Anyone who’s ever built a business by themselves will know how important it is to have enough support.
Having the right people around you – both in and out of the office – will help you to thrive.
Operational
The people who’ll actually help the business function. Senior positions might be chief technical, financial or operational officers, or also an assistant to take the weight off.
Admin
The people – or services – that deal with the nitty-gritty side of running a business: think accountants, lawyers or solicitors, and IT support.
Subject-focused
The industry insiders and fountains of knowledge you’ll turn to for their subject-specific expertise. Think factory agents, dietary consultants, health-and-safety experts...
Mentors
People who’ll give personal guidance and support about running a business. It might be someone who’s been through it before or someone from a different sector entirely.
Health
Those who help you keep your physical and mental help on the level. That might be therapists, life coaches, personal trainers or nutritionists.
Going freelance can be a daunting and scary time for anyone, no matter what sector you’re in.
Leapers (www.leapers.co), a free freelance wellbeing community, recently released its annual report, detailing how the freelance ecosystem can be more accommodating.
1
Understanding motivations
Of new freelancers, 43% say wanting to improve their mental health was a motivation for becoming self-employed. This was only a motivation for 18% of established freelancers.
2
Increasing control
Nearly 40% go freelance because they want more control over the work they are doing. More than 25% do so because they want to define their own schedules.
3
Sharing responsibility
Without a workplace health-and-wellbeing programme to fall back on, more than 80% of freelancers surveyed want clients to take on the responsibility of wellbeing support.
4
Working less
Freelancers are pioneering the four-day work week. More than a quarter of those surveyed work a three- or four-day week, but 11% also end up working six or seven days.
5
Recommending more
For more than 85% of self-employed people, the admin required to find new clients is a significant stressor. That’s followed closely by a related problem: how to market themselves.
Breathing properly is overlooked. It affects anxiety, decision making, energy levels, concentration and immune systems.
Here's how to do it...
1.
One popular breathing practice is the so-called ‘4-7-8’ exercise, developed by Dr Andrew Weil, founder and director of the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine.
2.
Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue behind your front upper teeth.
3.
Exhale completely through your mouth, making a ‘whoosh’ sound.
4.
Close your mouth and inhale through your nose while counting (in your head) to four.
5.
Then, hold your breath while counting to seven.
6.
Exhale through your mouth completely, making that ‘whoosh’ sound again for eight seconds.
That's one breath.
Now, inhale again and do the cycle three more times, for a total of four full breaths.
If you want to grow a successful business, you’ll need to zone in on exactly who your product is for.
Be agile
This may be a very narrow niche, but that’s OK. That will also help you remain pretty flexible if the interests or buying behaviours of those customers suddenly changes.
Your target audience
It might not be about just one group. Your business may well have a primary target market – but also a secondary one, too, which has the potential to grow.
The benefits
Clearly outlining your niche will have a huge influence on other aspects of your business, such as distribution, pricing and exactly how you’ll go about promoting your business.
Loyalty matters
With a narrow customer base, you’ll be able to tap into the interests of your customers, meaning you’ll be able to aim for brand loyalty.
Room for improvement
Making sure you define your target market accurately will also help you improve the product itself – particularly during the testing phase.
When it comes to getting those critical first customers, it may take a little craft and hustle.
Here’s how some of the biggest companies in the world went about it.
Etsy
The founders scoured craft fairs to find their favourite artisans, to whom they then pitched the platform – bringing those artisans’ customers to their site.
Taskrabbit
The company used a hyperlocal focus, targeting one specific mothers’ group in Boston and then seeing word spread organically in the local area.
Airbnb
The founders created software to hack Craigslist’s customer contact info, then pitched customers directly. Maybe this is not one to replicate, actually.
Buffer
Founder Leo Widrich started writing high-quality guest blogposts on other companies’ websites – and managed to attract thousands of customers to his own fledgling website.
Slack
Offering its beta product for free to a limited number resulted in 8,000 companies signing up for its beta waitlist in 24 hours.
There’s a big difference between simply working and ‘proactive time’ – also known as ‘deep work’.
Laura Giurge, a behavioural scientist and postdoctoral research fellow at London Business School, discusses one useful technique to achieve focus.
‘Proactive time’ is a concrete and practical example of managing your workload.
‘You pick one task that’s important, but not urgent, and delve into it for two hours, turning off any distractions and avoiding any interruptions.’
‘This is work that requires you to get into a creative thinking mode as opposed to trying to work on that task 10 minutes here, or 10 minutes there.’
‘If we keep switching from one task to another, it takes us about 20 minutes to really get into it. That just makes us less efficient and less productive.’
