challenging as a new parent and business owner 

📈 Keeping up with clients and the sales pipeline proved a little tricky for a couple of months there. Now, my top priority is checking in with our clients on a regular basis and managing the inflow of new business. 

😄 Fun! It’s easy to get bogged down in babies, household chores and work. With the addition of day support and a little more predictability with the babies’ schedule, planning in some fun times has helped boost the general mood. 

 

Business strategy as a new parent: What’s next?

Good people are key!

In addition to our excellent development team, we’ve added to our talent with:

  • We’ve engaged a new CFO, Alfie Wenegieme, via Cactus and look forward to some structure and focus around our financials. Early discussions have already been both thought-provoking and energising. 
  • We’ve been obtaining independent feedback from our clients with the help of Remeny Armitage Royle at Brilliant and Human, which is helping instruct our operations strategy, service and marketing focus. It’s been a seamless process and generating hugely valuable insight.
  • You’ll be hearing more from us with the support of Ben Horsley-Summer, aka Null, who is himself a brilliant human and one I’d love to keep all to ourselves! 
  • Last but not least, we’re extending our outreach with PPC campaign support from Mark Proctor of Dropkick Marketing and it’s been great to see some early results and welcome new clients to the fray.

Pipeline

  • We’re working on five new major projects to automate business processes for our clients. Which makes five businesses that are about to get seriously scaled up.

Operations

  • We’re working on our own internal systems to automate more of our processes. The old ‘cobbler’s shoes’ phrase is suddenly very apt here!

Overall, it’s been an exciting (if slightly exhausting) period of living, loving and learning. But I wouldn’t change a thing. Keep your eyes peeled for Parentrepreneur instalment number three, coming soon-ish. 

nic-blog2

If you want chat about parenting and ‘businessing’ then hit me up – I’d love to share our parentrepreneur ups, middlings and downs over a virtual coffee.

Or, if you’re a business owner looking to free up your time for parenting, general life stuff, or you’d simply like to scale up and make more money, then contact us.

Previous Parentrepreneur blogs:

From Entrepreneur to Parentrepreneur 1: Balancing parenthood with business

From Entrepreneur to Parentrepreneur 1: Balancing parenthood with business

Shock and excitement. That’s what I felt a few months ago (and still am!) upon hearing that my partner and I were expecting twins. Over the last few weeks, amongst the many thoughts swirling around my head, I’ve been thinking about how the inevitable change in my life will also change how I approach business.

I am curious – how does this entrepreneur graduate to ‘parent-repreneur’?

Off the bat, there’s the obvious stuff like building furniture (and bolting it to the wall, apparently!) and learning how to feed these bambinos. This is all new and exciting, but in a bid to be able to keep up the momentum in work and life, I’ve been looking at ways I can change my business to help me be the best parent I can be.

But how?

 

🔄 Replacing myself

Sounds a little dramatic. But what I mean is, especially as a business that specialises in unlocking time and building automation, it’s only natural that I find ways to offload as many of my deliverables as possible, replacing them with tasks, apps, automation, or simply third-party help.

📊 Filling the pipeline

Oh, if only it were that easy. It does seem a sensible course of action, though, particularly with the view that I’ll be taking paternity leave and would love to go away knowing there’s plenty of work to keep everyone busy.

☕ Meeting other parents 

Chatting to fellow parents, parents-to-be, or experienced parent-folk is a very sensible thing to do. I want to hear about the experience of others and how they’ve balanced children (figuratively, not literally). And that’s warts and all – I want the good and bad experiences because, let’s face it, nothing is ever plane sailing.

Ultimately, I am hugely excited about this new adventure, and I remain optimistic that my existing approach to work—one that is flexible and agile—should fit well with what’s about to happen.

If you’re a parent, I’d love you to join me on this journey, whether that’s through calls, comments or even coffee. I can’t promise I won’t be knee-deep in diapers, but I will endeavour to continue this #parentrepreneuer series.

Apparently, they’ll choose to come along whenever they feel like it – and I trust they’ll do it with some grace and aplomb! Their papa’s a nerd, goodness help them, so they will need some kind of running start.

Update!

They did choose their own arrival time – the twins arrived a few weeks ahead of schedule. My wife, Sarah, is doing well, and continues to amaze me every day. I’m a very happy man. Here we are reading them Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It’s been a hit so far and we’re saving to put them to Hogwarts.

 

Keep up with the parentrepreneur journey

If you’re an expecting parent, a “thinking about it” entrepreneur, or a seasoned parentrepreneur, I’d love you to follow along. I’ll be posting regular updates here and on my LinkedIn (sleep permitting).

Or, if you’re a business owner looking to free up your time for parenting, general life stuff, or you’d simply like to scale up and make more money, then contact us.

