Stop Dreaming, Start Planning» Just Start

Finding clarity in startup land

Adele — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 21:22:31 +0000

This is a non-sales-pitch for this week’s Startup MBA, which starts on Friday and runs over two weekends. It’s NOT too late to sign up, since we still have a couple of places left. If you’re interested in learning more, email me (soon!) for more details at adele@escapethecity.org.

You know how when you hate something, you generally kind of suck at it? Along with Excel, Photoshop, playing bar chords on guitar and sitting through Tarantino movies, another thing I highly suck at is sales.

The funny thing is, I found myself essentially giving a ‘sales pitch’ on the phone the other day, when talking with a woman who was considering attending our upcoming Startup MBA course.

Speaking to her felt more like counselling than a sales pitch – she’d quit her job, started up a business, had the website up and running, and had some initial customers. She just wasn’t sure about next steps.

I started rambling about the Lean Startup book (which she hadn’t read) and it reminded me why I’m excited about the next two weekends.

The problem with starting a business

So many of us dream of starting businesses. So few of us actually do.

So many of us think we need to ‘find the right idea’ or ‘the right co-founder’ and BANG! Found The One. Game on.

Obviously, having a strong idea and co-founder helps (duh) but what few of us realise is that finding them is a process, often driven by serendipity as much as it is by calculated logic and analytical thinking.

It is easier than ever to validate an idea intelligently – this validation process can lead you to the idea and co-founder that ultimately end up being The Ones. I’ve seen this over and over again (and experienced it myself).

The antidote to feeling stuck

I’ve been in the startup world for over five years now, and reading the Lean Startup completely changed how I approached validating ideas. I started executing more effectively and I saw my outputs improve quicker than I could have imagined.

What helped me connect to the woman on the phone the other day was knowing how she felt, because I’d been there myself.

I told her what I’d told myself: clarity, focus, and strength often comes from surrounding yourself with like-minded people, scheduling time to learn from smart folks, and getting inspired through knowing that you’re not alone.

The Startup MBA

We ran a bunch of events last year, but members consistently asked me for a deeper learning process – so Escape teamed up with Rob Fitzpatrick to put together our Startup MBA, which starts this Friday.

You can see the course overview here and this 73-page prep book provides an intro to the course material.

We’ve got 30 fantastic Escape members signed up, and spaces for a few more.

One woman attending has already founded and sold three companies; other members have already started businesses but aren’t sure where to go next; and most members are coming on the course without even having an idea (e.g. they “just want to start a food business” or “just know they want to do something in fashion”).

@robfitz = startup rock star

We’re thrilled to announce that the lead instructor for the course will be Rob Fitzpatrick.

Rob is a practicing entrepreneur who has in the past led a VC-backed startup, with clients including Sony, MTV, and Aardman.

He is also a graduate of Y-Combinator, the Silicon Valley incubator whose better-known funded companies include Scribd, Airbnb, and Dropbox. He writes about early stage startup strategy here, provides startup support here, and is kicking off his next startup Dex.io.

Here, you can see Rob explain how building a blog community is a good proxy for your business model’s channel. (Also check out his post on How to date a supermodel (or get dealflow or find cofounders).

More details

We always get inspired by hanging out at The Hub Westminster in Piccadilly, which is why we chose to host the course there:

· Weekend 1: Friday 5th (6 – 9pm), Saturday 6th, & Sunday 7th April (9am – 6pm)

· Weekend 2: Friday 12th (6 – 9pm), Saturday 13th, & Sunday 14th April (9am – 6pm)

Saturday 6^th April: Foundations – Part 1

The morning session covers strategy, business modelling, and building a dashboard as you develop your idea.

The afternoon session covers customer personas, startup marketing and using it to catalyse your customer development.

Sunday 7^th April: Foundations – Part 2

The morning session covers product development timelines and shipping your MVP effectively.

Part of the session will include using Startup Metrics for Pirates to develop your own metrics dashboard.

The afternoon session covers customer development interview techniques, wire framing, knowing when to pivot, and an accounting and legals overview.

Friday 12^th April: Mini-demo day

You will be required to present to the room, what you’ve learned so far from last weekend and how you’ve applied that to the business idea you’re working on.

Saturday 13^th April - Sunday 14^th April: Growth hacking

The weekend will cover:

Developing and implementing growth techniques
Knowing how to track whether your idea is viable, as you develop it
A/B testing with sales pages
Effective sales techniques
Determining your sales funnels
Optimizing your sales channels
Virality and the viral coefficient
Lean analytics
How to make technical hires
Overcoming barriers to motivation
Developing your company/founder’s story

Again, it’s not too late! If you want a phone version of my non-sales-pitch, which will most likely turn into some kind of counselling session (assuming you’re up for it… which is totally fine) OR if you just have questions and want to learn more, just email me (ideally, today) at adele@escapethecity.org.

An Introduction to Building A Startup

Adele — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 11:47:50 +0000

On Tuesday we held our first startup course at the Hub Westminster – over 40 attendees, 8 modules, tons of mini Mars bars, and lots of inspiring ideas about effective startup development. How did it go? Rob and I usually base our assessment of the day on attendee feedback…

“This was a really engaging, intellectually stimulating day! Probably one of the best “holidays” I’ve taken from work.”

“Just emailing to say thank you very much for yesterday. I found it really useful and feel like I can progress better with my idea because of it.”

“Personally – I am very glad I attended. I think surrounding yourself
with like-minded people is the way forward and I plan on going to as
many similar events as possible.”

“Covered all the bases in one day. I expect I’ll be referring back to what I took away for months, if not years to come.”

“A great day. Just hanging out with you guys makes things feel possible.”

“The best step to escape starts here! Go beyond the fear…”

“An excellent introduction in the basics of how to start your own business and effectively escape.”

“A great opportunity to keep the momentum going as I prepare for my escape and make it irreversible – in a positive way!”

We also got some constructive feedback around how we can improve the next session (on March 9^th – tickets still available): mainly, ‘streaming’ people more effectively so that they’re matched with people at a similar stage, making the room warmer (!) and including more detailed exercises (I’m taking all of this into consideration as I brief the speakers for the next session).

The slides are available here: http://www.slideshare.net/escapeco/startup-101final-16692195

As for what people learned – here’s an excerpt from one attendee’s notes. (You can also view the full prep book here.)

#1 Idea Generation (Adele)

Why pursue this idea? Clearly elicit what your motivations are before embarking. Vulnerability = crucial.
Read: Daring Greatly, The Lean Startup, Getting to Plan B.
‘MVP’ is your minimum viable product: this is the first step.
Launchrock – allows you to setup a 1-page website to gauge interest before committing.
Google Analytics – allows you to assess views/statistics etc.

#2 Funding (Paul Grant)

Bootstrap before searching for angel funding – Paul runs the Funding Game workshop.
Key question to ask customers: “Why did you buy from us?”

#3 21st Century Marketing (Rob)

Vanity v. informative/practical metrics (more on vanity metrics here).
Really good brands willingly/knowingly exclude X customer segment.
Resources: Tribes book, Gary Vaynerchuck YouTube.
Funnels: v effective tools of analysing your business.
Startup metrics for Pirates
Viral coefficient allows you to measure virality

Ruta40 – Argentinian wine (Christian Rothhardt)

Build a Competitor Matrix as market research on any idea: spend 1 week doing market research, google, news, web. Within 1 week you will have a matrix of every competitor, similar business.

