And so it begins
The first few weeks on my journey starting a business
First off, as a reminder, this newsletter documents my journey as a solo founder starting a web design agency.
Three weeks ago I left my full-time frontend engineering job to start my own business. I’ve dreamed of owning my own business ever since I was a kid. In part, this was influenced by my amazing dad, who is the owner of an IT support company called Virtual Support Teks. Because of him, I grew up with an inside look of what it was like to run a successful business and the belief that it was possible.
In June, I started to make this dream a reality. I wrote down every business idea that came to my mind and narrowed it down to a web design agency. I’ve been making websites since I was 14 and I love doing it.
I’m at the beginning stages of this journey and this newsletter is me taking you along for the ride. Fair warning before we dive in: we’re not starting with much, we might encounter some rough terrain along the way, and my GPS broke so I’m not sure how long it’ll be until we get there. There will be a lot to navigate, but I’m taking it one step at a time, leaning on those around me, and I’m so excited about the road ahead.
You can expect to hear from me once a month, on the 1st of the month—hey, isn’t it crazy it’s October! Occasionally I might surprise you mid-way through the month, but no promises. In each letter, you’ll hear from yours truly with an update on the state of the business and my upcoming goals. I’ll try to keep it short, I might occasionally make it long. So without further ado, let’s dive in.
The State of the Business
— September 2022 Review
Here’s what I’ve been up to during the month of September:
Enjoying some rest and relaxation. I believe we do our best work when we’re well-rested and enjoy regular time off. I was kinda forced to prioritize this because of an accident I got in two days after I left my full-time job. I’ve been recovering from injuries, but also enjoying some lovely mental and physical rest.
Talking with business owners. I called up a few people I know who own businesses similar to mine and asked them for advice on starting and running a business. Everyone has been so generous with their time, knowledge, and connections, I am so grateful.
I started an LLC. After researching the different types of businesses (sole proprietorship, LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp, etc.), I decided an LLC or limited liability company, with a probable S-Corp election down the line, was best for my short and long-term goals. The Small Business Tax Savings Podcast came in handy when making this decision.
Talking with prospective clients. My biggest concern in starting this thing was getting clients who wanted to work with me and I similarly wanted to work with. I’m a developer, not a marketer. I haven’t done any marketing and yet somehow I already have five prospective clients. How I got them are all crazy stories too long for this email, but maybe I’ll share in the future.
Tech research. I plan to build websites using the Jamstack framework. I know Wordpress, Gatsby, and Contentful inside out, but I’ve been doing some research on the other frameworks that are out there and started building a site for fun with Next.js and Sanity.
What’s next?
Over the next month, I’ll likely be starting some client work so I’ll be figuring out everything that goes along with that - contracts, project management, invoicing. I have a good idea from previous freelance work I’ve done, but I want to build something that’s scalable. I also want to start creating a brand identity and website for the business. My time will be limited since I’ll be traveling to Israel for 10 days, but I’m not in a rush. Slow and steady wins the race.
And that’s a wrap on the first edition of this newsletter. I’d love to hear from you on why you subscribed. What are you hoping to get out of this newsletter? Feel free to hit reply and let me know.
Thanks for joining me on this journey!