Lockdown was a double-edged sword for many of us. Although I enjoyed spending more time with my family and made a reasonable job of homeschooling my six-year-old (despite my appalling maths), work was severely disrupted and I qualified for very little government financial support.
But I had plenty of thinking time and although for a while I’ve recognised the need to make changes, the lockdown and gloomy economic outlook added much urgency. No business can afford to stand still – the solution is evolution.
Rethink, reposition and rebrand
With the market having become significantly more crowded since I started writing small-business content 15 years ago, I’ve needed to find a better way to set myself apart and highlight my expertise. So, shortly after lockdown began, I decided it was time to rethink, reposition and rebrand my business.
My ultimate aim is to create something more special, more robust and more entrepreneurial. Something that’s bigger, better and more scalable. The result is Dead Good Content, a brand new small business content agency that will provide accountancy firms and others with a much more cost-effective way to market their services to SMEs by using content marketing.
While setting up Dead Good Content, I was reminded of six key start-up truths…
“Starting a business without speaking to the most important people of all – potential clients – can prove disastrous”
1 Market research in a must
You can learn so much from basic market research. You don’t need to spend lots of money or ask complex questions. But starting a business without speaking to the most important people of all – potential clients – can prove disastrous.
You won’t solve your customers’ problems if you don’t know what those problems are. And things change, so, you must maintain your market knowledge if your new business is to survive and thrive.
I contacted a sample of target customers, asking their opinions and attitudes on a range of issues via a concise questionnaire. The results gave me confidence in many of my existing ideas, but I was also able to make slight changes to ensure that Dead Good Content could better meet potential customers’ actual needs.
2 Launching a new business takes hard work
For the past 15 years, I’ve constantly written about how easy it is to start a business. Registering a new business is remarkably simple, but if you want it to succeed, you must work hard to lay good foundations and get it off the ground.
There are many tasks to complete, which can take time. Frequently, in recent months, I’ve worked late into the night (after writing or homeschooling all day) or at weekends, whether I’ve been doing market research, designing our corporate ID, writing and building the Dead Good Content website or producing marketing collateral. No pain, no gain.
“Much depends on what you’re selling and whether you need stock or premises, but you can start a business for very little money”
3 You can still start a business on a shoestring
Another key start-up message I’ve communicated for 15 years. Much depends on what you’re selling and whether you need to buy stock or operate from premises, etc, but you can start a business for very little money.
When starting your own business, you must be prepared to roll up your sleeves and do many things yourself. I would have loved to hire an agency to build our website or create our corporate ID, but I had to minimise my start-up costs, so I did it all myself. I’m fortunate to have those skills. If you don’t, maybe you could swap skills with those who do. Making do with what you have can really help to reduce risk and minimise your start-up costs.
4 Not all ideas are good ones
I’ve had the name, Dead Good Content, for ages. I like it a lot, because it underlines our commitment to quality and says what we do, but it does it with personality. Other ideas have come and gone, because they didn’t work.
I love neon signs, and initially I planned to use a neon-like font for our new logo. A friend and talented graphic designer called Andrew Cothliff created logos for me, which all looked great. But, they didn’t work when used small, so neon was out. We went for a simpler typeface. We also tried different versions of our website, but scrapped them and started again from scratch. You must challenge your own thinking and listen to your gut instinct. And it usually pays to keep things simple.
“When starting your own business, there are people who will help you – often for free. If you trust them, listen to what they tell you and act on it”
5 Honest feedback from trusted sources really helps
I’m lucky to have a great network of friends and some work in media, PR, marketing, advertising, graphics and branding. I value their opinions and sought their advice on everything from our new corporate ID and website to our business model and prices.
Sometimes others see things that you can’t see, because you’re too close. The feedback I received was mostly positive, but changes were recommended. Acting on some of those has made a big difference. When starting your own business, there are people who will help you – often for free. If you trust them, listen to what they tell you and act on it.
6 Starting a new business is exciting
So, after many months of planning and hard work, Dead Good Content is up and running. I’m under no illusion about how much hard work it’s going to take to establish, especially in these uncertain and challenging times. But I’m up for it and initial response has been excellent. And for the first time in a while, I’m really excited about what the future may hold for my business. Life’s too precious to waste doing something that doesn’t excite you.
• With 15 years’ experience as a leading writer of small-business content, Mark Williams is the founder of Dead Good Content, which specialises in producing cost-effective bespoke and readymade content for accountancy firms and other organisations that want to market their services to small businesses.
