Tag Archives: freelancing

After a brief hiatus, the Libro blog is back with the next in our series of Saturday freelancer interviews. It’s been a difficult time for businesses and society over the past week, but one way we can pick ourselves up and drive the recovery forward is to get on with business as usual, ensuring we’re making money to put back into our local economies.

So, my next subject is Andrew Donnelly, who set up a mobile apps and websites development company that’s been running for just a year.  Andrew’s followed yet another path as he started his business, continuing to work as a contractor to bring in the money (so a bit like soft-launchers like me, who are still employed part-time, but a little bit more independent).  Andrew’s another 4N member and he talks about the value of networking – but in his case, being in the right place at the right time and embracing the opportunities offered by new technologies have kickstarted his new career.

What’s your business called? When did you set it up?

My business is called iphonemobileapp and has been set up for 1 year now. We specialise in the development of Apps and Websites to run on mobile devices.

What made you decide to set up your own business?

Having always been interested in mobile development, it was becoming frustrating working on mobile IT only in short bursts when the work came in, rather than full-time.

What made you decide to go into this particular business area?

It’s always been a big area of interest of mine; even before iPhones were launched I was interested in development on phones. When the iPhone came out, it was the perfect opportunity for me.

Had you run your own business before?

I had contracted for 7 years previously.

How did you do it? Did you launch full-time, start off with a part-time or full-time job to keep you going … ?

In between freelance work, I have taken contracts to keep the money coming in to pay the bills. When I have downtime, I’m still working, but on my skills, aiming to improve them more and more.

What do you wish someone had told you before you started?

That I could do it. Like everyone taking that big leap, it can be really scary at first. One year down the line, my confidence is high and the timing seems right for what I have done.

What would you go back and tell your newly entrepreneurial self?

Plan, Plan, Plan and more Plans; it’s all well and good having an idea, but as time went on, putting a business plan together helped me stay focused and gave me goals to achieve.

What do you wish you’d done differently?

Networked a lot more in the early days. Having just discovered networking, it’s a breath of fresh air to me and my business. Not so much in sales, but in terms of contacts and opportunities.

What are you glad you did?

Worked hard – it’s not a 9-5 job, it’s a 24/7 365 days a year thing. You have just got to keep at it.

What’s your top business tip? 

Trust your gut feeling a lot more than you do. It’s generally 99% right.

How has it gone since you started? Have you grown, diversified or stayed the same?

Still the same size, but now I have access to a lot of contacts to help me out.

Where do you see yourself and your business in a year’s time?

Hopefully on a much more solid footing, with a good client base. (Find out what he’s doing a year on!)

If you’re interested in knowing more, Andrew’s website is down at the moment for contractual reasons, but his phone number is 07795 511 083 and you can Tweet him.

Thank you for being my first app developer interviewee, Andrew! Click here for more freelancer chat.

Welcome to my second interview with a fellow freelancer.  These are running every Saturday, and are aimed at sharing our experiences in setting up and running our own businesses.  This does gives people a chance to showcase their businesses, but the main aim is to share and encourage.  Each interview includes the same questions, and I’ll be revisiting my interviewees a year after their original interview is published, to see how things are going.

Today we’re going to meet Carl Nixon; I first came across Carl on the 4Networking forums and he’s also on Twitter.  Carl is based in Wales and his business, Excel Expert, has been going for 2 years, so it’s about the same age as Libro.

What’s your business called? When did you set it up?

It is called Excel Expert and we are just coming up to our 2^nd birthday.

What made you decide to set up your own business?

Mainly being bored of my job. I worked for Admiral Insurance for 10 years setting up and maintain their systems and procedures for the elephant.co.uk brand. Once all the bugs were worked out there was very little challenge left so I found myself just turning up for work at 9, wasting my day and going home at 5.  I should have left years before but it was a genuinely good place to work and I was a part of a great team

What made you decide to go into this particular business area?

I’ve been a geek and a lover of all things maths all my life so it was almost a no-brainer. I could have equally gone down the database route rather than the spreadsheet route, but I chose spreadsheets because there was less competition. It’s really strange, because databases are becoming our main focus.

Had you run your own business before?

Prior to working for Admiral I ran businesses for other people but never my own.

How did you do it? Did you launch full-time, start off with a part-time or full-time job to keep you going … ?

I started out with the aim of starting part-time and going full-time when I hit a certain turnover. However I was never going to hit that threshold because I never had the time to produce that much turnover. So I just bit the bullet and went for it.

What do you wish someone had told you before you started?

Expect to spend several times more money and time on marketing than you plan to.

What would you go back and tell your newly entrepreneurial self?

Spend more time on marketing and concentrate earlier on eliminating the marketing, working,  marketing, working cycle.

What do you wish you’d done differently?

Not left it until I was 40 to start up a business

What are you glad you did?

Making the leap from part-time to full-time. It is a big leap of faith but it just makes it so much easier to get your business really going.

What’s your top business tip?

Has to be fail fast – As soon as you see something not working or going wrong, get right on it. Either fix it or bin it.

How has it gone since you started? Have you grown, diversified or stayed the same?

We tried to diversify but it was a nightmare. By offering more core services you dilute your marketing message and as a result it becomes weak and doesn’t have so much reach and impact.

Where do you see yourself and your business in a year’s time?

Hopefully employing people so I can take on more work.

Carl’s website is here and you can call him on 029 2125 1450

Thank you for joining in with the interviews, Carl!  The information on going full-time from part-time was particularly interesting for me, and I’ll be interested to see how things are going in a year’s time, as we’re in fairly similar lines of business but with different expansion plans. Here’s how Carl is doing two years down the line …

Click here for more freelancer chat.