#4 Sales (Alex)

Pitch benefits, not features.
Find out where your customers hang out – trade fairs, small business community networks, etc. Become part of their conversations.
“Luck surface area” = the more you do, the luckier you become.
Resources: Drupal

#5 Balderton Capital (Harry)

Ideally: they like to invest in “disruptive” companies that are non-consensus, where business has a chance of building a moat around themselves.
When do you go to VC? When you actually need financial support. Usually to scale up, go international or for credibility.
What VC looks at in entrepreneur/idea/business: Are they exciting/exceptional people? Ahead of the pack? Does the prospect of getting involved excite them?
Resources: Y Combinator, seed accelerators

#6 Technology (New Bamboo)

DO NOT BUILD IT YOURSELF – you are founder/CEO, focus on that.
Early on maximize off the shelf solutions early on: WordPress, Trello, Wix, Moonfruit, shopify, hotglue.
Once you have tested your idea and used the basic platforms to gauge whether it is a viable idea/had some feedback suggesting it is worth pursuing, then look at external development.

#7 Songkick (David Anderson)

Career paralysis is like unripe avocadoes: middle-class problem
Hire your users: startup employees have be intrinsically motivated as early-stage startups often can’t compete for top performers through offering high salary.
Produce unique content

#8 Law

Incorporate your business as early as possible.
Set out a shareholders agreement straight away
Resources: BBAA website, Legal 365

#9 Accounting/Crunch

Crunch – the future of SME accounting. Prescription based service £60/mth, effectively stop accounting.

How success really works

Guest — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:01:32 +0000

John Williams is author of best-selling book “Screw Work, Let’s Play (How to do what you love & get paid for it)”, described by The Sunday Times as “A compelling 10-step escape from corporate life that could spell a rash of resignation letters”.

What if everything you’d been told about careers, work, and success was wrong?

You’ve been told to sit and think about what you really want out of life until you know exactly what it is, then set a big goal to achieve it, plot a methodical course to get there, and do the actions on the plan every day. So why is that the most famous, successful, and interesting people in the world didn’t do this?

Not Steve Jobs. Not Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Not Richard Branson. Not JK Rowling.

Richard Branson didn’t start out with plans for an airline. He started a student newspaper. Then a not-for-profit student helpline. Then a record mail order business. Then a record label. Then a chain of megastores. And then an airline.

What did all these billionaires do?

They did projects that excited them.

They started with one project they really wanted to do and just did it. Then they did another. And another. Along the way, a few flopped. They changed direction. But they kept going.

What success really looks like

Here’s an image you might have seen doing the rounds on facebook and elsewhere. It sums up the truth about success (BTW it’s attributed to author, actor, and Perrier award winning comedian, Demetri Martin)

Success depends not on thinking and planning before making a single move, but on experimenting and playing.

It’s built on doing one project you want to do and following through on it. It’s about starting small and growing it iteratively – while being willing to change course according to the results you’re getting.

So given this, why are people still telling you you should know exactly what you want to do before you start? Why are people telling you to plan it all out before taking a single step?

Why are people still telling you to think it out when what you really need to do is play it out?

You just need to start.

And you can do that in just 30 days.

What really works

On my courses based on my bestselling book Screw Work Let’s Play, what I’m interested in is what really works – and it’s obviously not what you’ve been told to do by careers advisors and the like.

Having helped thousands of people on the way to doing what they love, we’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t. And we’ve put everything we’ve discovered into a one-of-a-kind experience called The 30 Day Challenge – where 200 people around the world make an idea happen in 30 days. For you it might be to try out a business idea, write part of a book, launch a blog, create a cool event, or start a campaign.

For Nadine Horn, she knew she wanted to be an adventurer but she didn’t know where to start. As she explains,

“The 30 Day Challenge just stopped the over-thinking process. I picked an idea and committed myself to it for 30 days and let it evolve, to see what it can become. What are 30 days? I had nothing to lose and in the end I gained experiences, skills and friendships that I could not have planned or predicted.

Everything was organized in 30 days. I started on the 1st day of the Challenge and on the 30^th, Mission Spain was born. I had an impressive wordpress site and was sitting in a plane to Spain picking up my bike from one of my Sponsors. In the end I had an incredible adventure in which I cycled 4000km around Spain, followed by 5000 people online.”

Nadine’s first adventure led on to another and then a book and then an opportunity to train others to take on physical challenges. And it all started in those first 30 days.

What could you do in 30 days?

Find Out On The 30 Day Challenge Page HERE

Meet Craig, our startup scholarship winner

Adele — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:43:32 +0000

We recently ran a scholarship contest for our upcoming startup course: An Introduction to Building a Startup. Winner Craig Roberts talks about why he applied.

Why you’re coming to startup 101?

Like many people, I made the mistake of spending years and years focusing on making money rather than having the guts to go and do what I wanted to do. I have always been passionate about creating new and exciting products and services but for some reason I allowed myself to lose my focus on my passion.

I then found myself in the corporate world spending my days wondering what I am working towards.

Then a few months ago tragedy struck and I have been fortunate, or unfortunate (depending how you look at it) to lose everything that I had spent the last few years working towards.

I took some time off and decided that I am no longer going to ignore my dreams and that I am going to use this opportunity to develop myself and my dreams.

I think startup 101 will be a great way for me to A) meet like minded people and B) further my knowledge and help limit the chance of failure with my next venture.

What you hope to get out of it?

I hope that this course will help me to identify areas of starting up that I may have missed or that I have not yet given enough attention to. I hope that I meet some interesting people that will support me and that I can hopefully help in the future.

Overall I hope that this course will further the knowledge I already have and will be a stepping stone towards achieving my goal of launching my career as a entrepreneur.

What people can come talk to you about?

Professionally: People can come talk to me about anything regarding entrepreneurship, project management, sales and marketing.

Personally: People can come and talk to me about travel, kite surfing, big game fishing, South Africa, Mauritius and technology.

If you’re interested in attending An Introduction to Building a Startup, just get in touch with Adele (adele@escapethecity.org) with any specific questions.

‘Make the money, don’t let the money make you’

Adele — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:07:03 +0000

This post is part of a warmup for our Startup 101 courses happening on Feb 19th and Feb 25th (as well as these dates here) – remaining spaces still available, and you can have a sneak peek at the prep book (full of useful links and resources) here.

I was listening to this Macklemore song and it reminded me how the talks I’ve had with Escape members have often mirrored those encouraging a friend to leave a relationship that looks fine on the outside, but seems like it could be detrimental in the long-term.

Many Escape members are in an emotionally abusive relationship with their paycheque; a shotgun marriage that they attribute to social or parental pressure; one that now defines so much of their time and through that definition leaves them feeling both claustrophobic and lost.

Our relationship with money is a ghost lingering over so many of our subconscious decisions. But it’s not even about money. It’s about our relationship with power.

Money makes life comfortable. But comfortable isn’t the same as meaningful. Starting your own business makes life more uncomfortable, but often, it’s in that discomfort that we discover what we were looking for all along.

I love how Nassim Nicholas Taleb put it: “You are rich if and only if money you refuse tastes better than money you accept.” Macklemore sings the same thing here:

Listen, see I was meant to be a warrior

Fight something amongst me, leave here victorious

Classroom of kids, or a venue performing

If I’d had done for the money I’d have been a fucking lawyer

Concrete, vagabond, van telling stories

Humbled by the road, I’m realizing I’m not important

See life’s a beautiful struggle, I record it

Hope it helps you maneuvering through yours and

That’s why we stay in the lab at night

I’ve been staring into this pad for over half my life

A true artist won’t be satisfied

So I guess that’s the sacrifice

And I say…

Make the money, don’t let the money make you

Change the game, don’t let the game change you.

