Monday was the Family Day holiday here in Ontario, so my real moment of reckoning was Tuesday morning. W- was about to drive to work for a meeting. I hit my spousal panic button and puppy-dog-eyed him into working from home so that I could get over my first-day-of-business anxieties. Several hugs and encouraging words later, both of us settled into our respective corners of the home office, and I tottered off on my business training wheels to see if I could make it past the fields of paperwork.
I knew it was going to be an intimidating week, and I’m so lucky that mentors shared their time and insights with me. On Monday, @mchua shared how she’s starting at consulting (helping organizations work with open source communities! awesome). On Tuesday, Eric Boyd told me how he went into product development and R&D. On Wednesday, I met clients for an engagement in enterprise social computing. On Thursday, @height8 taught me tons about structures and setting things up carefully. On Friday, @jvarmazis shared lots of tips about life, business, and creating value.
It’s amazing how generous people are, and I’m glad I’m getting to know so many wonderful people. =) I could really use the help, too. There are a lot of things that people have learned from experience and that no one will probably ever get around to writing down. (Not even me – too many knotty things in law and accounting.) Next best thing: get used to making imperfect decisions, ask lots of questions, and learn more along the way.
There’s still a little more paperwork to do. I’m going to pick up the post-incorporation kit of forms and certificate templates and whatnot, which will probably save me lots of time chasing different things down. I’m almost done with the contract paperwork for this consulting engagement, too.
I’ve started writing about The Shy Connector, and I’m looking forward to spending more time on that next week. I’m also pleasantly surprised at how much I learned about enterprise collaboration when I helped IBMers and our clients. We’ll see where that takes us.
Ooh, another good thing that I’ve noticed during this week of entrepreneurship: I exercise more! Way more biking, way more walking. That might just be the mild winter talking, but I think that flexibility of time might pay off well in terms of health.
So far, so fun!
Plans from last week
- Business (!)
[X] Monday: Chat with Mel Chua about getting started [X] Monday: Put together papers for incorporation – actually finished on Sunday! [X] Tuesday: Incorporate as a federal numbered corporation (1-3 business days) – Finished on Sunday! [X] Tuesday: Register business in Ontario – Part of federal incorporation! [X] Wednesday: Meet with possible client R [X] Set up business bank account and Mastercard (probably BMO) – went with RBC eAccount for now [-] Find accountants and select one [X] Blog about business planning and people - Planned trip to SFO in September for Quantified Self conference
- Relationships
[X] Build contact database [X] Reach out to mentors
- Life
- [C] Adjust cellphone plan – will check my use first
[X] Look into getting myself on W-’s benefits plan
Plans for next week
- Business
[ ] Finish resolutions [ ] File initial notice [ ] Review and revise The Shy Connector [ ] Talk to accountants
- Relationships
[ ] Attend Tania’s get-together [ ] Plan a get-together for March
- Life
[ ] Quantified Awesome: ending timestamps [ ] Quantified Awesome: experience points
