Starting Out On My Own - My Small Business Story

by Jon Pierce
(United Kingdom)

My name is Jonathon Pierce and I recently had the opportunity to start my own business in design and architectural services.

I started off working for Staffordshire County Council after leaving university in the planning department which involved approving drawings and plans for people applying for planning permission on their property.

After working for the council for nine years, and not feeling like i was ever fully satisfied by my job, I decided that the way forward for me was to set up my own business designing the plans for people and using my knowledge of CAD to work on creating some truly fantastic building designs.

I contacted my local bank and sat with the business advisor for many hours discussing my business plans and my ideas for the future. After a few months of meetings and after finally securing some funding for myself (to boost the loans that the bank had offered me)

I managed to move into my own office just outside of the town centre where I now have all of my computer equipment, plotters, paperwork and everything else needed to continue forward on my venture.

I applied for funding help from Business Link and Advantage West Midlands and was delighted when I was accepted for funding to help me to improve and purchase new computers and equipment.

This was a relatively simple task as I just contacted both Business Link and Advantage West Midlands and they sent an advisor out to see me who discussed all of the options available to me and helped me apply for any funding I may have been able to get.

The hardest part of the last six months has been securing the first few contracts, at first I did think I had made a huge mistake, but you must not let that put you off, once the contracts came in they started to really fly in, I’ve even had to hire a part time staff member to help me keep up to date with all the work.

Now i am always working on three or four projects and have a waiting list of at least half a dozen more. The rewards at the end of the month speak for themselves and when I see the balance of my account is now nice and healthy and I still have most of the loan money and original investment money left there to fall back on, I know I have made the right decision.

As I did not have any business skills myself, the Business Link advisor was more than happy to help me find some training courses (some of which were free of charge) which would give me that little extra help that I needed when starting the paper work and booking keeping for the first time on my own, he also helped and advised me on tax returns and self employment rights.

If anyone is looking to start a business for themselves, full time or part time the only advice i can give is to do something that you truly enjoy.

If you enjoy making home-made cards, or like to take pictures of people or animals then make that your target goal and you will be guaranteed to enjoy working for yourself.

It’s given me more confidence and I have become wise to how the business world works, I really don’t think I could ever go back to working for someone else again. The freedom and possibilities are just too rewarding!