Kingdoms, nests, and building a startup

Adele — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:40:04 +0000

“We need more females in startups” seems like a sexist and obvious statement. I believe in what Marissa Meyer said about passion being a gender neutralizing force. We don’t need more females in startups, we need more smart people in startups, and if some of those smart people happen to be female, perhaps the unspoken issue is that they’re the only ones standing in their own way.

Kingdoms and nests

Lately, I’ve noticed that a lot of my guy friends seem to be putting pressure on themselves to ‘build their kingdom,’ as one of them put it. This coincides with the pressure a lot of my female friends seem to be putting on themselves to ‘build their nest,’ as this Atlantic piece put it:

“Heterosexual women today, in certain milieus, find themselves placed into one of two categories: too young to settle down, and too old to find a man. There is a window of opportunity to get married, but it is ephemeral almost to the point of non-existence. It falls at a different age according to region, or the idiosyncratic biases of one’s circle, but hovers around 27. “Too young” refers not to teen marriage, but to any commitment entered into by a grown woman deemed still a child by those around her.”

Leaning back

Sheryl Sandberg talks about this in her TED talk. If you’re a woman in your twenties, there’s a subconscious cultural temptation to, in her words, ‘lean back.’ It caused a debate, and I am not trying to impose my own views on feminism because I’m still figuring them out myself (in summary, I think women benefit from supporting each other in whatever choice each of us decides to make). I see Marisa Meyer becoming Yahoo’s CEO while pregnant and I read the End of Men and I just think about how you never know how life is going to turn out and how you often don’t know what you want until you get it.

The more women I see ‘leaning back’ the more I think about the definition of passion. Passion, to me, means pursuing something you can’t help but be interested in. I don’t think you ‘choose’ or ‘find’ your passion – I think you stumble upon it when you follow what breaks your heart, what keeps you up at night, what drives you through your own limits.

There are males and females who don’t know what their passion is, but I have noticed way too many women in their late twenties prematurely giving up on their careers because somewhere along the way, we’re sold the idea that it’s fine for us to be somewhat interested in building our own kingdoms, but really, what we should be more concerned about is building our nests.

“Miss Representation” outlines this beautifully – from a young age, girls are taught the story that as soon as Ariel ends up with Eric or Cinderella meets the Prince, the lights fade and credits roll because that’s the happy ending. The story arc revolves around finding the prince, landing the prince, then walking off into the sunset with him.

Designing your own answers

I wouldn’t punish any other woman in my head for their choice to focus on their kingdom or their nest. I’m a family-oriented person and I recognize that as females, we have biological limits. Just yesterday, I read this summary of one of my favorite books from last year, and her last slide is one of those big red neon, “HEY, YOU WITH A UTERUS: THAT THING’S GOT AN EXPIRY DATE.”

At the same time, my Dad always encouraged me to figure out what made me tick professionally and to throw my heart into it. He always emphasized to me that anything was possible if I put my mind to it and kept pragmatically idealistic expectations. Sometimes I wonder if I’m being too kingdom-crazy or if I’m being too nest-crazy but then I realize that only I can give myself the answers and that it takes time to figure out where you sit.

I wonder if too many smart girls stop chasing their own dreams because somewhere along the way, they start chasing a ring instead, because the ring becomes their dream, their narrative to aim for. Is it a fear that in the pursuit of their own “selfish” interests, they might ‘miss out’ on whatever it is those Disney movies portray as the magic ingredient to happiness? If they’re too “selfish”, will that come back to haunt them later? I ask myself these questions and I think like many members of our generation, my ideal is interdependence – i.e. having a partner where you both work on each other’s kingdoms and nests.

Startup 101

I speak to female friends who have excellent ideas and stellar abilities but lack the self-confidence to build a kingdom as well as a nest. That’s why I’m excited about our startup courses on Feb 19th and Feb 25th (as well as these dates here).

I promise not to be biased towards the females in the room, but if you know someone who’s always been interested in starting her own company and just needs a bit of a boost, I’d encourage you to pass this link onto her and tell her that she can come talk to me in person. If you know someone who wants to start their own business someday but has no idea what they’re interested in, they’d enjoy this one-day course.

I hope that the Startup 101 courses help to push people (male and female) towards the idea that in a startup, you might be over-worked and under-paid, but you get to pour your energy into something larger than yourself that you truly believe in; sometimes it’s not a nest or a kingdom, it’s something you can’t quite describe, that belongs to you and you alone.

On Beginning Your Escape: Helicopter Pilot to Startups

Guest — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:22:54 +0000

Pat Larsen is a former Navy helicopter pilot and investment banker. Now a tech entrepreneur (www.profitics.com) and writer (www.patricklarsen.com) that travels with his growing family.

As the band Rage Against the Machine put it in Guerilla Radio:

It has to start somewhere

It has to start sometime

What better place than here, what better time than now?

All hell can’t stop us now (repeat 6 times)

Often, to become someone (writer, traveller, entrepreneur)- you simply need to state that you are now, in fact, that person. But a little farther than just saying it, you have to internally, in your core, believe it. That’s when you will feel a significant, unmistakable change in yourself. It changes the lens through which you see the world and focus your attention.

Writing

I found that once I decided I had something to say, writing became a lot less scary and I now write a lot more often. The words come to me more easily. I found momentum. I just had to start writing. There is no voice of doubt or distraction in my mind now. Now, I constantly make voice memos on my phone or jot down ideas in Evernote. I have found that people like what I write and are willing to pay for my words.

Photography

Once I decided I was an amateur photographer, I started taking a lot more pictures and finding a lot more scenes worthy of photographing. I started going through a lot more effort to get a shot (running into a busy road intersection in Yokohama’s Chinatown… 4 times to get “the shot”- it is hard to get a Japanese driver to honk at you- but I did it). I started planning out shots in more detail. My perspective changed. Just a little click in my head that changed the entire way the world came in through my eyes. I have since found that people like what I photograph and are willing to pay for my images.

Entrepreneurship

You leap first, then the net appears. I find that people (myself included) always want to see the net before they make the leap. Sadly, that is never how it works. You must take your leap of faith first- only then will the net appear. Delaying does not make the net appear, leaping does. Only once you begin will you put in the 100 hour weeks and run through your whole Rolodex and take random coffees and try random experiments. Only then will friends appear to help you. Only then will you meet other doers. You will not do these things until you take the leap- until you are falling, falling, falling. The only way to become an entrepreneur is to become one- to cast off, to lose sight of shore, perhaps to burn the ships.

Watch Steve Jobs in “The Lost Interview”. You will be struck by the fact that this man with very little formal education has an expert grasp of software design and engineering, hardware design and engineering, industrial engineering, behavioral science, finance, power games and philosophy among many other subjects. He had no problem beginning. He was also very careful with what he did do and did not do- using great restraint in the breadth of activity but great energy and focus in the depth of an activity. He did not know all these things before he began. He learned by doing.

FAIL

Get over your fear of failure. Stoicism drill here: take whatever action you would like to start but for some reason haven’t. List out all the ways you could possibly fail. List out all the consequences of those failures. Then, list the absolute, #1, most terrible, worst thing that could possibly happen if you took this action. Usually what you come up with is “embarrassment” or, “I guess I could always go back to my job in 6-12 months.”

Now, knowing that- is it really so scary? You’ll most likely feel a weight come off your shoulders now that the vague, amorphous dread of failure has been replaced by the concrete, enumerated negative outcomes of failure. The worst case scenario will generally be completely survivable and completely justified by the potential upside of taking action. Learning from failure is so much more beneficial than living a life devoid of risk taking and personal growth. People often don’t consider the huge costs of not learning something.

