I think I’d always wanted to start my own company. I even did so at university, somewhat accidentally, when I ended up managing a couple of bands and several DJs for a few hedonistic years.
Close friends would remark that they always thought I would start something myself. But I never did. Until now.
My name is Stephen and I’m an almost 42-year-old, white, middle-class male, with an understanding wife and 2 beautiful boys. I think that description paints a picture of maybe why I’ve never left the comfort of employment: Fear and excuses.
Fear of running out of money and not being able to pay the bills or look after my family. Fear of not being as good as I always hoped I was. Fear of not being able to scale a business. Fear of doing this alone, without a partner to work alongside and share the experience, both good and bad.
These are all things I may explore in future posts, but for now I’ve got no more excuses. I’m doing this. And I want to do it as well as I possibly can.
So why the Medium posts? In all honesty, like most things in life, there were several reasons.
Firstly, I’ve realised I enjoy writing long-form content. As the company I’ve founded, Too Many Dreams Limited, is a marketing agency that provides content strategy and execution, it seemed essential that I keep practicing the art of creating a compelling story. It’s no good earning the 10,000 hours of practice and then never playing your instrument again.
It may go without saying — and with my British reserve I struggle to do so — but I intend to use this series of columns as a marketing asset (the horror!). All content, but particularly that which can be shared socially, can be used to reach, engage and grow your audience, so that is what I will do. I’ll share any learnings from this approach along the way.
And finally, but perhaps most importantly, I thought this forum may be a good way to catalogue and comment on what happens as I attempt to start a business and make it a success. The ups and downs, successes and failures, and lessons learnt that hopefully lead to some new understanding — for me, I’m sure, and hopefully for some of you too.
There seem to be hundreds of mavens of industry out there ( Seth Godin , Gary Vaynerchuk , Malcolm Gladwell , Daniel Kahneman ), many of whom I consume passionately, however they all seem intimidatingly successful. I found far fewer examples of ordinary people, trying to build something, but being open and honest when they trip and fail.
I’m no sage, but I do believe in sharing and helping wherever I can. I really hope my ramblings here have some value, beyond virtual chip paper, and resonate with whoever choses to read them.
Who knows? I hope it’s somewhat interesting, even as just a piece of prose. I’m going to try and post regularly, as I think my self-employed life needs a bit more structure, but do tell me what you think, so I know where I’m going right and wrong. Hopefully then this founder’s fumblings can be valuable to more than just me and my clients.