Description text goes here[00:01:15] Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Less Chatter, More Matter, the podcast about all things comms and all things business. And today I am going to take a little bit of a turn towards the business side of the podcast because the first two episodes have really been pretty comms heavy. And I'm going to talk about how I started my business, because I get a lot of questions about this from people who are just curious or who are looking to start their own businesses or even freelance for a bit, just try it out, see how we go.

[00:01:49] And yeah. So I just thought I'd share a bit of that today, but also some of the key things that I learned and some of the things that I think you should know, if you are thinking about starting a business. And of course, if you've got any questions, comments, get in touch with me. I'm really easy to find, links in the show notes to my socials, or you can shoot me an email.

[00:02:10] And of course, please subscribe to this podcast, leave a rating that really helps this learning to get out even further. So where to start? Well, I guess I had been working in the communication sector for almost 20 years when I started my business and I have worked in a variety of roles across a variety of industries.

[00:02:34] I've worked in healthcare, entertainment, emergency services, construction and mining, retail, childcare, financial services. Huge array of comms roles within those sectors. And I will do another episode on some of the quirkiest, best, comms roles I've ever had in comms projects, because it really does give you a sense of just the variety that is available to you in a career in comms. But I digress.

[00:03:03] So in my last corporate role, before I started my business, I’d been what I call accidentally climbing the corporate ladder. Now, those who know me know I'm not a corporate animal. I hate office politics. I hate corporate politics. Uh, and I'm not the type of person who, um, really gets involved in that sort of thing, or who's really ambitious for that kind of career. I'm ambitious for different type of success.

[00:03:31] But at any rate, uh, yeah, just accidentally climbing that ladder. I got a promotion through a restructure once just even, I didn't really apply for it. Just kind of, they put me in that role. So like, all right. Um, I got asked to act in senior roles when, you know, they became vacant for various reasons. And of course those acting positions, are never short-term thing. They usually go for much longer than anyone anticipates.

[00:03:54] So. Most of those roles I have and in those organizations for over the last probably 10 years, I had ended up developing communication training. Particularly in my last organisation, we went through a really big restructure, which resulted in a lot of redundancies in corporate communications. And we couldn't provide the support

[00:04:19] we used to provide back to the business. They were very used to having a really high level of support from us. And we just couldn't do that anymore. We had to be really strategic in how we provided support and where we provided it. And to whom. So, we took a two-pronged approach. One was building self-service as much as possible,

[00:04:42] and building capability in the business. The business itself had also put a crunch on the L&D budget. So the chances of any teams using some of that budget to outsource comms training was extremely low. But thankfully I had the support of my senior leader, who is a big fan of learning creative thinking and building capability.

[00:05:05] So she kind of just let me run with it. And she also saw that this would reduce reliance on our team for the less strategic stuff that was coming our way. So with the self-help spaces we created a whole suite of online self-service tools. And I'll talk about that in a later episode, because it is a really great tactic for

[00:05:25] teams who are resource poor. And we created two training programs, business writing skills and leadership communication skills, and we tailored it to the context of the business, the tools we developed, but also tailored it to try and bridge the gaps we saw in capability when we were approached for support.

[00:05:46] Very pleased to say we got really great feedback from day one and teams were constantly approaching us to ask us to book in training. So this was an organisation of 15,000 people across Australia and New Zealand. And we literally had teams from Melbourne, New Zealand, Sydney, Perth, going, hey, can you come and run this training for us in our team? It helped that it was free.

[00:06:10] Um, but also we're getting really, really good feedback and word got around quite quickly. And we actually had got to a point where my EA had to set up a booking process. Cause it was just getting crazy. Yeah. But anyway, along the way, a friendly face in HR, she attended one of the trainings and she actually said it was much better than the training they'd paid for previously. And I actually got some of that feedback in a feedback survey as well.

[00:06:36] So apart from like me being like, well, that's a bit nice, but she sneakily gave me a glimpse at how much those people were charging the company for training. And when I looked at it, I just said to her mate, I reckon I'm in the wrong job. And she was like, yes, you are. And we laughed and moved on.

[00:06:53] But the thought did linger in the back of my head that, hey, maybe there's something else out there. I love running training. I also love the creative process of strategic comms. And maybe that I could be doing this by myself, but then 2020 happened. So COVID hit the ground running in March of 2020, as we all know. And I got sucked into this vortex of multiple meetings every day for months on end, because I was leading the internal comms crisis response for the business. And if you remember the early days of COVID, there was just this constantly changing advice and rules from government coming through.