Read blog number two here.

Make your own luck in business with the ‘four types of luck’

I recently read a blog by Sahil Bloom and fell in love with ‘the four kinds of luck’ and the concept of increasing your luck surface area. It’s a very optimistic and freeing idea. But it also just makes rational sense, and there’s real beauty in the simplicity. 

Not everything has to be measured. Not everything has to be a KPI. You can just do more good things, do it with good people, and your luck ought to improve according to the theory.

 

What are the four types of luck?

Dr James Austin, a neurologist, published ‘Chase, Chance & Creativity: The Lucky Art of Novelty’. According to Bloom, in the book, he defined four distinct types of luck:

  • Blind Luck
  • Luck from Motion
  • Luck from Awareness
  • Luck from Uniqueness

     

  1. Blind Luck
    This is arguably the best kind of luck – luck that occurs accidentally. It takes precisely zero effort and can strike at the most unsuspecting of moments. Think of it as a random occurrence. A frequently used example is winning the lottery, but of course, you’ll need to have bought a ticket. So to us, Blind Luck is even more random – perhaps being given millions by an absolute stranger.

     

  2. Luck from Motion
    This is a scenario where a little action on your part has triggered a lucky moment. By creating motion, you are ‘stirring the pot’ and helping somewhat random ideas collide. An example here might be saying ‘yes’ to more than you usually would, or reaching out a little further to make new connections, resulting in a big contract or unexpected referral.

     

  3. Luck from Awareness
    Now we are in a scenario where your own knowledge, experience and expertise act as a kind of ‘luck sonar’. Whether you know it or not, you’ll be good at spotting a lucky opportunity in your sector, so Luck from Awareness is the result of you positioning yourself in a way that benefits your business and the businesses around you. An example here might be pivoting your business or strategy to encompass an emerging market or new technology and then landing some work in said area.

     

  4. Luck from Uniqueness
    People in this scenario are seen by others as ‘routinely lucky’. You’ve become so good at 2 and 3 that you now move into 4, an existence where your unique attributes make you one big luck magnet. This is more common for businesses or individuals that have put in the time (often years) to perfect their unique craft and strategy, so much so that their reputation alone is bringing in lead after lead.

Luck Razor

Over the subsequent decades, these concepts have been applied to business in many ways, but the approach that rang the most true with me was the ‘Luck Razor’ – a theory that helps you make a choice when you’re faced with two paths or two decisions.

“The Luck Razor is for choosing between two paths.
Choose the path that has the larger luck surface area.”

Or more simply, which is the most likely to lead to me or my business ‘getting lucky’? To be able to make this choice, we first need to understand the four types of luck in more detail.

 

For us, it’s about opportunity 

Maybe luckortunity? Okay, that needs work. Let’s not make up words. But to summarise, we believe that Luck from Motion and Luck from Awareness (2 and 3) is something every business should be doing as much as they can. For us, that’s doing good things with good people, learning how to recognise good opportunities and being more strategic about your brand identity and business strategy. With 2 and 3, comes 4, and 4 looks like a pretty cool place to be.

 

Don’t get too wrapped up in measurables

Many sectors are driven by numbers and deliverables, ours in particular. But don’t let it rule everything you do. We believe that simply ‘doing good’ is enough and doesn’t necessarily need to be measurable. Of course, the goal is to get some kind of return, but that could be something as small as making one connection off the back of putting out four or five case studies. Applying a ‘worth’ to every marketing activity you do sounds wise, but is it?

“We want one lead per case study within the first week of it being published.” Why? Where did you pluck that number from? What’s the logic? Show me your workings! The luck theory and the idea of surface area takes the pressure off a little and focuses on incremental ‘doing’ actions, that over time, should compound and result in more ‘getting’.

Remember, every little thing you do when it comes to your business, your brand and your marketing is increasing your luck surface area. And sometimes, the old phrases ring true. ‘What goes around comes around’ can quickly become a business mantra – if you put enough ‘good’ into your work, people, clients or community, some ‘good’ will eventually come back.

 

The concept of ‘surface area’

By improving incrementally, which is the most natural way to progress through these four stages, you will find yourself at a place where you have to think about your uniqueness. 

  • What makes you different?
  • Why would someone pick you out from the crowd?
  • What can you deliver that makes your clients shout about you to others?

Whilst a business should never plateau, reaching stage 4 and really nailing your USP is the holy grail, and it’s something we’ve been thinking about a lot lately.

If you’d like to explore more about the four stages of luck, check out Dr James Austin’s book, and if you’d like to chat about it with something, I’m all ears!

 

We were inspired by Sahil Bloom’s podcast, ‘The Curiosity Chronicle’, which breaks the subject down really nicely.