Day 2:
I woke up at 9am and started up my laptop in bed. Right away I began to do research related to our first product concept as well as work on an outline for our company website...from bed. I could get used to this. Around 11:30 I checked-in with my business partner to confirm a lunch meeting. A quick break for a shower and I was on my way.
We met to prioritize our product ideas and the leg work we'd have to do internally to organize the company. These items came up:
1) Research the competitive landscape further
2) Have business cards and letterhead printed
3) Develop the internal website
4) Define the brand identity of the company
5) Draft a formal marketing plan
6) Create product descriptions and development steps
The next few weeks will be spent concentrating on these areas. Discussing our new services no doubt left both of us excited and ready to put in the long hours to get this off the ground. During our meeting I was able to choose my job title for this role. The choice: Executive Director. Now it's time to establish the reputation to match such an impressive name. After all, I could call myself king of kings, but if my efforts don't add up to profits I'll end up a peasant.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Foundation
This starts with a simple passion for ideas...
More specifically, my obsessive belief that there is no correct way to live and navigate through your professional life. In marketing we are taught to recognize the differences in our audiences; to identify what seperates one niche from another and then develop the tactics to reach them. Yet, in our own careers we have been convinced of the fact that a 9-5 job from an employer that provides an office, a benefits package and a series of tasks to complete each day is the standard...and it is, but only because we let it be.
Thus, I have decided to become a 23-year old entrepreneur and leave my cozy desk job at a full-service advertising and marketing agency to help found a start-up. This blog will serve as my canvas to archive my experiences as I strive to evolve from an unproven & enthusiastic idea man to a successful & respected entrepreneur.
Timeline of events that brought me here:
March 2004- Answered an ad in a college newspaper for a marketing/event planning internship with a restaurant management group
May 2004- Coordinated an event through same internship & met a local entrepreneur who has run successful businesses in the mobile communications, technology and transportation industries
Summer 2005- Partnered with new acquaintance to sell new ad-wrap concept on luxury vehicles & successfully planned and held a marketing expo targeted at college students. Clients and exhibitors included a professional sports team & major radio station
Fall 2005- Part ways to finish my communications/advertising studies
April 2006- Parlay a 2-week internship at an advertising/marketing agency into my first professional job as an assistant account manager for several major healthcare accounts. Experience also included a 4-month stint coordinating media placements for clients
December 2006- Finished degree in 4.5 years
September 2007- Reconnected with entrepreneurial friend and business partner to share ideas and discussed the founding of a new venture in which I would have an executive position + vested interest
October 2007- Made the decision to leave my positon with the advertising agency and take the offer to become a partner in a new start-up venture geared around creating new online & mobile platforms for selling ads
That's where things stand today...
The business agreement is being finalized with a lawyer and I am already working through my first list of tasks as our new office space is being finished. I will be working from home in the days to come and then moving to the permanent location shortly. Each day I will post a new thought or comment on how this process is working and promise to disclose much more detail and limit each post to more specific topics and less words.
I hope this blog serves as a tool for anyone considering the jump to self-employment or at least a reference point for others that have. It's a high risk/high reward style of life, but at least I'm in the driver's seat. Wish me luck.
More specifically, my obsessive belief that there is no correct way to live and navigate through your professional life. In marketing we are taught to recognize the differences in our audiences; to identify what seperates one niche from another and then develop the tactics to reach them. Yet, in our own careers we have been convinced of the fact that a 9-5 job from an employer that provides an office, a benefits package and a series of tasks to complete each day is the standard...and it is, but only because we let it be.
Thus, I have decided to become a 23-year old entrepreneur and leave my cozy desk job at a full-service advertising and marketing agency to help found a start-up. This blog will serve as my canvas to archive my experiences as I strive to evolve from an unproven & enthusiastic idea man to a successful & respected entrepreneur.
Timeline of events that brought me here:
March 2004- Answered an ad in a college newspaper for a marketing/event planning internship with a restaurant management group
May 2004- Coordinated an event through same internship & met a local entrepreneur who has run successful businesses in the mobile communications, technology and transportation industries
Summer 2005- Partnered with new acquaintance to sell new ad-wrap concept on luxury vehicles & successfully planned and held a marketing expo targeted at college students. Clients and exhibitors included a professional sports team & major radio station
Fall 2005- Part ways to finish my communications/advertising studies
April 2006- Parlay a 2-week internship at an advertising/marketing agency into my first professional job as an assistant account manager for several major healthcare accounts. Experience also included a 4-month stint coordinating media placements for clients
December 2006- Finished degree in 4.5 years
September 2007- Reconnected with entrepreneurial friend and business partner to share ideas and discussed the founding of a new venture in which I would have an executive position + vested interest
October 2007- Made the decision to leave my positon with the advertising agency and take the offer to become a partner in a new start-up venture geared around creating new online & mobile platforms for selling ads
That's where things stand today...
The business agreement is being finalized with a lawyer and I am already working through my first list of tasks as our new office space is being finished. I will be working from home in the days to come and then moving to the permanent location shortly. Each day I will post a new thought or comment on how this process is working and promise to disclose much more detail and limit each post to more specific topics and less words.
I hope this blog serves as a tool for anyone considering the jump to self-employment or at least a reference point for others that have. It's a high risk/high reward style of life, but at least I'm in the driver's seat. Wish me luck.
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