At our sold-out Adam Street Club event last night, ex-Dragon Doug Richard shared his no-bullshit take on starting up businesses. If you’re considering starting a creative business, his School for Creative Startups is accepting applications until July 1st - click here for more info on how you can access mentoring, loans, and training from the man himself. You [...]
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The original post appears on Rob Fitzpatrick’s blog – the Startup Toolkit. Rob is our lead instructor for the Startup MBA program, which covers everything they don’t teach you in a traditional business school. It’s a steal at £750. We’re offering an early bird-discount of £680 if you sign up before Tuesday June 11 and if [...]
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One of the lamest things about deciding to step away from unfulfilling (yet steady-salary) work is having to deal with ‘the money question’. The topic is covered in The Escape Manifesto but ultimately it’s a question that only you can answer. We each have different thresholds when it comes to risk; our own tastes when [...]
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The first time I heard Doug Richard speak was back in 2009 – I had just moved to London and he was speaking at a social enterprise event in central London. At the time, I was going to A LOT of events. I had just left law school and was feeling pretty aimless – I [...]
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If you are unhappy with your current working situation you have two options. 1# Do Something. Start working towards something different. Experiment, Learn, Network (and repeat). Manage the risks you take according to your personal situation. EVERYONE can take some risks (go to an interesting talk, ask a stranger for help – it doesnt have [...]
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Advocating non-conformity for the sake of it is the career version of the moody teenager who just wants to be different. We are not encouraging petulant rebellion, we are urging you to consciously differentiate yourself from the established way of doing things precisely because the estab- lished way is unlikely to give you what you [...]
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Doing something different is scary. Quitting your job is scary. Starting your own business is scary. Having no income for a while is scary. Changing jobs is scary. Taking a point of view is scary. Cold calling is scary. Public speaking is scary. Being challenged is scary. Managing people is scary. Saying no is scary. [...]
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If you are considering quitting your corporate job for something more exciting, unconventional or adventurous, many people will tell you that it isn’t a good idea. Sometimes these people will be your nearest friends and family. They’ll be naturally risk-averse because they don’t want to see you in trouble (financially or otherwise). Other people will [...]
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Anyone who has achieved anything worth admiring, envying or copying has had to commit. At some point, they had to grit their teeth and turn inaction into action. They didn’t necessarily have to quit their job and tell everyone they’d ever met (although sometimes that helps). But they did have to overcome their fear of [...]
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The temptation is always to say “oh let’s just wait until we’ve got that bit built” or “we’ll be ready when x, y or z happens”. It’s really important to accept that nothing is going to be perfect and you can usually always change things. Escape the City will probably never be “ready”. There’s always [...]
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The temptation to write a 50-page business plan before or while you build your business is very strong. You feel like you’re being responsible, anticipating all the likely scenarios and getting a proper plan in place. You’re applying all your corporate skills – you’re increasing your confidence. The problem is that every day that goes [...]
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Living in a city, working in a big company, travelling on public transport, eating hand-to-mouth (sandwiches at your desk, supermarket ready- meals in the evening), magically getting paid at the end of each month (tax deducted), wearing your uniform (a suit like everyone else) it’s very easy to forget what it’s like to properly look [...]
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The definition of a good story? “A character that wants something and overcomes conflict to get it” (borrowed from A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller). What do you want? What stands in your way? Humans respond well to stories. Our brains remember stories. We tell each other good stories. Your challenge [...]
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Dom rationalized his resignation in the following way: “If I was to tell people I was leaving to do a Masters the conversations I’d be having would all be about how much I’ll learn and how it was a good, safe option. But exactly the same goes for startups. Even if it fails, I’ll learn [...]
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So you’ve decided you’re going to leave . . . Firstly, congratulations! Seriously. Many of us stay in the pre-decision cycle for years (if not forever). If you’re in a position to decide that you’re going to leave – even if you don’t know what you’re going to do next – celebrate the exciting feeling [...]
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The two most constructive ways you can invest in yourself are through new experiences and education. You don’t have to quit your job to do either of these. D.H. Lawrence said that travel is the only thing you spend money on that makes you richer. Rare is the person who returns from a genuinely new [...]
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Charles Givens, the American personal finance guru, gives this advice in Wealth Without Risk: “Ask yourself: ‘If I had unlimited, time, talent, money, ability, self-confidence and support from my family, what would I do?’ Then, list the steps necessary to achieve these goals.” OK, so you don’t have unlimited time and money . . . [...]
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Meet Roz Savage. The year is 2000. She is 33 years old. She seems to have the perfect life: a job (management consultant, of course!), a husband, a home and a little red sports car. Fast forward to March 2006, she is 38, divorced, homeless, and alone in a tiny rowing boat in the middle [...]
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Tim Ferriss (author of The 4-Hour Work Week) calls it The deferred life Plan. Alastair Humphreys (who cycled around the world) calls it The Race To The Biggest Gravestone. Randy Komisar (author of The Monk and The Riddle) calls it “The Biggest Risk of All” (the risk of spending your life not doing what you [...]
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You are probably familiar with the idea of Analysis Paralysis – the process of over-analysing a situation to the extent that a decision is never taken. We certainly are. Never has the theory been more applicable than to our own muddled thought processes when we were trying to escape. It’s worth checking out an excellent [...]
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