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Finance InformationCheryl Rickman Interview
by:
Damien Senn
Cheryl Rickman runs her own group of businesses CherryJam - with her partner James in Hampshire. Her 1st institution WebCritique a web copywriting and marketing consultancy, helps else businesses to improve their online presence and Cheryl provides workshops to local businesses on these issues. WebCopywriter was borne from WebCritique and provides web copy for small and large businesses alike. Her clients include AnitaRoddick.com, Business Link Wessex, Motorola and Microsoft. Cheryl’s else main business is the UK’s largest independent online music magazine - ilikemusic.com.
Cheryl has been a freelance writer for the past nine years, writing on business issues for Better Business and Net
Works magazine, and interviewing business leaders and music celebrities. As well as writing The Small Business Start-Up Workbook, which has a prolusion
by Dame Anita Roddick, Cheryl is author of booklets, 111 winning route to promote your website with success
and 127 corporate executive ideas on creating a winning website and has been a Judge at Hampshire’s Awards of Web Excellence for the past two years.
The Interview
DS: What glorious
you to follow an entreprenerial path and in particular what glorious
you to write the Small Business Handbook?
CR: Well, I was ne'er
the ‘selling packets of sweets’ kind of playground budding businessperson
at school, and my main dream was to become a freelance writer, but somewhere at the back of my mind I likeable
the idea of running my own business, thing
small and (dare-I-say-it) manageable. (I now cognize that smaller businesses are often harder to manage due to the lack of folk to delegate tasks to).
However, it was primarily circumstance that led me to start-up, and the keep and encouragement of my partner, James. And I think it is that circumstance - which creates entrepreneurs. The majority of self-made types are ordinary folk doing extraordinary things.
Also, I guess several of my ‘entrepreneurial spirit’ came from my mum. She passed away in 1991 once
I was simply 17. And, to cope with the trauma and loss, I began to fill my time with trying to further my writing career. Years after her death, one of my mother’s better friends told me that mum always believed that I would-be someday run my own business. I had no idea that she thought that until a few years into my 1st business, but that gave me the inspiration I required to think simply about writing my book. Having succeeded in business through a combination of determination and my own trial and error, I longed to write a book that would-be offer insight and encouragement to young entrepreneurs like me who dreamt of running their own business, but didn’t have the faintest idea wherever
to start. Ultimately, The Small Business Start-Up Book
is the culmination of that dream.
DS: Did you have any help setting up WebCritique your 1st institution or were you going it alone?
CR: In terms of proposal
I received help and guidance from my Local Enterprise Agency, but got most of the information I required from the web. In terms of finance my personal bank turned me down for a business loan, so I set up a new account – great spell it was free, but not so useful now it isn’t. Choosing the right business bank is a crucial decision and worth defrayment time on. I’m with Lloyds but wouldn’t recommend a bank who’s business managers are difficult to get hold of and don’t see the longer-term bigger picture. My book includes questions to ask banks, and you can compare UK banks at www.bba.org.uk or www.moneyfacts.co.uk
DS: What was the biggest challenge you janus-faced in transfer your idea to fruition? How was it overcome?
CR: The 1st was to challenge my own assumptions simply about whether or not I could do it. Everybody has several element of fear going into it for the 1st time, but I had such a great keep mechanism in my beau James, that he oxyacetylene
my own belief in my ideas and capabilities. The second challenge and probably the biggest in progress hurdle that is shared by most small businesses is funding and cash flow. Finding start-up capital was far from easy, so I started up with a least amount. It’s for sure easier to borrow bigger sums than small amounts. In the early days I likewise found effort clients to pay on time was a challenge. Now this is less of a problem, but it is still a general rule that the bigger the customer, the longer they will take to pay you. Another in progress challenge is finding balance in terms of thinking time. I think mostly simply about the businesses and what’s going on in them, and need to find a way to switch off much frequently.
The bottom line is that, as an entrepreneur, you have to challenge yourself fairly on a regular basis
and be open to that concept. You’re often going to have to enter unchartered territory and do thing
that is foreign to you and your skillset, but that’s what happens once
you wear many an hats. And certainly, on start-up as a sole proprietor, you are the receptionist, marketing department, MD, fulfillment house, sales team. You wear ALL the hats, so being challenged on a daily basis becomes part and parcel of life as an entrepreneur.
Finally – realizing that you may have to believe on others who don’t share your vision/dream and who may/will let you down is a challenge to accept and overcome. Once you find reliable and impressive suppliers you can trust, from a great web developer to a great business card supplier, you discover to stick with them.
