Over the Christmas break I decided to start a new business. Well specifically to learn a few new skills. As a result I can then see how I might be able to monetise them later in 2019. Thinking about the line of business that I am in I thought it would be useful to learn WordPress and to learn all about blogging online. Well, blogging by definition is online but you know what I mean! So, in my spare time, out of the usual working day that’s what I’m going to do. My train and plane journeys will never be the same again and maybe neither will a few evenings! Is it really possible to start a new business whilst working full time? You’re about to find out!
Prepared to learn
To start with let me say that a key skill in learning is being willing to learn in the first place. There’s nothing worse than a new recruit who thinks they know it all and so in my case, armed with a reasonable knowledge of web design originally gained with the defunct Adobe Muse sprinkled with a bit of basic HTMl knowledge I took the decision to start right out at level one and subscribed to Lynda.com to follow their Junior WordPress developer course. I have to confess that I had to redo several of the numpty level bits a few times to fully understand it but, understand it I am and I’m plodding along with it in my spare time.
Getting practical experience to help me start a new business
Secondly I then started playing with a few live sites. My main business, Lime Licensing Group already has a professional web design and SEO company managing it so I’m not going to risk undoing any of their work! However, my telemarketing agency The Cold Calling Club has been ticking along for many years on an old website and a part time telemarketer so I decided that it would be a perfect experimental site. That along with the one you are reading about now. WordPress themes are the backbone to both these sites.
You get results from what you focus on
An amazing thing happened whilst I was planning this in December. Someone I met needed a telemarketer for a Brand Licensing deal and I suggested that my soon to be renovated telemarketing agency could pick this up for them. That resulted in a two week booking worth £1500. What just happened there? You get results from what you focus on – that’s what happened there! So Janet or Marie who have carried all my telemarketing assignments for many years will complete that in January. As a result the Cold Calling Club is back in business! Do let me know what you think to the website!
The basic plan to start a new business
I often preach that it’s a good thing to set yourself a few targets. So January for me is to wade into the junior wordpress developer course on Lynda.com. I’ll do that outside of normal working hours. I’m not sure where this will lead me. Maybe a new IT type franchise for the Lime Licensing team to work their magic on, maybe it’ll just be the resurrection of The Cold Calling Club. Learning to blog will be useful whatever route I take. I don’t know just yet.
However, I have to do the learning first to be able to earn anything later.