storyline 2 - the business

Starting your own business is hard. Now that may not come as a surprise to many, but this revelation is key to understanding what drives people to do "their own thing". It is hard, but it is also one of the most liberating things to do. After 14 (mostly happy) years in corporate IT it is a big change to know that whatever you do (or don't do) directly affects your business. There is no middle ground, there is no middle "man" (or woman), there is very little point in "manana" as an attitude.

It is also ball-breakingly scary. Oh - and it's a lot of work, and very different work. There are so many people you have to inform/register with in order to start a company - and a lot of hoops to go through... Here is a list of things to complete...

• Company registration
• Shareholders agreements
• VAT registration
• PAYE registration
• Data Protection register
• Corporation Tax registration
• Accountants
• HR policies
• Employee handbook
• Invoicing system/process
• Business plan
• Profit and Loss budget
• Cashflow projections/actuals
• Contract templates
• Recruitment
• Investment agreements
• Payroll
• business banking
• Website
• Logos/stationery
• Telecoms
• email services
  

and the list goes on.... On top of that you have to go out, find people to work for you and find business to do. What they don't tell you, but is really kind of obvious is that as a startup you have no credibility or history - so many companies do not want to work with you. So - one of the most important points is to either have existing relationships you can rely on to get you business or a company that does exist that is willing to subcontract to you until you gain credibility.