DS: What does you most proud of your entrepreneurial achievements ?
CR: The book does because it’s thing
tangible that I can pick up and say ‘Yes! I did this!’
I must admit, I’m often so busy that I only seldom
finish to ‘smell the roses’ and appreciate what I’m achieving. This is a lesson in itself that I have to discover to do much and is for sure thing
that I suggest others do in my book. Folk (myself included) should list their achievements much frequently. Several books advise to do this on a daily basis, writing down mini-achievements.
I guess the main milestones that do me feel proud of my achievements are:
The friendships and contacts I’ve gained since embarking on my entrepreneurial journey, including a few ‘celebrities’ such as Anita Roddick and Wendy James, among others, plus a whole host of folk who are part of the same online networks as me (such as ecademy.com and Digital Eve) who inspire me and do me feel proud. The folk I’ve managed to interview several in the business earth and music earth does me feel proud. Learning is so important in life, and being able to discover from those who are ‘living the dream’ is important.
Knowing that we’re still doing it and are stronger than ever does me feel proud, with I Like Music (www.ilikemusic.com) it’s taken us four years, but we are now at a point wherever
several of the larger well-known brands and companies who’ve spent pots of cash but with least results are now taking notice of us and can see our strengths. We now have four years worth of great content, contacts and traffic and are available to take the site to the next level, but we’ve not forked out on flash offices or streams of staff. And with Web Employee
it’s great that the innovational business 'WebCritique' has grown-up organically into this niche area of writing for the web. The fact that all businesses are still going does me feel proud.
DS: How did you really fund your business to get it off the ground?
CR: WebCritique was launched with simply a small figure of my own savings, plus a £1500 bank loan. My personal loan bank refused me for a business loan, so I set up a business account elsewhere. I likewise oversubscribed my car. Since then I’ve supported
the business on cash flow, plus overdrafts and occasional loans, which is likewise the case for I Like Music, which is entirely self-funded. WebCopywriter cost nothing as the design was done in house.
I will there was much cash without delay
accessible in the form of grants to small businesses in all areas: several affluent and under-privileged areas.
DS: What attributes do you think do a flourishing entrepreneur?
CR: That’s a tough question because there are so many an variables that go toward production
a business really work; from personalities and folk to the viability of an idea, state of the market and, often, circumstances outside a business owner’s control. As I say in my book, 'Certainly, there is no entrepreneurial elixir you can fleetly
drink to do you mechanically
flourishing (except your own home-made passion-fuelled one). But you can prepare yourself to seize opportunities and do it happen for you.'
However, if I had to list attributes that would-be do the entrepreneurial life manageable, I would-be say, you need energy, passion and to be dedicated and thick-skinned. You need to be able to cope with times once
your societal life will suffer. You should be a great individual and causal agency who enjoys networking, be it face to face or online. But probably the most key attribute is the desire to learn. That includes learning from mistakes.
In my book I speak to a variety folk from Anita Roddick and Stelios to Simon Woodroffe, among others. All of them told me how important listening and learning is as an entrepreneur. And, as presently
as you think you cognize it all, you’re history as a business. As a boss, if small business owners can remember that simply because they started the business doesn’t mean they cognize much simply about marketing than the marketing chap, businesses would-be flourish easier. Learning should be a consecutive endeavour, so a capacity and interest in learning is a crucial attribute for any entrepreneur.
DS: What do you believe are the necessary elements for a business venture to succeed?
CR: Nice people. You need the right folk working with you, be that in terms of partnerships or staff. They are the lifeblood of your business, so you need to value them and they will perform well. As Microphone Southon says in The Beermat Businessperson
'People buy from People.' So ensuring that folk working for you share your vision and at least can serve your customers in a way that they themselves would-be will to be treated, is the 1st step.
You need to plan, as it’s easier to be ardent simply about effort somewhere if you cognize wherever
you’re heading and how you’re going to get there. Plus cash-flow can kill businesses, so it’s important to cognize what is going to be coming in and out of the business all the time. Again, being open to learning is a key element. Many an businesses fail because those drive the business are so caught up working ‘in’ the business, instead of ‘on’ the business, that they can’t implement changes, find time to discover or stay creative or on the ball. That’s why planning and hiring the right folk with complementary skills who you can delegate to are essential success factors.
These are simply several of the elements enclosed
in my Start-Up Checklist which appears in the book after the chapter called: LESSONS FROM LEADERS IN BUSINESS: Success Stories, Mistakes and Top Tips
DS: How essential do you see a University education in achieving success as an entrepreneur?
