Good idea, amych!

What successes did you have this last month?

I started my freelance biz, officially. I set up my website, set up an e-mail subscription account, set up a Google biz account, a business banking account, and got business cards.

What do you have an eye on for the next month?

Blogging daily for BlogHer's Fiction month. Having more uninterrupted time to work on things when M is back to PA. Sending out a query on an essay I wrote for an on-line mag. Pursuing more freelance jobs more aggressively. Trying to get more editing/copyediting/writing jobs.

F2F networking with local businesses and orgs, now that my biz cards have arrived.

Brag points, frustrations, brilliant ideas?

Helping get this thread started. Self-educating on lots of website development stuff that was WAY outside of my comfort zone. Starting a biz up!!!! Reaching out to awesome peeps and admitting "I don't know how...Can you help?" Writing 1000% more than I have in the last year.

I was frustrated by my first killed article. Also, stepmomming it all day and doing everything I needed to do was a lot harder than I thought. I missed a deadline.

I made money. Triple digits for less than a month in the biz, so I consider that a win.

Didja at least pay the rent? (or whatever your personal baseline is for "is my business doing okay?")

No. It's been less than a month since I started up, so that's ok. But I got a PayPal Merchant Account set up, and sent out 2 invoices, and got my first official Wordslinger payment. I've gotten testimonials and some great feedback for work I've done, so I am VERY happy with that.

Here goes

What success did you have this last month?

I added a second regular employee. I already have one full timer and now I have a second one that is 20 hours a week. I also have something like 20 casual labor folks that I use as needed, but it was a pretty big step to add the overhead of a second regular employee.

We pulled off the 5th Nickelodeon All Access Cruise. I just got back last night. It seemed like it was a success, my client was happy, and the kids on the ship were happy, so that's all good.

I also purchased a 6x10 trailer for the business and got that towed home, now we just need to get the interior of it all set up in time for hauling gear up to Halloween.

What do you have an eye on for the next month?

The main focus is Halloween Horror Nights, but I also have two shows that I'm designing and staffing for AMDA this month. It's going to be hectic and I have to make sure I watch the budget on all of these so that once doesn't become and time and money suck. If handled well it's a great month for growth.

Brag point, frustrations, brilliant ideas?

I switched my business phone line over to a google voice number which seems to be working out pretty well. I added a dedicated cell phone line that the google voice number is normally routed to, but now it is as easy as a few clicks to reroute the phone to my cell phone, or to the phone of either of my employees. It worked like a champ while two of us were out on the ship and my part timer got the call and booked and pulled off a voice over recording session while we were gone.

Didja at least pay the rent? (or whatever your personal baseline is for "is my business doing okay?")

Yes, last month seems to have been a good one. Everyone got their paychecks on-time and we are mostly on schedule for our ongoing projects. I would have liked us to be a bit farther ahead on the prep for the work we have this month and next, but I think we will be okay.

Can I amend my goals for this month?

To get a comment on my blog that's not fucking SPAM. I know, I know -- even blogs that get huge hits don't always get a lot of comments.

But it's like SPAMALOT; I would approve a "You suck and here's why" comment if it weren't BLOODY SPAM.

GRRR.

OK, better now.

I'm going to lump the past two months into one, because I am at the point of my summer where I have lost all capability to process chronological time.

What success did you have this last month?

Raised close to half of our annual program budget, and that's before the camp funds came in. Well, less some because we took an advance on the camp funds to begin with.

Talked to more than five hundred students, and made probably half a dozen good contacts for future fundraising.

What do you have an eye on for the next month?

Surviving. We'll finish up camp, do donor maintenance meetings, fundraising for our student's discipleship program, head to Wichita for our board stuff, and head home. And then start school back.

Brag point, frustrations, brilliant ideas?

Social networking is going really well. We now have almost double the number of facebook fans as we have on our paper mailing list. Mailchimp has also been good, although I need to convert as many of those facebook people to mailchimp subscribers as I can. And I owe my prayer list people an update.

Didja at least pay the rent? (or whatever your personal baseline is for "is my business doing okay?")

Well, no, not initially. We didn't make payroll for the first time in the business' existence, which was pretty damn scary, and mostly my fault. We had some donor angels who swooped in to the rescue with a wire transfer, and disaster was averted.

But basically what happened was we knew we had enough funds to make it to summer, whereupon all our major fundraising would happen. And then I bought a laptop, out of budget. And this year I fell really behind on the paperwork side of things because the student side has been so intense. So I didn't realize how close we were to having a problem in time.

And then when summer hit, our mail didn't get forwarded, so we weren't getting either bills or donations, which as you may suspect, was Not Good. But over the course of the summer we mostly got it worked out. I still have a ton of catch-up to do, and we still need to hit the fundraising hard. It's been almost two years since the last "annual" campaign, and I found out this summer that my volunteer would like to not do it this year. So that's back to me, and I need to get on it. I can't really get upset with people for not sending me money if I bloody well don't ask for any!

