I called the marketing agency I’d been waiting to hear back from on Tuesday afternoon and found out that they were “impressed with me but had made a strategic business decision to hold off on hiring for the position”. I was weirdly not upset. The CEO wanted to go ahead and get a meeting on the books for a month or so to “check in” and “see where we both stand” or something along those lines so December 5 I’ll go into their office to chat. So it’s not a definite no, it’s a not now. Which I think is better than a no. I think they were anticipating some new business and it didn’t come through or some of their clients may have scaled back their social media contracts with them so they wouldn’t have the money to afford someone in the position. I’d rather wait and possibly take them up on the offer later than risk starting and then being let go soon because the money wasn’t there to keep me on.
I sort of expected to have another job search freak out at this point but I was calm and only slightly disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I still want the job but I’ve somehow managed to be alright without it for now.
One of the reasons I think I’m ok with this is because I’ve had an idea rattling around in my head for a while and this has motivated me to go for it.
I’m going to start my own marketing consulting business.
I know it’ll be really hard and it’s definitely riskier than just taking a traditional job but I know I’m capable of doing it. I’m still working out the specifics and I’m sure there will be a lot lot more to come on the subject. Right now I’m struggling with finding a name…
Image Courtesy of Lululemon
So that’s where I stand. Still unemployed but excited about the scary road to starting my own small business. As always, any advice or suggestions for names for my business are welcome!
Recent University of Edinburgh MSc Marketing grad and UNCWilmington Communication Studies alumus. Fascinated by branding, event, social media, and interactive marketing for business. Works at Eleven Mass Media
Don’t pigeonhole yourself with the business name. Keep it simple. KH Consulting, or something. You never know, it could grow to be much more than you think. Think of big ad agencies, Ogilvey, Saatchi & Saatchi, GSD&M. The last thing you want is some quirky name that ties you down to just “marketing” consulting, you could expand to media purchasing, graphic design, social media strategy etc.
Thanks for the advice, I’ll definitely keep that in mind when I decide on something!
Won’t recommend a name, but have had some experience with branding companies and I would strongly recommend you use:
https://domize.com/ – for finding a free domain name
and
http://namechk.com/ – to see if the social profile name is available
Also, start consuming as much info about How-tos, Best practices, B2B strategies, etc. for consultancies.
Furthermore, don’t spend too much time thinking about how you will go about positioning yourself, writing any plans, or thinking about things that don’t matter much at this stage. The only confirmation you can get that this idea of yours is valid is by convincing somebody to pay for you services. Doesn’t have to be much, just proof the concept.
And remember, have fun! Working for yourself is fantastic.
Later,
Gummi
Thanks Gummi, I appreciate your input, especially since you’ve done this sort of thing before. I hope Iceland is treating you well!
I will try and think of names – but good luck with this big decision!
Thanks Joe and NC says hi!