CR: Not essential. I went to University to a) do my parents proud b) delay the prospect of working for a few much years and c) because with A-Levels reading the Media Guardian I completed all the jobs I wanted to be able to do were only open to graduates. For me, though I concluded up on lower or similar financial gain
to many an of my peers, I required to be a graduate to get my editorial and writing positions. However, I’d have knowing a great deal much if I’d gone into a publishers and worked my way up. I believe activity experience counts for a lot much (just as several folk I sent my CV to as a graduate believed). What’s more, my partner James is much entrepreneurial than me (and he has the gift of the gab, is much confident, etc). He didn’t go to university, so that proves my point that university education is emphatically not essential in achieving business success. Indeed, my BA (Hons) Degree in Media with Cultural Studies may well have hindered me in several ways. I could have been working all that time and saving up to fund my own business. And, if you look at the most flourishing folk in UK business, the majority of them didn’t go to college let alone university. Richard Branson, Simon Woodroffe…
DS: What are the three most important lessons you have knowing simply about business and entrepreneurship?
CR: 1. Everything always takes longer and price much than you think it will (even once
you are fairly tight
with your planning).
2. Go with your gut feeling. Discover how to feel what that is and go with it. The buck stops with you, so you need to get as many an decisions right as you can. Several of these decisions will involve others trying to sell you something: keep or a service or a partnership. There is a time for diplomacy and sometimes you will need to listen to your instincts and opt not to go ahead with a certain partnership or project.
3. Listen and discover constantly. You must ne'er
think you cognize it all as common person does. Folk like to give proposal
and tell you what they cognize simply about things, so you can be perpetually
learning. You likewise need to delegate, and appreciate that there are folk out there who can compliment your talents. Remember, it’s all simply about people.
DS: What proposal
would-be you give to an aspiring entrepreneur?
CR: Do your research, find out what your potential client of necessity
are and test the market wherever
possible. Surround yourself with a good keep network and activity out your break-even point before you take the plunge. Buy or create a checklist that you can go through before you set up, production
sure you’ve considered everything from your institution name and marketing to your website, staff and expenditure needs.
DS: What's the number one book you would-be recommend to aspiring entrepreneurs?
CR: Of course my own book – The Small Business Start-Up Workbook. However, another book I would-be cordially recommend is Anyone Can Do It by Sahar and Police officer
Hashemi of Coffee Republic, and likewise Anita Roddick’s Business As Unusual – several are sacred
and help you get things into perspective. Several are accessible from Amazon.co.uk, or you can order Anita’s books via her own site at www.anitaroddick.com
DS: What unforgettable
mistakes, if any, have you ready-made in business? What did you discover from them and how can they be avoided?
CR: Earlier I mentioned the importance of going with your gut feeling. Well, if I’d done that on at least two occasions, I could have saved a lot of time, quality
and money. We chose a web development team based on referral who concluded up being appalling. They ready-made really technical looking sites which had a reduced Google ranking, terrible indexability and were poorly designed and coded. Effectively they talked the talk but didn’t walk the walk. If I’d followed my gut instinct earlier on once
the partnership was being discussed, I’d have walked alright… away from them. The partnership cost us credibility, lost Google ranking, plus a whole year of our time. Fortunately, we found a new developer who has ready-made our sites the better they have ever been. But that’s simply part of the roller-coaster ride of running your own business.
DS: What are the better and worst things simply about being an entrepreneur?
CR: Better things are the freedom and flexibility it gives you in terms of trying to reach your goals and in being your own boss. Plus, it’s good to feel in control of your destiny. The worst things are that common person can understand what it’s like to run their own business until they do it themselves and the fact that you lose a lot of ‘me’ time and societal life once
you activity long hours on your business. Not effort paid holiday is another negative and in person
it’s my occasional inability to switch off from business mode.
DS: Are there any else thoughts, insights, or proposal
for aspiring entrepreneurs that you'd like to add?
CR: If you believe in your idea, have several proof to back it up and have the energy to be your own boss, go for it. Remember, it’s better to try and fail than to not even as bother to try then get to the end of your life wondering, ‘what if’ and ‘if only I’d done that.’
Just simply about the author:
Damien Senn helps entrepreneurs create compelling businesses. He is one of the UK's top Business Coaches as well as a fully qualified Hired Accountant.
Damien is the author of the 'Senn-Sational Success Journal' and has developed his own activity model called the 'Senn-Sational Success System'.
For your FREE transfer
'101 things to do before you die' please click the following link:
http://www.senn-sational.com/freeresources.htm
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