This was quickly followed by...

Setting up my own business has certainly presented a few challenges in the first couple of weeks, mostly those challenges are around time management. When working for a large organisation I have come to realise that there are a lot of people that just 'do stuff' in the background that I was only peripherally aware of. Now there is only one person that does....me!!! So setting up bank accounts, sorting out business cards, finding a lawyer, accountant, business manager and bookkeeper to name but a few have had to be squeezed in between finding and delivering work!

The big upside to all of this though is that I am in control of what happens, every decision I make now will shape the future of my business, its culture and its perception in the marketplace. That is truly exciting and inspiring (and still a little terrifying if I am totally honest!!). It's an opportunity to test my approach and get direct feedback!

The importance of these decisions I am making now will only really become apparent as my business develops and expands over the coming months and years. Ultimately however every success and failure that I have from now on will be mine and mine alone (until I start employing staff of course!!) 

I then started to realise what I'd taken on, somewhat belatedly...

Into week 4 of Honoris Limited and feel like I am gaining a bit of momentum, but equally conscious of the need to try and maintain a work-life balance! I have in my previous lives as an employee of large (and small) organisations regularly commented that the balance always seemed much more in favour of work, little did I know! As the owner and currently the sole employee of Honoris Limited I am finding that work and life are almost one organism now..... the edges between them blurred almost completely together.

It strikes me that this is probably the biggest challenge of any start-up organisation, you feel like you cannot say no to opportunities because you want that all-important cash flow. However, if you are working too many hours and not enjoying your time you run the risk of starting to resent what you do, performing poorly on the projects you have secured and damaging your fledgling reputation. The adage that your reputation is only as good as your last project is never more true than when you are starting a new business.

What am I doing about this? Well taking my dog for a walk when I can is a good start, preferably leaving the phone at home. As my business grows though I need to keep this balance in front of mind! Comments and suggestions are welcome!!

It then dawned on me that I don't have to do it all on my own...but had some reservations still...

I've spent the last few days wondering what my next post should be about, but I do have a dilemma that I need to address, when is the right time to recruit my first staff member into Honoris?

It's a difficult call to make, on the one hand, it brings a lot of responsibility and risk, keeping that new staff member busy, are they the right fit for my fledgling business? How will they influence the next stage of my business growth, culture etc.? On the other hand, if I don't recruit I am stifling my business' ability to grow, limiting my workload to only that which I can deliver, which also brings the added pressure of having no backup if I want a holiday or need a sick day, so the whole work-life balance thing again.

My solution at the moment is to rely on the relationships I have built with my former employees and bring them on board on a contract basis. Hopefully the best of both worlds for me and them, they have flexibility in what they do and when they do it, I know them well and trust their ability to deliver and at the start of my business committing only to hourly paid contracts reduces the financial risk.

Watch this space though, I have plans to grow and bring on full-time staff as soon as it is practical to do so! 

My biggest fear has been with me for a long time...public speaking...and I have put myself right in the spotlight as a business owner...the first time I had to stand up in front of a crowd as the Owner of Honoris was beyond daunting...

Not posted for a while so here is an update...Honoris has been trading for a little over 3 months now, time flies when you are having fun!! #celebrate #summer #networking On Thursday of last week (December 2018) I sponsored the Property Council Summer Soiree. We had a great turnout of around 65 people there and it was good to see some old and new faces at the event. We had a draw at the end of the evening for a bottle of champagne and the lucky winner of that was James Burgess, congratulations James I hope you enjoy it! I have to say that the few words I spoke at the start of the event were way more terrifying than setting up the business so thanks to all that listened to my high-speed delivery and were so polite!! #MerryChristmas #HappyNewYear. Have a great break everyone and see you all in January!