Building your company from scratch using nothing but personal savings and the money generated from sales.
Expert opinion
Paras Chopra, founder of Delhi-based digital experience company Wingify, gives his key tips for making your money go far.
Cut unnecessary costs.
‘I was living with my parents when we launched – I had very few outgoing expenses, so whatever we got paid in the early days went much further.’
Know when to say ‘no’.
‘You can’t afford to take every opportunity that comes your way. Slow growth does not mean no growth; it means you can optimise over time and actually enjoy running your business.’
Pay attention to all metrics.
‘We focus on both financial and non-financial metrics, deliberately being conservative and only investing in growth opportunities if all the metrics allow us to.’
You can learn a lot from looking back – and it goes beyond journaling or making New Year’s resolutions.
You should be able to learn from your reflective process. Try following these steps to take your reflections up a notch…
Choose the right method for you
Despite its popularity, writing by hand doesn’t work for all. Try alternative reflection modes, like audio journaling, visual art journaling or a team reflection session.
Don't censor or limit yourself
If reflecting individually, express yourself freely – your reflections don’t need to be shared. In a team setting, create an open environment where feedback can be free-flowing.
Learn from the bad stuff, too
People often focus only on the positives of the year. A thorough reflection that you can learn from should also make space for the things that went a bit awry.
There's no rush to set goals
Not all reflection has to translate directly into a goal for the coming year. That gives you little time to sit with and celebrate the year you just had.
How can you plan for the year ahead when every week seems to throw a new curveball? We’ve got your back.
Here are some strategies and tools to help you set – and follow through on – your goals in 2021.
1. Fewer, more meaningful goals
Three goals per year is the golden number. It’s a way of choosing what really matters to you (or your company).
2. Focus on the short term
Long-term planning is essential, but short-term views can also bring teams together, give opportunities for feedback and provide reasons to reward and recognise your team.
3. Be very clear on team goals
Companies sometimes limit goal-setting to individual appraisals, neglecting broader organisational goals. Everyone should know what they can do to achieve a company goal.
4. Adjust as required
Goals have to flex to accommodate for changing situations. Adjusting your goals also means that you’re less likely to want to give up on them.
Five tools to add to your work-from-home stack that promise to improve team dynamics and collaboration wherever you are.
MakeSpace
A digital workspace to enhance remote teamwork, combining video chats with presentations, co-creation studios and screen-sharing.
Heylo
An app enabling interteam collaboration such as classes or advocacy groups, to work on projects, organise events and create sub-communities.
Huddle
A digital workspace designed to humanise video chats: users can travel between ‘rooms’ and spark chats in open areas, or create rooms for specific teams to get their heads down.
Circle
Allowing makers to design and curate a digital membership experience. ‘Circles’ can be formed for the likes of product or brand communities, and newsletter subscribers.
Mmhmm
A new video presentation app that plugs into Zoom or Google Meet – and turns your room into a stage.
Lyneir Richardson from The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, Rutgers Business School, says...
Preserve the profit margin
First, see whether you can pass on increased costs to customers, explaining in plain language the effect the change in economic environment has had on the business.
Watch your receivables
Focus on cashflow, which is your oxygen. You need to be proactive, to be ahead of the slowdown on pace. Hunker down: ensure that invoices are paid and collect other receivables.
Focus on customer acquisition
Always hunt for new customers: identify them and new products. Customer acquisition is always a way of generating revenue so push harder in periods of uncertainty.
Martine Robins, director of The HR Department Woking and Guildford, gives four tips for startups on salary setting.
Do your market research
Liaise with local recruitment agencies or check out Hays’ annual salary benchmarking data, which will help you to sense-check salaries against the industry norm.
Value talent
Exceptional talent often has a price tag, but if they will give you a competitive advantage or have skills that are essential to your business, can you afford not to take them?
Know the value of your benefits
Money isn’t always the biggest motivator for employees. Benefits, equity in the business and flexible working can all play a part in securing the right candidate.
Set clear goals
Setting goals and ‘stretch’ goals that align with the business strategy will allow you to measure employee performance and to assess compensation adjustments.
For the self-employed, looking after mental health is often not a priority and taking time off can feel like a luxury.
But you are your company's most valuable asset – and, without rest, you risk running out of energy and reaching a point where you are unable to work.
Matthew Knight is the founder of Leapers, a project supporting the mental health of the self-employed. He shared five top tips on how to take time off this festive season.
1
Plan ahead
Clear out your diary and communicate with clients to agree any sort of cover required, or to see if there’s work you can do ahead of time to lighten the load over the break.