[00:07:36] There were no policies in place in businesses for this. Like what is our work from home policy? What is our policy on taking home equipment to use? What is our policy if you have children who are home from school, and you're still expected to work? So it just became a full-time job in of itself. So I had to put those plans on the back burner.

[00:07:59] And that went on for quite a few months. But at the end of that peak of the initial craziness, at least the business of course decided to go through another restructure. Now, but at this point there were a few red flags for me about the direction they wanted the corporate comms team to take. There were a few people put into positions who I felt well, I felt those people, their style would be detrimental to the culture that we had. And it was a really great culture at the time.

[00:08:29] So I kind of decided without actually telling anybody that if I was offered a redundancy, I would take one. But at this point, I think, I was a little over the corporate life anyway. Those months and months of dealing with the COVID comms and everything else, were probably taking their toll. But of course

[00:08:51] companies don't offer voluntary redundancies necessarily because they want to get you to try and quit, right, or they'll put you in a role that they say is comparable elsewhere in the organisation because they don't want to pay you. So top tip here, if your organisation's ever going through redundancy and you happen to be looking for a job anyway,

[00:09:11] you’re made an offer, do not tell them.

[00:09:14] Get your redundancy. Anyway. Yeah. Um, the HR people who are listening to this are probably just going shut up, shut up. But here we are. Anyway. So all this is going on. And my wonderful team, many of whom had been there really, really long time were also saying they were pretty done with their careers at that organisation. And they didn't want to hang around if others were leaving because we really valued the team that we had.

[00:09:40] Short story. I got a redundancy. I had no job to go to and I was absolutely fine with that. I decided this was an opportunity to take a bit of a break and then go out on my own and give this freelancing thing a red-hot crack. Now, let's back up a minute here because I want to share a couple of things that I did in the background

[00:10:01] that helped me set up to get started when I was ready to go. So before an offer of redundancy was even on the table, I had seen the writing on the wall, so I was starting to prepare in the background. And again, I didn't mention this to anyone at this point. I didn't want to risk not getting the redundancy

[00:10:20] or that something might change. So I was just quietly, quietly working away at these couple of things in the background. Two key things that I did. Number one, built a website. Just a starter one, but something I could point people to when the time came to seek out potential clients. So it really just talked about what I did, who I was, what I could offer.

[00:10:42] And in a later episode, we'll talk in more detail about why having a website is still so important. The second thing I did was lifted my LinkedIn game big time. So I put a lot more effort into my LinkedIn profile. I had a lot more focus on my expertise and what I had to offer. I started sharing really valuable content.

[00:11:02] And just generally a really big uptick in my LinkedIn activity. So I was sharing content, sharing others’ content. I was commenting on posts. I was making connections. I was just really trying to get on people's radars. Up until then I'd sort of been looking at it kind of day to day. Not really engaging, kind of really just lurking in the background.

[00:11:23] So this was a much more proactive hit. So this part's really important. This is my big lesson from this start to lay the groundwork early. Before you leave your corporate job. Or your full-time job. Just a couple of things that will help set you up for success really early on.

[00:11:42] So after the redundancy was official, I did something really, really simple. I just posted a message on LinkedIn and I posted a message in a Facebook group I'm a part of that's full of marketing and comms people. And it just said I was taking on freelance work as of this date. And if they knew of anybody who needed support, or they had projects in their own business where they needed a separate second set of hands

[00:12:06] just put me in touch. That got things started pretty quickly now. Normally that approach would not be very successful. In fact, I'd actually recommend that you personally contact potential leads first, you know, send them private messages or give them a call. And that's the thing, not just do a bit of a broadcast.

[00:12:25] So why did this work for me? The simple answer is because I've got 20 years of building relationships. It wasn't luck. People who I worked with 10, 15 years ago, I'm still connected with today via social media and the occasional catch-up, or we run into each other through various means. They were the ones who reached out for a chat.

[00:12:48] And this to me, cemented another key lesson: This is why your relationships are so important in every role you ever work in. Never burn a bridge, particularly in smaller cities or sectors. Everyone knows someone who knows someone. And if you are a really good operator, your reputation will speak for itself. People remember that 10, 15 years on.

[00:13:13] So my first paid gig was just a lot of copywriting basically, which was fun, but wasn't really what I wanted to be doing full time. I wanted to be doing the more strategic consulting staff in running training. Thankfully very quickly got some more strategic work on board again, through somebody I used to work with.

