Last year around this time I posted an article on LinkedIn about my 1st year managing Seditio. That post was mostly around the research and the initial stages of getting from Idea to having a business that generates income. Now that I'm in my second year managing a successful digital consultancy company I wanted to share my latest perspectives.

Lesson 1: Be Patient

When I just started my business in did so in 6th gear, I wanted everything done as quickly and as efficiently as possible without losing any quality or missing deadlines. Now I realize that sometimes this is impossible. Why?

Well simply said it takes two to tango and sometimes an organisation is just too big or rigid to quickly implement change.

On top of that the project you have with a client might only be a fraction of the work she or he has on their plates.

What I learned: “Be patient, what is important to you might not be important to someone else at that time but they will come back to you”

Lesson 2: With growth comes Critique

In the last two years Seditio has provided services to over 30 different clients, completed more than a 100 projects ranging from mini ones to full e-commerce development build and has given training to many different organisations. In those two years we have yet to fall out with a client and are still in touch with many of them even though our work has long been concluded.

With success however you notice a rise in gossips, lies and jealousy. But as I wrote in my year one blog, this was expected and Karma will prevail.

Surprising enough these gossips and sometimes blatant lies are actually working in my favor as it puts my name out there and once companies have spoken to myself or asked any of our clients they realize the high quality services that Seditio delivers.

What I learned: “The more successful you become, the more people will try to put you down. Use that to your advantage as your going to right way”

Lesson 3: Sometimes you do things for free

This is probably one of those things you would rarely read in any business advice book but it works for me. Over the course of the last 2 years I had plenty of occasions where the solution to a problem was really simple or easy. A couple of minutes of my time or sometimes even an hour or two was given away for free.

Now I could have charged for the advice given or the solutions implemented but I didn’t. Why?

When I started Seditio in 2014 I did that with a strong urge to change an industry that frequently overcharges clients even for the tiniest amount of work.

The tagline “Don’t play by the rules set by the digital marketing industry. Create your own and become the new industry standard - Putting clients 1st” Is something I still put up as the number one motivation and drive for the company.

With that comes helping companies that need help for free. Even if they have many other agencies on the book taking advantage of them.

What I learned: “Giving Free advice or implementing solutions will pay you back in the long term. Just make sure you set boundaries”

Lesson 4: Don’t leech, move on

This is a bit of a follow up from lesson 3 but I strongly believe that once you reached a point within a project or a client you need to allow for mutual separation. For example, the company changes direction due to a new management change or the rules and regulations within a certain sector make it difficult to further optimize conversions.

These things can happen and it’s vital that if your business cannot be useful within the direction the client is going you step away and provide alternatives. Holding on to a client without being able to provide value is just a rip-off so don’t do it. Be honest with yourself & your client.

What I learned: “When the data tells you A but the client wants B it’s better to step away at an early stage with mutually agreement”

Lesson 5: Don’t settle

After working long days and managing to get a stable income through your own business it’s easy to take a “break”. Don’t (unless you really need to)

The momentum you create by delivering projects while attracting new business takes longer to restart each time after your holiday. On top of that getting back your motivation after a long rest is harder.

I’ve taken a couple of weeks break in my first and second year in business and both times it took me a while to get back in the “groove”.

My 3rd year will see mini breaks of a couple of days max. but no 2+ week holidays for me until the company can run independent of myself.

What I learned: “Restarting the “engine” after a break takes longer each time you stand still. Time to rest comes later, now it’s time to work hard.”