2
Ration yourself
If you absolutely need to work during the holidays, give yourself a block of time to you stick to, to prioritise the necessary work and then put work away for the rest of the day.
3
Manage your notifications
Consider hiding your phone and giving yourself permission to not check in with things. Deleting work-related apps can also help, as can setting up an ‘out of office’ message.
4
Buddy up
Build up a support network with fellow small businesses who can step in to support you, and you can return the favour for moments like holidays, illness and scaling up operations.
5
Enjoy it
Remember the reasons you started your own business, and that having more control over how, when and where you work is generally a benefit. Give yourself a break – you deserve it.
Over recent years the emphasis on looking after our mental wellbeing means that we often forget about physical health.
Dr Sebastian Kverneland, a chiropractor based in LA, and the founder of the Scandinavian Health Institute, says the problem with WFH is that people are sitting down too much.
‘We’re not made to sit. It brings us to a low energy mode.’ Here’s what he suggests to do in order to maintain good physical health when we aren’t moving around enough:
Keep up good eating habits
‘Eating at the wrong times can mean your body expends unnecessary energy digesting food. You’ll see your blood pressure drop when you stick to an eating routine.’
Have a hot bath
‘Moving around draws sugars and fats out of the blood. Sitting for long periods doesn’t – sugars and fats go even more into storage mode. Hot baths can draw the sugar back out.’
Get enough sleep
‘When you’re stationary, the discs between your vertebrae don’t get enough hydration, and sleep is vital to rehydrating them. You can’t cut corners or catch up on sleep.’
Company culture is super difficult to measure, given that success means something different for every business.
But it’s about time we began differentiating between the forced and authentic kind.
Lucy Minton, co-founder and COO of office space company Kitt, shares her tips for creating culture the authentic way.
Who's building the business?
‘It’s not just the leadership. Everyone in the company should be generating ideas, coming up with initiatives and planning socials.’
Avoid micromanagement
‘Everybody needs to know why they are there and how they can achieve the company’s mission... Embrace autonomy so that people have a say in all types of decision-making.’
Growth mindset
‘It’s absolutely inevitable that a culture will change as the company grows. They are natural fluctuations that business owners need to be okay with.’
Rumoured to be one of the least digitised industries, construction startups have secured big money in recent years.
Innovations in technology promise to cut costs and time and increase worker safety. Here are some of the microtrends dominating this space.
1
Robotics
From San Francisco-based Built Robotics to Cambridge-based Semblr, fully automated machinery is shaking the earthmoving sector, with robotics becoming democratised and accessible.
2
Digital twins
Able to virtually simulate a development site, ‘digital twin’ software provides a data-driven view of projects. Two companies to watch out for are Sensat and Cognition Factory.
3
3D-printed homes
Promising to reduce waste, labour costs and price tags, 3D printing could see customers being able to “design, download and print” their dream homes, says Emaar Properties.
To be successful at anything, consistency, accountability and motivation are key. Here are three habits to get right.
1
Don’t sleep next to your phone.
If your phone’s near you, it’ll be the first thing you think of when you wake. Leave your phone in another room, and gather your thoughts before immersing yourself into work.
2
Organise your day.
Don’t start your day by diving right into emails and Slacks. Instead, in the first 15 minutes, assess the priorities and focus on what you absolutely need to accomplish.
3
Keep a notepad on you.
There is a demonstrative cerebral connection between writing something down and committing the idea to memory, in a way that tapping it into your phone, say, doesn’t offer.
Self-cleaning water bottle brand LARQ recently raised £1.3m through Kickstarter. Founder Justin Wang shares his tips.
It takes time
‘You need 30 days to do that preliminary research before launching the campaign – look into who is going to be interested in cultivating your brand with you.’
Get them involved
‘Use your crowdfunding audience as a focus group. Divide them up between those who have expressed an interest and those who have put their credit cards down and test things.’
Provide updates
‘Newsletters and social media are easy ways to tell your story: while newsletters are about you talking directly to your customers, social media can be a more two-way dialogue.’
Keep them excited
‘Involve your backers in making final decisions on the product, but also give them sneak previews and exclusive content that is not available to the public.’
Six cost-effective ways of validating for anyone setting up a business
Step 1
Create an online landing page where you can collect email addresses of interested customers, offering an insight into demand and a customer base.
Step 2
Launch your product or service on a crowdfunding page – if enough people see it, you’ll get valuable insight on people’s reactions. It may even attract investors.
Step 3
If selling a product, hire a stall at a local market or sell online on platforms like Etsy or Ebay – it’ll provide feedback on your product.