[00:13:32] And it all kind of snowballed from there because you also get more and more people coming forward from the depths of your careers past, but also word of mouth gets around really quickly, too. So, as I said, it was snowballing, it got to the point where I was got so busy, I needed an extra pair of hands. So I reached out to my old team from my previous corporate job.

[00:13:55] And most of them had gleefully taken redundancies. And I just said, hey, does anybody want some work to do. I just need a hand. And, um, somebody immediately put up their hand and said, yes, I'd love to let's do it. So, fast-forward to today, now three of my previous team are my subcontractors along with one of my besties.

[00:14:19] So I feel really lucky to have such great support. Now, as I keep pushing to drive and grow this business. They're also people who I inherently trust. You know, we've worked together for years and years. I know their strengths. I know where I need to step in to support. They know me, they know how I work.

[00:14:37] Uh, and even just recently, I really felt this when I unexpectedly ended up in hospital for a week, that's a story for another day. But not a thing dropped because they are so capable. I trust them. We've got some really great systems and processes in place that are obviously working. And so to be able to build that team now to this point, we're two years on.

[00:14:59] I don't have to be there. If something happens. It's okay. That's huge. And that's something that is quite difficult to manage. If you decide to say, stay a solo consultant or a freelancer, I mean, most clients are pretty good. You know, if, if you are a freelance, a solo entrepreneur, whatever that looks like

[00:15:18] and you do get hit by a bus tomorrow, I hope that doesn't happen, but if it does, most people are pretty reasonable. Right. But in this instance where we've got so much work going on at the same time, there is no way I could have managed that. So. That's short story. There's a lot about the trials and tribulations and learnings that I will share over some coming episodes.

[00:15:41] And actually, if you want to get ahead of those, you can go to my website, just go to heymelcomms.training/freebies. And from there you can download a couple of checklists I've created for people who are looking to start their new business. One is the five fun things you should be doing to set up your business. And the other is the five what I call boring things that you should be doing. So check those out and I'll put the link in the show notes as well.

[00:16:08] A few key lessons. I want to leave you with number one. There is no perfect time to start.

[00:16:15] Look, there are terrible times. Like, if you're going through an illness or relationship breakdown or whatever that looks like. But there will never be a time when absolutely everything lines up. So if you're waiting around for that, stop it, just do it. The second key lesson: Get prepared early, start putting some feelers out there, building out a few assets or channels so that you're ready to hit the ground running. As soon as you decide, it's go time. So that's why I was saying before, you know,

[00:16:45] uptake in your link, it LinkedIn activity, uh, building out that profile, creating a little website in the background, doing all the little things that start to build that sense of, hey, yes, there's something out there for me. Call up somebody who you know, is looking for help, uh, you know, connect with some old leaders who have moved on to other companies. They know you, they know your capability.

[00:17:07] And from what I've seen recently, just from a few friends, who've done this. They are so excited when you reach out to them go, oh my God, yes, I need you.

[00:17:16] The third key lesson is there's also no perfect way to start a business. So for me, I was just going to freelance it, but it kind of evolved into owning an agency, which was never the plan. But I'm very glad it did. For others, they kind of do a hybrid model. So go part-time in their corporate jobs, start a side hustle, let the side hustle grow and then quit the corporate job.

[00:17:41] Some people are even doing the corporate job full-time and serving their side hustle as well, which is huge. Obviously, you know, some of you really know exactly the business model you want to build and who you want to do it with, and you just go for it. That's awesome. You just need to find what works for you. You have a strategy in place that gives you comfort, but also pushes you forward.

[00:18:03] So being comfortable doesn't mean stagnating. It means being comfortable with the decision that you're making to push yourself forward. And finally the biggest lesson. Just give it a crack. Don't regret not trying. I am loving what I've done. I'm loving consulting and running training and workshops. I'm loving the variety of work I get to do through an agency rather than being in-house.

[00:18:33] I love being paid my worth. I love having the flexibility to try new things whenever I want. You know, I would rather break my own elbow, then go back to working full-time permanently for a corporate again, and dealing with all that politics. No way, Jose. So again, recap on the key lessons. There is no perfect time to start.

[00:18:53] Just do it. Get prepared early. And remember there's no perfect way to start a business. You've got to find the strategy that works for you. So that's kind of the short story around how I started my business. Again, any questions, comments, feedback, please have a chatski, get in touch. And of course, please subscribe to and rate this podcast. That would mean that mean the world to me.

[00:19:20] Thanks for following along. And I will talk to you next time on the next episode of Less Chatter, More Matter.