My biggest leap of faith

Taking risks is part and parcel of being in business, but some are particularly significant. Mark Williams asks five entrepreneurs to look back to a time when they took a leap of faith.

Wendy Tan White’s first major leap of faith wasn’t, as you might expect, when she started Moonfruit with Joe White and Eirik Pettersen during the first dotcom boom. It was carrying on when the dotcom bubble burst in 2001, she reveals.

“Funding ran out, so we had to cut the team from 60, to 10, then two, which was very tough,” she says. “But we totally believed in our mission to enable small firms to build their own websites.” By 2012, when the business was sold to the Yell Group for £23m, seven million websites had been built using the pioneering Moonfruit platform.

Tan White admits that leaps of faith still “bring the same vertigo and butterflies”, even after years in business. Her latest, 18 months ago, saw Tan White and husband Joe join Entrepreneur First (EF), the London tech accelerator started by Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck in 2011. “We joined because we want to help the best talent to build world-class startups from scratch. We were also looking for something that was worth betting our time and money on,” she says. “Matt and Alice are exceptional people.”

In May, Entrepreneur First had its first major exit, when Twitter acquired AI start-up Magic Pony for $150m. “We’ve raised £40m to extend EF’s company-building programme from six months to two years, and invest further in companies. We’ve personally invested in 12 businesses in our portfolio of 20 – and mentor many more. Becoming investors has been a totally different leap of faith.”

I was continually being told people wouldn’t buy online, but the business grew to be worth £250m – Chris Barling

Software solutions

Tech entrepreneur Chris Barling was 40 when he took a life-changing chance to set up his own business. “I left a well-paid job with Cable & Wireless to set up [ecommerce software provider] Actinic in 1996,” he says. “My co-founder and I funded the launch and my family of five had to live on £8,000 in that first year.”

Software development involves considerable investment before any revenue comes in, he adds, often leaving owners short of cash. “It was a major leap of faith. I was continually being told people wouldn’t buy online, but the business grew to be worth £250m.”

Barling estimates £10bn of sales went through Actinic-powered websites before he moved on in 2014. He now sits on the board of a FTSE 100 company and two high-growth tech startups. And he has started Powered Now, a provider of invoice, estimating and scheduling mobile software for small trade businesses, such as plumbers, electricians and builders.

“Again, I’m told trades people will never be keen on technology to run their business. [But] they will, because now it’s mobile, like them, and simpler. It’s taken personal investment, but now we have more than 1,100 paying customers and 60,000 trade businesses have downloaded our app. Entrepreneurs must sometimes take leaps of faith. It’s hard, but can bring the biggest rewards. It should never be an [unconsidered one] though.”

Space man

“In 2012, after Airbnb started to take off, it just came to me and stayed in my head,” says 24-year-old Ross Bailey of starting his business Appear Here. “Maybe something similar could help fill the huge number of empty UK retail premises.”

To test this theory, Bailey and a friend took a short-term let on premises near Carnaby Street and sold T-shirts to coincide with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Others showed interest and the viability of the pop-up shop concept became clear. The company launched in February 2013 and is now a leading online marketplace that connects landlords with brands and businesses seeking short-term retail space in the UK.

My leap of faith was simply telling others about my idea. Some said it was rubbish, but one person said I shouldn’t over-think it – Ross Bailey

“My leap of faith was simply telling others about my idea,” Bailey reveals. “Some said it was rubbish, but one person said I shouldn’t over-think it. Try it out and if it fails, it fails.

“There’s something powerful about telling people about your idea. Many people want you to succeed. Ultimately, you win or you lose, but the initial momentum begins.” Appear Here now has offices in London and Paris and more than 40 employees, having raised some £5m in funding.

Growth platform

Saurav Chopra took a chance in 2014 when he cofounded Perkbox, a platform employers pay to use to provide employees with “access to more than 200 perks, an online reward and recognition system and a wellness hub”.

Chopra explains: “Parent company Huddlebuy was a highly profitable lead-generation business, turning over £1m-plus, but we wanted to build something we could scale worldwide. [Starting a new business] that wasn’t generating any revenue required a huge leap of faith.”

Justifying the idea to his board, investors and employees was incredibly hard, admits Chopra, and Perkbox was one year in the making before launching in 2015. “Just two years after deciding to pivot, revenue has grown by 13 times, and we’ve gone from 15 employees to 100, without any external funding.”

Chopra believes that entrepreneurs must regularly take leaps of faith – these are mostly small, but occasionally very significant. “They key is to minimise risk,” he says. “Evaluate as much data as possible; get input from key team members; and feedback from potential customers. Once the decision’s been made, you must communicate your rationale and plan to the rest of the team.”

I’m a passionate Liverpool FC fan and the thought of a short drive to Anfield was too much to resist – Steve McGauley

Mersey paradise

Steve McGauley’s leap of faith involved relocating his marketing agency from London to Liverpool. “I started Liquid in 2000. Three years later, after growing steadily, moving to the north west seemed the next natural step.

“I’m Yorkshire born, but my dad’s a Scouser and my family live in the north – it’s where I feel most comfortable. I considered Manchester and Leeds, but I’m a passionate Liverpool FC fan and the thought of a short drive to Anfield was too much to resist,” he laughs.