So.

Anyway, got to get focused and get through this last week of camp. These kids deserve the same energy as the first week, so I need to throw myself into it regardless of how I feel.

Energy, money and creativity-ma to all Buffista biz owners.

It's really good to see what others are experiencing and overcoming.

And with a SWOOSH of my Writing Cape, I am back to work!

ETA: SWOOSH back, real quick: I got my biz cards!

If anyone wants to do a biz card exchange, like I'll send you 10 of mine, you send me ten of yours, and we hand 'em out to people who might not need OUR services, but who might find a Buffista biz owner useful, let me know.

Also, Liese, when you get your annual campaign running, let me know. I know a LOT of peeps in non-profit and a few who teach/work at Haskell in Lawrence, KS and will send out an email.

I love the idea of a biz card exchange, Erin. I have both cards and a 'referral card' that you all helped me create.

I can send paper and electronic versions.

There is a graphic designer I would like to give your info to.

I feel you around the spam issue. Thankfully, wordpress captures all my spam and sends me an email reminding me to 'moderate it'. In other news, nuke it.

I found an interesting article about encouraging comments. It basically suggests being super controversial and asking questions in the post text.

You are right, though, major blogs don't always get comments.

I think the pioneer woman gets the most I have ever seen.

So once again I have come to the realization that I need to start my own company rather than working for someone else. I've never done this before despite having a needed service and a market, because everyone says that you have to quit your day job and work 110% on your startup. And because I don't have venture capital.

I can't quit my day job - not only do I have a family to support, but it ties into my market and I need to maintain those contacts.

How did you guys get started?

Raq - I'm just me, so I essentially just took a huge, perhaps somewhat imprudent, step and quit a job that was sucking the life out of me and not paying very well. My thinking was that if I'm working that hard, I want it to be something I like and I want to earn more of the profit I'm generating. At some point, the second part of that should actually support me. It's not yet. BUT, I am only taking the risk for myself; I don't support a family. That's a whole other ball of wax that others might have insight on.

In truth, it took a couple years for me to work up equal parts of courage and frustration to make the perfect storm that propelled me to take the risk. I got to a "now or never" place, and never was just too scary and demoralizing to choose.

***

What success did you have this last month?

I'm doing what Liese did and using two months. Success was making the decision to do MK full time and make a career out of it. Got all of my ducks in a row sample-wise so that I can do whatever kind of session I need to. Made the trek faithfully up to PA every week to our business meetings (when I settle in DC, I will find a unit meeting in DC, but until then, I trek. Scheduled and held several one-on-one sessions. Found a good resource (book/website, etc.) that speaks sense to me about booking/growth strategies for direct selling business. (Michael Port's Book Yourself Solid for those interested.)

What do you have an eye on for the next month?

More networking and bookings to grow my business. Am setting daily goals for F2F contact, personal training (MK specific and outside resources). Accountability with tracking forms and reporting to director to face up to slow growth and inspire faster growth. Getting systems nailed down and in place. De-scatter my brain.

Brag point, frustrations, brilliant ideas?

Frustration with myself in not narrowing my focus -- get too scattered. It's a huge change in the way I exist, and I'm going to get disciplined and busy enough to make it work right.

I do have a good sized class coming up this evening that will start me off well for August, and I will keep that momentum going.

Didja at least pay the rent?

Yes and no - I'm bunking with my sister, who doesn't have rent or mortgage, so she's passing along those savings to me. Incredibly kind and supportive. I did manage to eat, so there's that.

In my case, I had a husband whose job would get us through until I started making enough to really contribute. And like JenP, I was in a job that I really disliked and that helped push me.

While I didn't steal or recruit any clients, I knew I had clients who would come with me and refer me to others. And I started really cheap. My expenses were just an office that I used very part time ($150 a month) and business cards, phone, gas, etc.

So, because I didn't really have anything huge I needed to buy, and because I had a spouse who had a job that could pay the bills, I didn't need any start up capital. Things were very very tight for 2-3 months, but then it got easier. I will add that trusting that business will come is very very hard for me and like I said in my post, i occasionally start to feel tight-chested when I think about the bills I have to pay now (an employee, rent, advertising) but I try to keep a cushion in the bank and that helps me a bit.

Raq, when I first went independent, I was working for a non-profit that constituted my market for organizational development consulting.

My first clients sprang from coalition meetings. I didn't even buy business cards for 2 years.

From that came a 4 year, highly lucrative consulting gig to a government agency.

All this is to say, your needed service and built in market may not require the kind of machinations I have to go through as a therapist/coach.

I say, begin now. Develop an identity, craft a message for your audience and toss your hook into the pond. As long as you do not cross any conflict of interest lines with your current employer, you should be okay.

Depending on what you are doing, it might be worth getting some legal research done to ensure against the above.

Go for it!