Begin

So, please, please- simply begin doing what you wish you were already doing. You already know what you want to do. Why wait? What makes tomorrow better than today? Why can’t you take that small, meaningful step…today?

Why is Navin coming on our Startup MBA?

Adele — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:06:49 +0000

Navin Chohan is an Escape member attending our Startup MBA (if you’d like to join us too, click here).

My story

I’m a medical doctor but got a taste for working in business when I was still at medical school. After qualifying I spent a year working as an editor with the British Medical Journal Publishing Group and really enjoyed doing something that was so different to day to day clinical practice yet was still allied to healthcare. It allowed me to use my creative side with writing and redesigning a publication yet still see the machinery behind the business operations of an influential, albeit small, publishing house. After completing my general medical training I ended up leaving the NHS to work for the pharmaceutical industry (although I actually wanted to get into management consultancy for healthcare). I thought I’d go and get some business skills and return to the NHS a more rounded individual but it never happened. Since 2008 I’ve been self-employed as a freelance consultant physician to clinical research and healthcare companies, working through my company Physallis Medical.

Why I’m coming to Startup 101

Well, as you can see, I’ve been through the process of setting out into the work world on my own and, to be honest, I enjoy it hugely from a lifestyle perspective. But you can also see that I have so many different interests and ideas that I want to work on (and I haven’t even mentioned the rallies/expeditions I’ve done or the film I funded and produced at medical school). ‘m at the stage where I want to move beyond just being a service provider to others and actually build my own ideas into a viable business. Hopefully, Startup 101 will give me some of the tools I need to make that next leap to setting my ideas and plans into motion and build something which will give me the fulfilment of seeing my own ideas take off and be useful to others.

Come talk to me about…

Anything medical (NOT personal medical advice or opinions) or healthcare related that they need help with for their own business plans. I have a strong understanding of the medicines industry and the regulations in play as well as the challenges of clinical research. Oh, and anything to do with fixing a 2 stroke engine with a Leatherman!

I’m just looking forward to coming to meet people and learn from their experiences, as well as hearing from the expert speakers. Hopefully I learn some skills and techniques to help me launch my big ideas into something more tangible. And I’m more than happy to get involved with other people’s ideas if they want me to!

If you’d like to learn more about our Startup MBA, you can do so here.

Why is Kathryn coming to our startup course?

Adele — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:26:59 +0000

Kathryn McGeough is an Escape member attending our Startup 101 course on February 19th (if you’d like to join us too, more details are here).

My story

I am an ex-banking professional who has embarked on a life of entrepreneurship. In 2011, I became a member of the inaugural class of the New Entrepreneurs Foundation, a programme which supports the development of entrepreneurs through training, mentorship and an enternship at a host company. My placement was at Carphone Warehouse and I was also seconded from there to Mobile Money Network for part of my week. Since completing the programme in October 2012 I have been working on building my own startup.

Why I’m coming to Startup 101

I am currently working on my own startup, which has an overall aim of trying to help those who want employment / additional employment in the UK, to find some work. Although my placement with the NEF taught me a lot about certain aspects of business, I would like to learn more regarding how to develop the business from the beginning to maximise the likelihood of turning it into a scalable, sustainable business.

Come talk to me about

I would say that the most appropriate skill that I have is finance and so I could try and help people regarding that subject. I also have a network of talented entrepreneurs who I might be able to put people in contact with, depending on their problem.

I am currently running my startup from Devon.

3 Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Escaped

Guest — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 09:00:40 +0000

Doug is an escapee who left behind several different jobs and half-career starts to found a business called The London School of Attraction, which helps men and women improve their dating lives through coaching. Here he gives a rundown on what he wishes he’d known before setting off on his journey.

In my time, I’ve been a trainee at an investment bank, worked in recruitment and been a secondary school teacher. I plotted my escape for a long time before going full time on my business at the end of 2012, but here are three things I wish I‘d known in January 2010 (when I sat down and realised I didn’t want to work for somebody else).

Just for a bit of context… my business is called The London School of Attraction and we offer coaching to men and women to improve their love lives.

#1 Find Like-Minded People

No-one will understand you when you start a business. They’ll despair at the long hours you spend working and they’ll be perplexed when you can’t come out for a drink on a Saturday night.

As you get deeper into your escape, you’ll become more and more isolated from people who are content to work in 9-5 jobs. They won’t understand you and you won’t understand them. They will, however, tell you how “jealous” you are and how “lucky” you are to be able to leave your job. This will be the final straw for you – you know working every day until midnight after a day at work isn’t luck.

So you must find people who are like you; it will motivate you to share your dreams and to remind you that what you’re doing does make sense and isn’t totally insane. London has a great start-up community with networking going on all of the time. I’ve just started going to events and it gives me real buzz.

#2 Find Amazing Staff

Good people will save you time and money and help you along the right path. But be warned: they are very difficult to find.

Most people charge a lot and then begrudgingly deliver something average. What you need more than anything are people who love their jobs. We call them animals – people who relish the work you give to them, people who would probably do it for free.

Over the past few years we’ve hired – in various capacities – over 50 people and we’ve found half a dozen good ones. We’ve wasted months and thousands of pounds standing by a bad hire.

We don’t really bother that much with interviews these days. We just set a lot of people a small task and then hire the one who does it best and who does it fastest. We’ve also found that there is a huge correlation between how good someone is and how quickly they respond – if your candidate gets back to you straight away there’s a good chance he’ll be a keeper.

#3 Learn Basic Tech Skills

This is still something I haven’t done but, if I could go back to January 2010, I would have spent three months learning the basics of coding. Being tech savvy is essential in so many businesses today; even if you run a coffee shop a good website could make or break your business.

My business partner Alex has started to get a good handle on the coding and tech side now, which saves us money but, most importantly, saves us time. If you don’t know the tech side you’re always at the mercy of your web guy who will never case as much about your business as you do.

Your tech guy’s prices will creep up as your dependence increases, but the real killer is that you lose speed. If you need a guy 200 miles away to move a picture across your site and it takes six hours, that could be a day where you don’t have a deal on your site. Learn the tech or at the very least find a business partner who knows the basics.

Making my English teacher eat 75,000 words

Guest — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 09:00:16 +0000

Matt Gibson works in sports management, but spent most of his free time last year fulfilling a dream and writing that novel. Here he talks about his journey.

Ever since my English teacher laughed at me at school, for saying I wanted to write a novel, I became determined that I would eventually make him eat his words.

After spending a few years telling people I was going to write a novel, and them telling me I wouldn’t, I eventually bit the bullet and spent last year writing “Bleeding Green – A season on the run with Real Calcio.” See www.bleedinggreenrealcalcio.com.

What to write about

Writing a novel takes time and perseverance, so you really want to write about a subject that you have an in-depth knowledge of, or are passionate about. My main passion is football and having been a player manager of a Sunday football team for fourteen years, which spent the last four years getting thrashed, I decided I would write about a fictional season.

How to go about it

Having never written a novel before (I failed my A-Level English – perhaps my teacher was right to doubt me), I first bought the Writers and Artists Yearbook which lists publishers, agents, the publishing process, seminars to attend, how to market your book and pretty much everything else you could possibly wish to hear.

I also, through a friend, came across an editor, who had written football books before, and he agreed to help me with the novel and he put me in contact with a publishing company. I really recommend getting an editor – you will have to pay for one but it is a necessity and will be worth the money.