Step 4
Visit or phone stores that sell similar products and try and speak to general managers or buyers – have in mind your cost per unit and wholesale price.
Step 5
Create an online shopfront on sites such as Shopify, BigCommerce or WooCommerce.
Step 6
Start speaking to online communities interested in your sector. Reddit has plenty of specialist channels including r/smallbusiness and r/sidehustle for advice.
Dan Frommer, who writes The New Consumer, shares his tips for growing a paid newsletter subscription base.
Do consistently good work
‘You’re only as good as the last thing you produced. Good work surfaces to the top, it gets passed around – it’s the most important thing.’
Identify what works
‘Think about which pieces drove most new subscribers and memberships – what was it about them that was successful? How you packaged it? How it got picked up by another newsletter?’
Build out the membership
‘You need to be offering access to you or to other things that people wouldn’t ordinarily get. For example, I do office hours every month or so.’
Be in more places
‘Try to get in other newsletters or podcasts. The beauty of the social web is that it can amplify good work.’
Identify yourself
‘If someone forwards your newsletter on, it needs to be easy for people to work out what it is, who you are and how they can sign up.’
Twitter’s resident ‘Gen Z whisperer’ and CEO of Zebra IQ Tiffany Zhong shares the highlights of her Gen Z Trends Report.
Voice communication
‘Gaming has made it much more comfortable for Gen Z’s to use voice communication,’ says Tiffany, ‘and they tend to prefer that over video or text.’
Subcultures in the comment sections
‘Anyone wanting to understand Gen Z better should look at the comments section on social media. Look at trending TikToks/Instagrams to see how Gen Z communicate with one another.’
Hyper aware (and critical)
‘Gen Z can spot brands who jump on bandwagons without having said anything on the matter before, or without understanding the trend. Stay in your lane, or be willing to learn.’
Everyone's making money
‘Everyone is starting a business online from their bedroom. Gen Z are creating modern-day distribution channels. They know that you can be a nobody and still make yourself heard.’
Sam Gordon, co-founder of executive search firm Gordon & Eden, outlines the essentials for making those first hires.
Act quick
‘Great people are highly sought after so if you find someone you think is right, make sure you have a slick interview process that focuses on their experience.’
Think a few steps ahead
‘Hire people who can grow with you as you scale. The balance is hiring someone who is able to get to the right level of detail but also who has really strong potential to grow.’
Think outside the industry
‘While industry experience can sometimes be essential, think creatively about people from other sectors who may have already solved the problems you’re trying to solve.’
Mission is the message
‘Increasingly, people are driven by the purpose and mission that a business has and want to be part of something that is more than just a job. Be able to communicate that clearly.’
Author and modern-day philosopher Ryan Holiday on the benefits of cultivating stillness.
1
Reduce distractions
Mobile devices have been designed for repeat use. Avoid using them first thing in the morning and restrict usage during the day.
2
Remove external noises
Modern living is full of distractions that can create noise and detract from productivity. Removing them can help focus the mind.
3
Say no more
Create your own space by saying no more often to invitations, meetings and demands that take time away from working on yourself.
4
Get up early and exercise
Exercise will help strengthen your stillness muscles and cultivate a mental silence you can settle into.
5
Embrace journaling
The 'one line a day' process where you write one sentence a day for five years can help you see negative patterns emerge and be involved in a process while watching it unfold.
Five steps to get a grasp on what your competitors are doing
Step 1
Big-picture insights. Identify between five and 10 competitors and note the big details: size of their team (and size of founding team), years in operation, location and funding.
Step 2
Act the customer. If they’re in bricks and mortar, visit them and review the customer experience. Sign-up to the newsletter and follow their socials.
Step 3
Analyse. Get hold of the product and note what features you like and don’t. Look at their branding. What personality do they have? Look at pricing, shipping and read reviews.
Step 4
Reach out. Try to build relationships – it may lead to useful relationships, support systems and collaborations down the line.
Step 5
Identify their USP. Come to a conclusion about what customers are going to them for – is it price, experience or something else entirely?
Megan Auman is a business coach, designer and metalsmith. She outlines what to do when orders are suddenly cancelled.
1
Face the financial truth
‘Look at your cash reserves and work out how long you can last without any revenue. Analyse what assets you could sell. Doing this allows you to create a plan moving forward.’
2
Cull recurring payments
‘Go through your recurring payments to see what can be cut back. For any subscription services now is a good time to look at their ROI.’
3
Get creative about revenue
‘A lot of spending has shifted online and the makers who are willing to pivot in their approach to marketing and selling online are those who will weather this storm the most.’
Greg Lemaitre is co-founder of corporate consultancy Dare Be. Here are his tips for creating company culture remotely.