While it was a big move, McGauley says agencies don’t need a London postcode to compete. “We have a high success rate of winning work against agencies regionally and in London,” he adds. “We have the same work ethic and creativity, but charge less usually.” Liquid now has 17 employees and an impressive client list that includes Levis, Warburtons and Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

The main reason for relocating was better quality of life, he says, particularly at a time when he and his wife wanted to start a family. “London consumes you; working very long hours is expected. Personally, I never had any doubts. I believed in my business and in Liverpool.

Moving to Liverpool has been one of my best decisions. The talent and drive here reminds me of London, but the people in Liverpool tend to do things with a smile on their face – Steve McGauley

“I’m thankful for my time in London,” he adds, “but moving to Liverpool has been one of my best decisions ever. The talent and drive here reminds me of London, but the people in Liverpool tend to do things with a smile on their face.”

While leaps of faith can be terrifying, when they’re taken with careful consideration of the risks and benefits on the line, they can be the push that a business needs to grow and thrive. What will your next leap of faith be?

• Written by Dead Good Content founder, Mark Williams, this feature appeared originally on the Small Business Network pages of The Guardian website in 2016.

How to create a new marketing plan for your accountancy firm

The lockdown may have smashed a gaping hole right through your marketing plan for 2020. You may serve sectors that have been particularly hard hit. Some of your prospects or existing clients may have already gone to the wall.

Many of the assumptions, aims and actions set out in your previous marketing plan may no longer hold water. Your marketing plan may not have been working anyway. And, whether through lack of time or knowledge, some smaller accountants don’t have a marketing plan, which may be limiting their growth.

Although many are understandably feeling slightly dazed and confused at the moment, doing nothing isn’t an option. All businesses must act if they are to get back on track, and creating a new marketing plan could really help your recovery.

“Planning is bringing the future into the present, so we can do something about it now”

Why create a marketing plan?

As once explained by celebrated American time-management author, Alan Lakein: “Planning is bringing the future into the present, so we can do something about it now”. Lakein is also credited with the often-quoted adage:  “Failing to plan is planning to fail”.

This is a slight over-simplification, because businesses without marketing plans aren’t necessarily doomed to failure. Moreover, marketing plans don’t guarantee success, because things don’t always pan out as expected. But planning can increase your chances of success, while enabling you to make the most out of available opportunities.

You can develop a marketing plan for your entire business or just a specific product, service, market or customer type. Your marketing plan need not be long or intricate, in fact, the shorter and simpler the better (the KISS principle certainly applies). Most marketing plans are for periods of one to three years.

Marketing plan basics

In essence, marketing is how you get prospects and customers interested in buying your products or services (after that, you’re into selling). The marketing process involves research, creating a service or product (sometimes), promoting, selling and distributing your wares.

According to Susan Ward: “When you’re putting together a marketing plan, concentrate on four key components – products/services, promotion, distribution and pricing.” Success rests on offering the right things for the right price in the right way, while ensuring that enough people know who you are and what you sell. Ward says creating and implementing a marketing plan can help you to keep your marketing efforts better focused, so that you ultimately make more sales.

If your market knowledge is out of date or lacking, your marketing plan will be flawed. If necessary, undertake up-to-date market research. Your plan must also summarise your offer (including your USP) and your market (ie its size, value, trends, etc), your target customers, your competitors and your market position. All of the above should also be up to date.

“The most crucial marketing plan aims are linked to sales, expressed in numbers or percentages, linked to those detailed in your business plan ”

Setting marketing plan aims

Take enough time to consider your marketing plan aims, which should be SMART (ie specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound). If they’re specific, you know exactly what you’re trying to achieve. If they’re measurable, you can assess your performance.

Ambition is a great thing, but there’s no point in setting unrealistic marketing plan aims, because you’ll only fail. You should set milestones and a deadline for your marketing plan, because then you’ll be able to assess your progress.  

Your marketing plan goals could include increasing awareness of your brand, launching new services and targeting new customers and entering new markets. However, the most crucial marketing plan aims are linked to sales, expressed in numbers or percentages, linked to those detailed in your business plan.

“If you spend time creating a sound marketing plan, it could make a big difference to your ability to survive and thrive in these challenging times”

Marketing plan strategy

Now you must decide your marketing tactics or marketing strategy, in other words – how you’ll achieve your marketing plan goals. Key options include search engine, email and content marketing, PR, social media and advertising, while word-of-mouth recommendations remain important to many small accountancy firms. Most businesses use a mix of tactics, and if don’t know which ones work best – test, measure and learn.

Once you’ve decided your marketing tactics, calculating their cost allows you to set and allocate your marketing budget. Closely monitoring which marketing tactics are delivering the required results will enable you to assess your return on investment. Over time, you’ll be able to allocate your marketing spend where it’s most likely to deliver your marketing and business plan objectives.

Finally, creating a marketing plan that you never use is pointless. If you spend time creating a sound marketing plan, it could make a big difference to your ability to survive and thrive in these challenging times. To quote another popular business adage, action without planning can prove fatal, but planning without action is futile.

• With 15 years’ experience as a leading writer of small-business content, Mark Williams is the founder of Dead Good Content, which specialises in writing bespoke and ready made SME blog and news content for accountancy firms and others that want to market their services to small businesses.

Six key start-up truths I was reminded of while launching Dead Good Content

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.