Be disciplined

I have a full-time job so I made sure I would dedicate each Monday, Tuesday and Sunday evenings to writing the novel. I would turn my mobile and television off, making sure I gave the novel my sole attention. Trying to write whilst watching Homeland doesn’t work but I do recommend lots of coffee!

It is very important to get others’ thoughts on your novel after each chapter. What you think is funny, may not be, to ninety percent of other people. I would advise against giving draft chapters to close friends, as they can tend to say it’s great, just to please you. If you do, perhaps ask them what they think is wrong with the chapter, rather than what is right.

Writers’ block

There will be days when you feel like you can’t put any words to paper. This happens and I would advise you to stop, even if it is one of your designated days. It is much better writing on another day than feeling you have to write a few thousand words on your designated day, which will more than likely be of a lower quality, as you are writing for the sake of writing.

I also felt like giving up a few times but I always told myself that writing a novel is marathon not a sprint and looked at the novel in terms of chapters, not the fact that it had to be thousands of words. If you make sure each chapter is thorough, the word count will take care of itself.

When the book is published

This is when you must really start your marketing drive. If you haven’t already got a website, twitter or Facebook page, now is the time to get one. Tell all your friends about your novel, organise a book launch party, send copies to magazines and journalists asking them to send a tweet or give your novel a review if they liked it. I also sent a few copies to footballers asking them to send a tweet if they liked the novel, just tweeting celebrities can appear lazy and it’s doubtful they will respond. The more you promote your book the more copies you will sell.

Don’t give up – it’s worth it in the end

As mentioned there will be days when you want to give up but don’t worry this happens to everyone. Persevere, stay disciplined and listen to your editor. When you finally have the novel in your hands with your friends saying how much they liked it, coupled witha few good reviews you will feel it has all been worth it! Good luck.

If you are interested in finding a writing coach or someone to keep you on track as you attempt your own novel, we’ve met a few high-quality published editors – for more details, please contact adele@escapethecity.org.

Freedom through Freelancing and You, The Startup

Guest — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 11:14:20 +0000

Tom is an award-winning entrepreneur and the founder of 3Desk (www.3desk.com) a marketplace for face-to-face freelancers, contractors and consultants. He also blogs at www.simpletom.co.uk

I used to work in the city, in the belly of the beast – an investment bank. There were a mere 1000 unlucky souls on the floor of our corporate prison office.

I lasted just 3 months. The banking world was too disconnected from ‘life’ and what it means to be a passionate and creative human being. For me, it was a like a battery farm of bright people, all slowly dying at their desks.

So, I escaped the city and have never looked back and ‘became’ an entrepreneur.

At first, it seemed lonely. Yet as I explore I find that there are many more of us than first meets the eye. Freelancers, consultants and contractors all run their own small businesses. Each have taken the leap to escape to a working world that befits them.

The Startup of You

Reid Hoffman wrote a book recently entitled ‘The Startup of You’. As the founder of LinkedIn, and an investor in Facebook, Zynga, Path and many others, he should know a thing or two about the world of work.

What is clear is that work is changing. Employers cannot guarantee job security and so people are less willing to sacrifice themselves. Most interestingly, more and more people are recognizing that they need to be in control of their work, rather than leaving it to the ‘cultures’ of businesses and at the mercy of their managers. Some are sounding the death knell of the traditional job – like this article outlines.

Certain commentators believe that by 2020 over 50% of the US workforce will be temporarily employed – meaning amazingly that over half of those working will have part-time jobs. Suddenly, more people will be running their own businesses (read careers), even if they don’t always see themselves as entrepreneurs, or having ‘escaped’ full time work.

These don’t have to mean working in Starbucks, but it could also be as a ‘super-temp’ (as this Harvard Business Review article explains).

My story

My peripatetic escape from the city led me to start a marine conservation charity (www.blueventures.org), to build a sustainability-focused recruitment business and to build a house in Kenya (https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/173098) and to run a business in San Francisco.

Each also enabled other people to escape from the city for a little while, for example Blue Ventures ran expeditions for volunteers), or to change the city from within. My recruitment business, which had offices in London and San Francisco, helped people switch to environmental careers until the recession dragged us slowly under (escaping isn’t always a blessing). Yet my current business 3Desk (www.3desk.com) feels like the strongest contributor to changing the workforce and helping them escape.

Yet for all the will to escape, there is a problem – with more and more people wanting to be self-employed, there need to be new and better solutions to enable these people to find work that suits them and their skills. A graphic designer might be absolutely amazing, but the nature of their work means they’re often not natural marketers, or business developers. Escaping is often easy, finding a rewarding place on the far side can be more challenging.

Our aim

We want to build a liquid marketplace for freelancers who work face-to-face. Although marketplaces for freelancers exist, the focus is on remote work, from one cubicle to another, without human interaction.

We want to help people with skills find the work they need, when they need it, and enabling employers to tap into talent locally without forcing people to become permanent workers. Although a great, cohesive permanent team is truly wonderful, there are too many people who hate their jobs but have valuable skills. We want to enable those who want to escape, escape. Not just from one job to another, but from unemployment into employment, and from motherhood to a work routine that is symbiotic with childcare. We want to prevent the United Nations and Governments wasting billions on besuited city-based consulting firms because they can’t find the people they need individually.

I escaped the city, yet work harder than I did there for a fraction of the pay. But I am free, and making a difference to other peoples’ lives. Every day I thank my lucky stars that I had the means to escape. Now I feel like a liberator from the jail of conformity, helping others escape too to the wild and wonderful pastures of working the way you want to, when you want to and still earning what you need to, to be happy.

Why is Matthias coming to our startup course?

Guest — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 09:00:59 +0000

Matthias Lissner is an Escape member attending our Startup 101 course on February 19th (if you’d like to join us too, more details are here).

My story

After years of working in private equity I realised that my job had become less and less fulfilling to me, and in early 2012 I decided to leave and figure out what was missing in my life. The answer came soon: building products I truly believe in, a stronger element of creativity in my work and working with people who share my values.

In March I set out to explore my first startup idea and tested the concept to failure before spending any money. At the same time I started advising friends on their startup projects, focusing on the commercial aspects. After some time I realised that I like helping others with their projects as much as building my own, so I decided to turn it into an advisory business, focusing on companies currently going through a high growth phase.

Finally, having learned a lot from my first startup experience, I co-founded Fittius in October last year. Fittius helps people discover, use and review fitness services, and we are set to launch our beta version this week!

Why I’m coming to Startup 101

Having learned so many new things during the last 12 months I realised that there is so much that I would like to know more about – especially every time when I had one of those “Oh, had I only known about this earlier…” moments! There is no universal solution to anything when it comes to launching and scaling a business, so every time I can hear about a new approach to a known problem it is helpful for me.

And finally, I think it will be a great opportunity to meet great people with ideas and passion for what they do – that alone is worth something to me!

Come talk to me about…

I am happy to help others developing their business further. I can help with writing business plans, developing financial forecast models, sales and investor pitches. My approach is based on empathy – the understanding of the mindset of other people: your customers, your investors, or even your own team. Empathy is something I found was missing very often in many companies I spoke to, and yet so crucial for a business’ success, so I decided to make it my guiding principle in everything I do. Come and talk to me if you want to hear more.

Also, talk to me if you need some help testing a product effectively without spending a lot, want to hear about ways to acquire good resources at reasonable prices (e.g. programmers, designers) or if you simply want to have a chat!

If you’d like to come to our Startup 101 course on February 19th, details are here. Details of our other courses are available here.

