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First blog post
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Are you ready to start your own business
I sent this email on June 26, 2016 to my awesome newsletter list. If you want to get this in your inbox, and other great special offers immediately signup for free here.
Hi
I talk on my NOW page that I am organizing IEEE networking events, promoting heavily to the younger members of the IEEE to get them out there and start growing their network. We are in the network age not just with the internet, but how work gets done. I have heard it call the agency model similar to how studios get their movies made, or the gig economy similar to Uber.
In both of these cases, building your own personal network is vastly more valuable than writing a good resume. About two or three times an evening I get asked, what’s it like running your own business. When I mention that its awesome, most of the members my age say they are thinking about it, and the young ones start talking about that friend of theirs that is either a founder or working at a Start Up.
Today I want to talk about a couple of the most important housekeeping items that you should get put together before starting a professional services company/firm/agency.
The Network
First, do you have the network that you can get your first few jobs through? This is critical both for cash flow and social proof that you can show to prospective clients that you can help them build their business. If you don’t have an audience or list of people that you KNOW would jump at your services if you struck out on your own, start building there.
Finances
How does your bank account look? Do you have credit? The biggest thing that I had to work on when I started JMK Engineering Inc was inconsistent cash flow. At the time I had a line of credit that helped smooth everything out, but I still struggle with cash flow. I haven’t had trouble getting the work, but from the day you get the PO to the day you get your first check can be 90days or more, so make sure you are ready for it.
The Right Memberships
Something that can be overlooked is having the rights to do the work you are interested in. For example, you can’t practice engineering in Nova Scotia without being a registered engineering with Engineers Nova Scotia, and this is similar around North America. The same requirements hold for architects, private investigators, etc. Make sure you have all the credentials you need before jumping into the pool.
What I’m doing this week.
This week is another awesome week for me and JMK Engineering. I will be heading to St. John’s to talk with some clients I have there and hope to come home with some more business.
What are your plans this week? Hit reply and tell me what you are doing to take more steps to your goals, whether they are life, business or health. I would love to hear from you.
Best Regards,
Jeff M
Making Engineering Interesting
I sent this email on June 19, 2016 to my awesome newsletter list. If you want to get this in your inbox, and other great special offers immediately signup for free here.
Hi
I’ve been working with a friend with my main business website, making it more logical and modern, making sure that people can figure out what they need depending on where they are in the buying process. This is not an easy thing.
I’ve always had a hard time explaining to friends and family what I do on a daily basis without their eyes glazing over. Funnily enough, the better I do at this, the more the conversation evolves.
In the last year, I have had two opportunities where I started a conversation with the person sitting beside me on a plane, and made it interesting enough to start the conversation and found two new qualified leads when I got off the plane.
Practicing the elevator pitch
Because Jon (the friend above) isn’t in my industry, I have worked hard to make sure he understands what I do, and kept the needless technical crap to a minimum. The technical jargon is a crutch that doesn’t help you build trust with the people around you, it only makes you look unapproachable to everyone but those in the same silo as you. The most interesting projects are at the edges and overlaps, where people are doing cool things, and need you (but don’t know it yet).
As the world of business changes to a transformative age, where owning the network or platform, think uber and facebook is more important than just being good at something, your personal network will be even more important, and communicating what you’re good at and why you are the right person becomes critical to your personal success.
What I’m doing this week.
This week I’m spending more time learning and thinking about why JMK Engineering is important to the clients that I want. I’m focusing on the areas that I can provide a better service than anyone else by leveraging my North American network to bring the best people to the job. No one has my network or my process.
What I’m Reading
I just finished reading Time Really is Money by Rob Slee and it really got me thinking about how I can build processes and start hiring people to do a lot of the work that I do now. With the right people and processes in place I can leverage my knowledge and network and build a great sustainable community.
So this got me thinking, I should really start reading Virtual Freedom by Chris Ducker. I listen to his podcast and on that alone I bought the book, but its been sitting gathering virtual dust on my computer, so this week I’m going to get through it. I’m hoping it will help me figure out how to find a great assistant to help with the non-technical tasks that soak up so much of my week.
What are your plans this week? What are you doing to meet your goals! Remember by next week the year will be HALF over.
Hit reply and tell me your goals. I’ll check in.
Hanging out in Colorado
Hanging out at 9494ft for the next couple of weeks. I wonder if I get some running in what it’s going to be like when I get back to sea level.
The Aspen trees are all changing, it’s pretty for sure, but they are all yellow, nothing like Cape Breton this time of year.
Halifax Harbour after some snow – From Space
First a picture close to where I grew up, and then a picture where I transitioned from University student, to professional. Halifax will always have a special part in my memories.
A cool picture of the Cabot Trail in the winter
Awesome pictures by Cmdr. Hadfield. I have done a bunch of hiking around the trail, not as much as I would like though
Fog rolling into St. John’s
Just a wee bit of fog rolling into town.
Above the Clock
I will be heading back to Halifax for the first time since this picture was taken. I told everyone that I would be back in less than a year, it has been 9 months, but I was expecting it to be sooner.
If you want to meet up for a brew give me a call (see my resume), Facebook/Twitter/GooglePlus/Comment/email. One thing is for certain there are now shortage of ways to get ahold of me.
Cheers,
Jeff M
Lonely wheel
There are a lot of neat shots in Montana, I wish I had the time to spend weeks just wandering around this tiny corner of the state. There are some trails in the mountains shown in the background that I would like to spend a week or two this August hoping from peak to peak, lake to lake.
Swinging Bridge
The Swinging Bridge is located at the Bowl and Pitcher in the Riverside State Park. It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s. It is a very neat bridge to walk across as it is very reactive to the people that cross it. You can feel the sway as people, run walk and roll across.
The view down river is chaotic with the rock formations, while a look upstream is calm and relaxing.
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