Have clear intentions
‘When you join a company as a new employee and are working remotely, there is no benchmark of success,’ Greg explains. ‘Leaders need to continually share their aims.’
Build psychological safety
‘People are not feeling like they belong to teams as much. You almost need to force people to have personal time with each other, talk about mistakes and be vulnerable.’
Be clear about your challenges
‘Engaging the team in decision-making engenders trust, which helps them to feel like they have a stake in the journey.’
Show you care
‘People are juggling home life with work. Everyone has differing personal circumstances in the pandemic, so just give them a call to check in.’
Cheryl Clements is a coach for businesses and startups. She shares tips for speaking to new people about your product.
01
Avoid confirmation bias by recording the session. Review feedback with someone who will challenge you so you don’t discredit opinions to fit your views.
02
Watch body language as well as listening to words. Pay attention to gestures, expressions and posture.
03
Ask simple, clear, non-leading questions. Start with words such as How? Why? What? Leave space and don’t fill in the words for them. Practice active listening.
04
Even if you’re getting positive feedback, reframe questions to get the flipside. If they’d buy, ask what would stop them etc. Encourage a different point of view.
We asked coach and ‘sabbatical specialist’ Lyndall Farley about how to tackle office-based anxieties.
Acknowledge the changes
‘The first step is realising that you don't need to return to exactly the way it was before and that you can redesign how you want to work.’
Identify the worries
‘Acknowledge what is causing your anxiety. Am I concerned about my health? Is it the social interactions of office life? Once you know the cause, you can come up with a plan.’
Ask for what you need
‘Companies are rethinking the way they work and everything is back on the table. Start to have these dialogues and don’t assume things aren’t a possibility.’
Settle on a hybrid
‘In WFH, we've all learnt what makes us productive and happy so design a version that works for you and your company incorporating the positive elements of remote working.’
Ecosia's ‘happiness officer’ and founder of Baingerous Spaces Alexis Bainger's tips for a more sustainable office.
Bank green
‘Ecosia uses a “green” bank which invests money in sustainable entrepreneurs, rather than investing in fossil fuels as most banks do.’
Reduce energy consumption
‘Use LED lights, paint in light colours, install sensors so lights turn off when nobody is in the room. Install thermostats on heaters so they turn off at nights and weekends.’
Use secondhand tech
‘There are numerous companies that repair and resell tech equipment. We always look on afbshop.de and refurbed.de before buying new products. Likewise for books.’
Check your suppliers
‘Along with trying to print only when necessary (and reusing scrap paper), order recycled printing paper, Post-It Notes and toilet paper. Get pens which can be refilled.’
Eliminate packaging
‘Buy in bulk containers or from companies that deliver packaging-free. At Ecosia we meet monthly to review our orders and waste and see where we can improve.’
Clean green
‘Most regular cleaning products contain ingredients that are toxic, hazardous, non-biodegradable and from non-renewable resources so choose eco-friendly products.’
‘Small moments of fun can change the tone of a meeting and how we connect through our screens’ says Naomi Bagdonas.
Remotely humorous
Naomi, Stanford Graduate School of Business lecturer and comedian, just launched an online course called ‘Remotely humorous: build joyful and resilient virtual teams with humour.’
3 tips
Here are her three tips that can make a big difference.
Collect callbacks
One of the easiest ways to get a laugh is to refer back to a funny moment that happened earlier. Listen for moments of laughter, make a note of them, and reference them later.
Use the medium to your advantage
Instead of signing off with ‘Best’, try ‘Yours, with gratitude and Lysol’? Even giving a Zoom meeting a funny name can prime everyone to be a bit more relaxed, creative and open.
Don’t be afraid to fail
As long as they’re appropriate, ‘lame’ jokes have been proven to have much the same benefit as ones that elicit laughs – they make others feel more comfortable, because you tried.
Keep a healthy balance
Rather than making jokes all the time, smile and be more generous with your laughter at others’ jokes. You’ll help create an environment where joy comes more easily.
Letting go of old ways of working isn’t easy. The Art of Being Indispensable at Work author Bruce Tulgan shares his tips
Show up intending to serve
If your speciality isn't in demand any more, don't complain; be adaptable and take the time to get really good at whatever it is you are now being asked to do.
You can't make everyone happy
You have to be more adaptable, but that doesn't mean saying 'yes' to everything. Think about the quality of the opportunity – every good 'no' frees up time for a better 'yes'.
Report in to your boss
Tell them what you are doing and be very granular: the more closely aligned you are, the more support and resources you will be given and you’ll be recognised for your efforts.