Honest thoughts about living in denial

Guest — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 07:01:31 +0000

Rookie escapee Anna describes her plans to leave her job to spend a year cycling across the United States on a ride called the Big Five-O, a 13,000 mile journey across all fifty states.

I thought everyone in my office felt the same. That sitting at a desk all day, tap-tap-tapping away, all the while wishing you were elsewhere, was a rite of passage. That we’re all unfulfilled and frustrated, but we just get on with it, because, well, that’s the way the world is, right? Turns out I was being taken for a royal ride by my colleagues.

The fact of the matter is, there’s a difference between those who say they want to be doing something else, and those that actually do. I mean, it’s easy enough to be fooled by water cooler ‘get me out of here’ chit chat after all, but offer these office-haters a route out, and they’ll back away. “Uh, no…. um… thanks. I’m alright where I am actually, very much”. “But you just said you hated being here?” “Yeah yeah, but, you know, I like it really”. Confused? Me too. I can only conclude its Stockholm syndrome. People must have fallen in love with their captors, and can’t fathom life beyond the regime.

To put an honest spin on it, I think 80% are happy with an office job and corporate life. And that their ambition and life path lies within those walls. I envy them in certain ways, not wanting for anything else and having a defined direction might be easier. And, other than indulging in false peer-to-peer exchanges on how they’d like to break free, they’ve committed no crime. So how about that remaining 20%? Well, these ones really do want out. It just took me a while to realise that I was one of them.

The early warning signs

In my early twenties, I was seeing a guy who lived in Birmingham. One June, I’d taken a few days holiday to spend time with him up in the midlands. On a Sunday night in London, whilst perusing train tickets for the following morning, I had a brain wave. I decided that rather than opt for a 2 hour rail journey with him, I’d instead hop on my trusty Cyclocross and cycle the length of the Grand Union canal, meeting him at the other end. Upon revealing my master plan, he looked at me like I was mental. Didn’t this just have the makings of the most wonderful adventure, I thought? It was certainly far more exciting than sitting on a stuffy train for 2 hours. He begged to differ.

I had no idea what the canal path was like, only that it was there – a watery corridor, with the potential to catapult me from Brentford, West London, right into the heart of Birmingham. So at 3.30 am on the Monday morning, I woke him up as I left, and gleefully whispered in his ear “I’m going on an adventure!” He groaned and went back to sleep. 217km, 4 punctures, 4 rounds of honey sandwiches and 11 hours later I skidded, muddy faced and grinning from ear to ear, into Birmingham. Turns out that a lot of the canal path is grass, and very uneven. Who knew?

I didn’t see it at the time, but looking back it’s obvious how often I desperately sought adventure in everyday life. I still do. I’ll always jump in the puddle rather than step over it, dive in the mud instead of walking around it and take a swim in a sea or river over a pool any day. I’ve heard many a seasoned adventurer remark “Why walk, when you can run?” On this occasion that translated into “Why sit on a train, when you can cycle up the canal?”

The Escape plan

I’ve finally admitted to myself that the time has come to stop treating adventure like a side line. So here I am, standing at the foot of my first adventure mountain, letting it take centre stage. In June I’ll leave the UK to embark on a 13,000 mile cycle through all 50 states of the US. I’ve broken the news to work, am 4 months into the planning and 5 months away from boarding that plane. I’m a little scared, a lot of the time, but I’ve never felt so fulfilled and happy in all my life.

Why sit in the office when you can cycle round America?

From unemployed grad to founding partner

Guest — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 07:01:47 +0000

Here’s the story of Anton Chernikov, who went from being an unemployed graduate to a founding partner of a social enterprise that has generated a deal flow of over £1million in its first year.

When I graduated from the Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL) in September 2010 I was certain of one thing… I didn’t want be an architect. I wanted to be an entrepreneur. But there was a problem. I had no business experience, no money to invest and very few marketable skills.

Two years on and things are looking a lot brighter. I went from being an unemployed graduate to becoming a founding partner of a social enterprise (www.goodpeople.co.uk) that has generated a deal flow of over £1million in its first year. We achieved this with a team of two full time founders, a part time developer and an extended family of advisors. That’s not bad for an unemployed graduate.

So how did I do it? There are plenty of more qualified, more experienced, more talented graduates out there who are still struggling to find meaningful work. What are secrets to building a fulfilling career where you can make money and make a difference at the same time?

1) Find your cause

My cause is social enterprise. I imagine a collaborative, clean, creative and interconnected economy. An economy that is built on trust and reputation. An economy that will reward organisations that understand the interdependencies between society, environment and business.

This is the future that I believe in. This is the cause that gave birth to GoodPeople.co.uk.

2) Develop skills that will make you indispensable to any team

Two years ago my design skills were terrible. I was a complete beginner. But I was determined to get better. I started by watching Illustrator Essentials on lynda.com (you can get a free 7 day trial). I came up with app ideas that I could mock up. I volunteered my skills. I built up a scrapbook / visual library of designs that I liked. I learnt how to setup a basic website.

I find that the best way to learn a new skill is through action learning. So create a project that forces you to learn something new and just get started.

3) Bury yourself in research and follow the trail of good content

The challenge that anyone starting a new career must overcome is a lack of industry / market awareness. It takes time to build up the level of depth and understanding required. That’s why we all need to get into the habit of doing critical research.

One trick that I have learnt is to follow the trail of good content. If you find a good blog article add it to your feedly / google reader stream. Bookmark it using evernote or Diigo. You can also use twitter search in a smart way. Take the URL of an article or video you like and paste it into a twitter search. Chances are you will find other people who have shared the same link. Follow them.

The golden rule is… good content leads to more good content.

4) Find your tribe and then take it offline

There are people out there who share your values and passions. People who will give you bundles of energy and inspiration. These are the people who you want in your tribe. These are the people you should be connecting with. These are the people you should be learning from.

A really good way to get a meeting is to ask for very specific advice for a project you are working on. Everyone loves to share their knowledge, wisdom and expertise. You have nothing to lose. And remember eighty percent of job opportunities come through personal networks.

Another trick is to create a portfolio website that showcases your personal brand. This is so much more memorable than sending a CV. About.me and Wix.com are both free tools that you can use.

5) Give Before you Take

Volunteering is a great way to build your skills, gain experience, grow your network and ultimately find a job that brings out your best. Volunteering reduces the risk for the employer and gives you time to build trust and learn about an organisation’s culture and needs. When I first met RIchard, the founder of GoodPeople, I didn’t ask for a job and a big salary. I volunteered my time. I listened. I found a way to create shared value. And before I knew it, I became a founding partner of the business.

A new metaphor for building a career in the 21st century

In summary, building a career used to be like climbing a mountain. You know your destination (the peak) and you work your way up the organizational ladder one promotion and qualification at a time. I don’t think this is how the world works anymore. Today, building a career is more like helicopter skiing. You are dropped on the mountain and you have to find your way down without getting buried in an avalanche or falling off a cliff. There are no tracks to follow. All you can do is point your skis down the mountain and try to dodge the trees and rocks in front of you. The best way to get down the mountain safely is to have a trusted group of friends with you.

Successful careers are built on a strong network of friends and connections. So.. start building yours today.

7 steps to quit your life and reboot

Guest — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:16:37 +0000

Priya Parker is the founder of Thrive Labs, a company that helps leaders and organizations connect with their vision and purpose. She combines the tools of business and conflict resolution to help create products, services and cultures that reflect the things that people care more about. Follow her @PriyaParker.

