We often get asked if we prefer being self employed to working for someone else. Our general response is "Yes", but we do find that it has its drawbacks - the main thing being that when it comes to making decisions the buck stops here! As a husband and wife team we spend a lot of time making decisions together that, when we get it right, make us feel fantastic, but when we get it wrong, can be upsetting, and hard not to take on a personal level leading to "The Doubt".
In terms of decision making we are everything to The Hub; Buyer, PR, Marketing, Sales Manager not to mention the day-to-day running as customer services, cleaner and chief cook & bottle washer (as my mum would put it)!
As we have grown, where possible, we have passed on some of the work load to local business experts (thank goodness for book-keepers and accountants). However, one thing that we really love doing, albeit it's a steep learning curve, is our PR & Marketing. This month we have decided to advertise on the front cover of our local monthly publication, hopefully making sure that everyone in Dunblane sees it, whether they read it cover to cover or not. We've embraced Social Networking and really enjoying using our Facebook Page and Twitter account to keep in touch with our customers on a daily if not hourly basis. We have also taken part in a blogging carnival (the first time we've done it, and with some measured success).
Over the past week we have been reviewing how we've marketed our business in the past year, and options open to us for the future - more decisions! In particular we've looked at printed promotional items, such as carrier bags, and whether or not to operate an e-commerce website. The carrier bags were relatively easy - a quick appeal went out to a business group we are members of and before you know it we had a selection of quotes to choose from! Simple!
The website, however, we've found to be a minefield! Over the past few months we've contacted various local companies, some have been more eager for the business than others, as well as looking at off-the-shelf packages and larger organisations to design and build a specific site for us. It's been very tricky to work out how best to approach the idea, and of course as it's just the two of us making all the decisions we quickly begin to doubt some of the solutions we've suggested and often end up taking in circles about all the options open to us.
It wasn't until I was following up on the blogging carnival that I found a blog from a fellow mumpreneur that gave advice on setting up our own online shop. This simple to follow guide has been so good in helping us to make our decisions without "The Doubt" creeping in.
So we are moving forwards and should have our e-commerce website up and running very soon. It just goes to show that sometimes getting involved in different forms of promotion can be a great way of learning about new opportunities. As one of our good customers & local entrepreneur has told us "If you can think it, then do it". So from now on we are going to try to stop dancing around business decisions! It's the only way we can get out of our comfort zone and grow The Hub!
What do you do when you start to feel "The Doubt"?
