Leaving home
I think I may have just about had it with home-working. For almost 18 months I’ve been perfectly happy in my study, which I painted a happy yellow just as the first lockdown struck. Even through home-schooling, I enjoyed being at home, not having to get on a train and suffer skype calls in an openplan office. I was one of those forty-somethings Mary Portas said were the only ones enjoying this blended living.
It could be because the school holidays are still on for another three weeks. But I don’t think so. I just think I’ve had enough.
I want to sprinkle more of the outside world into my working life again. And to create some delineation between home and work.
I may have mentioned the funding I received! Thank you everyone who sent me messages by the way. But getting this funding has had a profound effect on me. Not just because it’s made me take Familiarize a lot more seriously – and feel a sense of responsibility in using the money wisely. But also because it’s made me project things forward.
And most of them are connected with a lack of support. Human support.
Community
I’ve read all the books, been a slave to Medium, listened to the podcasts and they aren’t really teaching me to build a business. They’re mostly now telling me theory that I already know. And now I need real, not virtual. Head up, not down. I need people and I want to be part of something.
As if getting funding last week wasn’t good enough, I was approached by a VC-cum-incubator this week off the back of it and asked to join his programme. He turned out to want more equity than I wanted to give, but I realised listening to his pitch, that what was attracting me was community, people who could help me, people I could help, other startups who would know what I was going through.
So that’s one gap, a community I can learn from.
Inspiration
It’s hard to get inspired or feel very ambitious sitting in a room by yourself day after day, zoom after zoom. Even with the www at your fingertips. I’m slightly more extrovert than introvert and much as I’ve enjoyed cocooning myself away so I can really think, I need other people to give me energy, to excite me, to challenge me. And I need to do the same for other people too.
I think Familiarize needs it too. This week I had to write my first job description. And my first go was lousy. Not much more than the skills I was looking for and a weak justification why there’s not much salary. This kind of closed thinking obviously won’t attract top talent. So I rewrote something much more inspiring about Familiarize “reinventing how businesses are built - better and faster” and why that’s so important today because of the challenges we face in the world, like climate change, unequitable societies, bounceback from pandemic. So it’s fine I realised before I shared it, but I think the fact it took me a bad attempt shows how much I, and Familiarize, need enrichment by other people and things.
Serendipity
Another gap is plain old variety that fosters spontaneity and sparks serendipity. I’m like a James Bond villain here in my lair, with full control of who and what enters my house, study and my wifi. In 10 minutes I can walk down into town or drive to some beautiful countryside, but I’m unlikely to be surprised by what happens there. Whereas in London magic can happen. Maybe less now I am married with three kids and I don’t want to end up missing the train and ending up on someone’s sofa. But stuff just happens, energy pulses through the city.
It’s all back to people. Because London just has more of them. I could probably set myself up in a co-working space in Farnham and find something, but I suspect it’s a numbers game.
For the first time writing #corporateescapologist, I don’t have any tips to share, but when I’ve broken free I’ll doubtless have a few.
So instead, I’ll ask you a few questions in the hope you can help me:
What are you doing to get inspiration?
How are you building structure into your day?
Have you gone back to an office? Every day?
Who are you getting community from?
How’s your mental health working from home?
Any tips on good places to work for bootstrappers?
I can answer number 6, because my #corporateescapologist friend Tom is soon to launch his co-working startup – think Mr&Mrs Smith for co-working at surprisingly affordable prices. He’s using Familiarize for his customer discovery, so we would love to talk to any of you feeling the need to escape home-life – or who are questioning the need for a permanent office. Email me if you could spare us half an hour’s chat.
So, I think it’s time for some physical change for me and for Familiarize. Once the children have gone back to school I’m going to go off a day or two a week, maybe London, maybe I’ll dot about.
And I’m going to look into joining an accelerator, something with co-working space where I can join and feed off some other startups. And then I’m going to start going to a few meetups after work and try out networking as an entrepreneur rather than as a corporate, where I often felt a fraud.
Anyone fancy joining me?
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**As part of the funding I will create a panel of ten businesses to test and feedback on the Familiarize product I’m going to build. In return I’ll give free customer discovery coaching for as long as it takes to any #CorporateEscapologist reader using the Familiarize method. I will help you get customer traction!
A few of you said yes last week - thank you! But for the rest, if you – or a founder you know - are interested please drop me a line.