Thanks for sharing Anson, a brave thing to do, but also admirable. The first year in business is always exciting with the setting up, getting all the gear together and the new-found freedom. Turning a profit of any kind in your first year is a great achievement, keeping the momentum is now key. Looking at alternative income streams is very sensible, we've always looked to achieve that as it smooths the bumpy road that consultancy can sometimes be.
We used manufacturing as our main alternative income in the start, now its a combination of that, royalties and other random things. It's also wise to devote a certain amount of time to new non-fee ventures as these are the ones that can give the biggest opportunity for the future.
The thing in the back of my mind was that there is never really any inherent value in a design consultancy, the value is the people. So building another business or joint-venture can give that opportunity. We built a medical device business which we later sold, we're now trying to do that again but in a different sector. It means we limit the time we can 'sell' for design projects, but its a good investment.
Good luck with year 2, I'm sure you'll smash it! Paul.
Thanks for sharing Anson, a brave thing to do, but also admirable. The first year in business is always exciting with the setting up, getting all the gear together and the new-found freedom. Turning a profit of any kind in your first year is a great achievement, keeping the momentum is now key. Looking at alternative income streams is very sensible, we've always looked to achieve that as it smooths the bumpy road that consultancy can sometimes be.
We used manufacturing as our main alternative income in the start, now its a combination of that, royalties and other random things. It's also wise to devote a certain amount of time to new non-fee ventures as these are the ones that can give the biggest opportunity for the future.
The thing in the back of my mind was that there is never really any inherent value in a design consultancy, the value is the people. So building another business or joint-venture can give that opportunity. We built a medical device business which we later sold, we're now trying to do that again but in a different sector. It means we limit the time we can 'sell' for design projects, but its a good investment.
Good luck with year 2, I'm sure you'll smash it! Paul.
Thanks so much for reading, Paul!
Great advice that I'll be sure to bear in mind.