I recently had the crazy experience of giving a TED talk in the middle of Flanders. What did I talk about? How to quit your life (and reboot). I spent my 18 allotted minutes talking about why it’s important for young people with lots of talent to step out and address problems they’re passionate about, and why it’s a public problem (and not just a private failing) when we don’t. I also share 7 ways to help you get there.

I run a company called Thrive Labs that works with individuals and companies to define and integrate their sense of purpose into their work. With individuals, one of the biggest things that prevent us from “escaping” is fear. In the talk, I share 7 examples of tools I find effective at helping people connect with their own sense of purpose and get up the nerve to do something about it. Here are two of the most popular ones:

The Obituary Test

TOOL #1: Take the obituary test and make sure you pass. This first exercise is to actually write down your own 600-word obituary in the style of your favorite newspaper.

In a recent interview in the New York Times, a guy named Jonathan Butler who used to be a banker and now runs a very popular flea market in Brooklyn, put it this way:

“I am ambitious about making a lot of money, but none of that stuff passed the obituary test. I didn’t want [my obituary] to read that I had been a vice president of Merrill Lynch for 40 years.”

If you want to figure out what to do with your life, work back from your death.

Rather than building your life around the career you want to get, work backwards and start with asking what kind of life do I want to have lived?

The Backward Elevator Test

TOOL #2: Get comfortable with discomfort. Quitting your life and rebooting is not only incredibly scary, it can also be extremely awkward, for you and for those around you. As you get ready to quit your life and reboot, build your discomfort muscles.

You can build your discomfort muscles in all sorts of ways:

• Sing when you’re waiting in line at the grocery store. It can be quiet, but make it slightly audible.
• Go out to a restaurant by yourself and order dinner for one, without your phone or any reading material.
• Or one of my personal favorites, borrowed from Olivia Fox Cabane: walk into an elevator and, rather than turning back around to face the door as is typically expected, stay facing the back of the elevator.

In my experience, the people who have been able to quit their life and reboot, don’t get rid of their anxiety or their fears, they learn to build a tolerance for them.

You can check out the 5 other tools here:

I am running a series of Public Visioning Lab in New York this coming January 16 & 23rd and March 4 & 11 to allow folks to test some of these tools out themselves and see what exploring a “life sentence” might look like. You can sign up here. I’d love to have you there!

From a corporation to conservation

Guest — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 07:01:28 +0000

Escapee Lola has put her escape plan into action this year and handed in her notice in November. She is leaving the UK for Netherlands and hopes to apply her marketing skills in sustainability sector. Working her notice period, she came across an org announcement for a colleague in Brasil, Elisa, who escaped the same corporate job to a job in conservation. Inspired by this example, Lola felt compelled to reach out and talk to Elisa about her escape journey.

Before the escape

Throughout my career I always worked in business development and marketing, but I have been in many different industries, nothing was really planned, but opportunities came and one thing lead to another.

I started my career in new business development in a consumer electronic company in Brazil that had joint ventures with major global players like Nokia, JVC, LG. One new business we were prospecting was Internet TV, so I ended up being hired by AOL, as they were entering the Brazilian market at the time. I spent 6 years with them working in Latin America and then moved to their headquarters in US.

After the first Internet bubble burst, I had an opportunity in the entertainment/ hospitality business working with a chain of high end boutique hotels. For personal reasons I decided to move back to Brazil, my home country, and I started my own business, a publishing company focused on yoga and well being products, which had a great start, but I invested all of my savings and needed a source of income while my business was getting traction. This is when I went back to the corporate America.

My moment of truth

In general, my observation is that, with few exceptions, people in the corporate world are there for the wrong reasons. They normally don’t enjoy or believe in the work they are doing, the majority is there for a paycheck and feeling of safety that having a job brings, believing that happiness comes from climbing the corporate ladder.

After a while, I felt so empty inside, and depressed. I did not enjoy my life anymore. I went on a long self discovery journey, looking for what would motivate me to wake up every morning, a sense of purpose, get my mojo and my priorities back on track.

So I did not have a moment per se, rather a long process of self discovery, asking some tough questions, searching for what is really important to me, what motivates me, what makes me happy and what I believe in. I did everything from coaching, anthroposophy based activities, family constellations, traditional and untraditional therapy.

My escape

I am leaving my corporate job for a marketing role with The Nature Conservancy where I will be focused on corporate partnerships to promote their brand and create corporate source of revenue to advance their conservation mission.

I have been looking, more or less, for the last 4 years, however the right opportunity never seemed to appear. Then there was this ad on LinkedIn, the role felt right and everything just fell into place after I applied. The rest is history.

Planning for it

I am not making the same salary I used to. And I am fine with it. I had to adjust my lifestyle. I went back to basics. I learned to value things that are truly important in life. I focused on cutting down my costs, eg started looking out for deals, etc. Anyone can do it.

Change is never without adaptations. However the thing is after you find your path, you have this absolute best feeling in the world of knowing that you are putting your energy into something you really believe in, that you are moving towards your life’s goal. And this overshadows any concerns.

The toughest part is finding out what your beliefs are, what you want from life, defining the goal. They say you have to “follow your bliss” to be happy, but figuring out what your bliss is actually is the hardest part, at least it was for me. Once you do find the right direction, you will know it because it will feel like you’ve got the whole universe on your side and things just fall into place. And then there is no better place in the world to be in! You are happy.

How to find ‘your bliss’

For me, it was never just about the career development. I always wondered about my life direction in general. So finding my bliss was not a straightforward exercise. I tried everything – therapy, coaching, I did a course at Artemisia, an NGO focused on promotion of social business, and I tried non traditional therapy and meditation.

It’s all very individual, for me there was no silver bullet, different methods, approaches contributed something which led me to a deeper understanding of how things are connected and what direction to pursue.

What’s next

This is of course not the end of my journey. I think the search never ends. But I am on the right track, I know what it is I am after and what I want, and so I am relaxed, having fun and enjoying the ride.

Escape the city now – because the next generation is avoiding it altogether

Guest — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 07:01:40 +0000

Jack Graham is the social entrepreneur behind Year Here, a social leadership programme for ambitious recent graduates and school leavers. Here, he explores the career choices of the next generation of ambitious professionals and offers added impetus to readers’ potential escape plans.

I predict that the tide is turning: corporate experience is no longer a pre-requisite for a high-impact social sector career. And the next generation knows it.

In the past few decades the received wisdom has been that savvy purpose-driven grads should spend a few years in the private sector developing their skills before making the shift over to the non-profit sector (where, it’s assumed, all professional development ceases abruptly). And programmes like On Purpose have made the transition ever-smoother. And the strategy seems to work for many: the founders of some of the top social ventures in Britain all started their professional lives in the private sector. Take Teach First, The Challenge and Entrepreneur First – their founders are all ex-McKinsey.

But it seems that things are changing. Programmes like the one I run for ambitious recent grads and school leavers, Year Here, are providing the kind of professional development opportunities that people could, traditionally, only benefit from on corporate grad schemes. And more and more social entrepreneurs are drawing inspiration from the high-speed startup-to-IPO story of tech entrepreneurship and setting our sites much higher, with competitions like the Dell Social Innovation Competition and the Big Venture Challenge looking for seriously ambitious teams and ideas to change the world.

And it isn’t just the supply of social leadership development opportunities that is on the up. Demand is rising too. This year,Teach First – the two-year leadership programme that puts top grads into challenging schools – is predicted to become the UK’s largest graduate employer.

Over the summer we met an inspiring chap called Fred. He’s 18 years old – although his maturity and eloquence might fool you into thinking he is older – and spending his gap year in Britain, teaching students at a challenging school in Kent. It’s Fred’s generation that knows that you needn’t compromise your ambition, professional development and career success if you want to apply yourself to improving the conditions of the most disadvantaged and marginalised in society.

Meet Fred from Year Here on Vimeo.

So, if things really are changing, what does this mean for those who want a career with purpose and are considering their initial entry into the job market?

Well, any graduates who are still thinking that a corporate job is the only way to develop business acumen should drop that misconception immediately. You do need business acumen but now there’s a plethora of opportunities to grow that in the social sector, while developing a deeper understanding of the social issues that you might seek to solve. And don’t stay in your comfort zone by remaining in academia, enrolling for a Masters’ in anthropology or international development – get out there and experience poverty and injustice first hand.

And for those stuck in unfulfilling corporate careers, there’s now an added urgency to make the leap. A new generation, raised in a world where globalisation and digital technology have fuelled a blurring of the traditional ‘sectors’, are hungry for success and social impact. They’re right behind you, so jump now before you’re left behind.

Lame Excuses for Why It’s Not the Right Time to Take Your Leap

Guest — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 07:01:20 +0000

Alexis Grant is an entrepreneurial writer and digital strategist who left her day job to pursue her own business full time. She writes about how to make your own luck in her weekly newsletter.

You know you want to make a change — no, need to make a change. But you keep putting it off.

And while the BIG reason you put it off is probably because making a life or career change can be scary, most of us come up with more practical excuses, ones that sound reasonable when we say them out loud.

Here are three excuses you shouldn’t let hold you back, plus tips for overcoming them:

1. You’ve got too much going on

Often, that means feeling weighed down, maybe by responsibilities, maybe just by stuff. So ask yourself this: How can you simplify your life to make room for your priorities?

Don’t feel like you have to accomplish this in one weekend. Take baby steps: get rid of belongings you don’t need, cut out friends who stress you out, and look for ways to streamline and even outsource chores that take up too much of your time.

Soon, when the weight of all those responsibilities lifts — and you realize that most of those obligations are actually choices — you’ll find the guts to make a bigger change, the one you’ve been waiting on.

2. You haven’t saved enough money

If this is your lame excuse, you likely fall into one of two camps: always feeling like you don’t have enough money no matter how much you’ve saved, or truly falling into the red financially but lacking a plan for how to get out.

In either case, figure out exactly how much money you need to make your transition. Once you put a real number on it, you’ll have a concrete goal to work toward.

Then create a plan to get there. Conscious and frugal spending helps, but figuring out how to make more money is far more effective. Can you launch a side hustle? Ask for a raise at work? Use your skills to help others reach their own goals (and charge for it)?

In addition to coming up with a financial goal, set a time goal for yourself, too. When will you have as much savings as you need? What’s your self-imposed deadline?

3. You’ve put too much time and effort into the career you have now

It might feel difficult to leave if it’s taken you this long to get where you are, but the truth is, all that sweat doesn’t mean a thing if you’re not happy.

Plus, no matter what you do next, the time and effort you’ve put in so far will not go to waste. Why? Because it’s gotten you where you are now. Even if you don’t directly apply the skills that make you money now in your next job, something you’ve learned will help you succeed going forward.

Sometimes the big thing you take with you is an understanding of what you want in life. And just think, if you hadn’t toiled away at a job you didn’t like, you might never have figured that out.

One last tip for moving forward

With all this in mind, remember: It will NEVER feel like the right time. NEVER. The pieces will never ALL fall into place at once. So you’ve got to do what you can to prepare financially and emotionally, and then somehow make the rest of it work. Push through that fear to achieve your goal.

One hack that will help you get there is surrounding yourself with go-getters. Because if the people around you are taking their own leaps, that will rub off on you. It will make living the life you want feel normal, rather than a crazy stretch. You’ll begin to feel like doing awesome things with your life is the status quo, rather than being stuck in a job and city you don’t like.

So look around for the people who will help you move toward your goal, and don’t let yourself make any of these lame excuses. And soon we’ll be hearing from YOU about your escape.

Small Steps to Big Leaps: 4 Things You Can Do Now to Start the Escape

Guest — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 20:11:20 +0000

Elizabeth Sheeran recently left a career in IT consultancy to work in coffee. Here she talks about the small changes you can make prior to leaving to prepare for your big escape.

I have been an Escape the City reader since it started and attended one of their events back in August. It convinced me that my decision to leave my job in September was the right path. I had been working in IT consulting for five years but I couldn’t shake my long held dream of working in coffee.

However, such a big change seemed overwhelming and I didn’t know where to start. After a couple of years of being unhappy in my job, I decided to take control of my career path and make small changes to prepare me for a career change when the time was right.

It is always going to be scary to leave the security of your big city job, however, there are ways to mitigate your determined risks and prepare for the new life you dream of. Here are some of the actions I took to get ready for the big jump!

Define your priorities

It’s not always possible to know exactly what career you want to move into but it is possible to define the things you want to prioritise in your ideal life. I knew I could survive without the little luxuries in life but I wanted enough savings to start a business or invest in property if needs be. This gave me something to work towards whilst still in my consulting job.

Sometimes friends and family can actually be unhelpful when you are going through this process, so if you are getting a lot of unwanted opinions, I suggest keeping quiet about your escape plans! My parents lived through two recessions and the thought of their oldest daughter jumping ship for a minimum wage job actually brought my mother to tears. Now that I’ve left, she is supportive but if you are scared it’s likely the people that love you are doubly scared for you!

Skill Up

I spent almost three years living in hotels. The shine of having your bed made soon wore off when I was working 12 hour days and fending off the advances of the adolescent porter over my dinner tray of microwaved curry. Living like a warped Alan Partridge made it difficult to appreciate the value of working in the corporate job.

Your saving powers are strong, the opportunity to attend courses on subject matter close, and sometimes quite distant, from your day to day job are easily attainable (often paid for!) and finally, the rigorous training of city jobs gives you a discipline far better than your student days of watching marathon runs of Deal Or No Deal at university. If you can hold on a little, you can get what you need from your city career to help you in the next career turn you take.

Just before I left work, I completed the City & Guilds Barista certification. It is not necessary in order to be a good barista but it did help me get on top of the subject and meet useful contacts in my next stage of getting a job in the industry.

Clean Up

The London city scene can be one of debauched boozing and corporate credit card one-upmanship (tell me who hasn’t flashed that AMEX in their first six months of a graduate job?). But if you don’t like your job, avoid buying into the lifestyle. If you do manage to escape the job, it’s unlikely you will be able to maintain those frequent trips to your local Hawksmoor for that burger.

I started cleaning out my life about six months before I left my job. I sold a lot of thoughtless purchases on Ebay, reviewed my spending habits and went on a shopping diet. I tracked my expenditure and started maintaining a personal profit and loss sheet. It was a real eye opener and helped me reach my saving goal prior to leaving.

What now? I’m earning 20% of my previous salary and it’s not hurting quite as much as it could have.

Keep the Faith

Finally, as my dad says, keep the faith. Not everyone yearns for adventure in their career. That drive for something more is a gift that will drive you forward to success. Although I have not finished my plan yet, I do feel a sense of freedom and self-control I didn’t have in my old career. I’m determining my own fate and it feels good. What’s the worst that can happen?

Everyone will have a different way of finding a job they love. For me, it was the small steps over a couple of years that allowed me to finally take the leap! I started working as a barista in a tiny West London café in November. Eventually, I want to open my coffee shop but for now I’m happy and excited to finally work in my dream job.