If I had it my way I’d already have my marketing tools (website, business cards, etc) and I’d be out working with clients. Unfortunately I’m learning that starting a business requires plenty of patience or lots of money to expedite the process. Because I don’t have lots of money, I’m currently attempting to be patient.
If only learning patience was as easy as getting a tattoo…
On top of the email address and Twitter account I registered last week I registered a website domain and started a Facebook page. Working on the website (which I’m doing through WordPress) has demonstrated exactly how little I know about coding so I’ve adding that to my list of things to learn. While I’ve registered these accounts, they have pretty much nothing on them. I’m struggling to start populating them with content because:
a) I don’t have a logo or a color scheme
b) I have a website but I don’t have it set-up enough that I want people looking at it so I don’t want to list it anywhere yet.
I’m working on getting a logo designed, my friend sketched some great concept starting points that I know a graphic designer could build off of to make it into a digital image. I’m at the same place with the website, I have an idea of how I want it to look but I’m struggling to translate that onto the webpage itself. I know a good number of talented graphic and web designers capable of doing a phenomenal job but I have pretty much no budget to pay someone $25-$100 an hour to do it.
So I’m stuck:
– I can depend on the kindness of my friends who are all employed full-time and have busy lives of their own to help when they have the time. Which I’m incredibly thankful for but when I’m asking for a favor from someone I don’t feel ok putting them on a deadline or rushing them, it’s just not right in my mind.
– I can pay someone to do it but that would increase the likelihood that somewhere down the road I’ll need to take a job I don’t particularly want because my savings are gone. It would decrease the time I have to get CaptivateQC off the ground while I know I have savings to pay for the cost of living.
– I can focus my time now on improving my graphic design skills and knowledge of coding/web design so I can do it myself. I love the idea of getting good at both graphic and web design but that will take lots of time. If I’m going to depend on CaptivateQC to generate enough cash for me to at least get by on then I need to get it up and running sooner rather than later.
It’s the classic “time vs money” dilemma.
Is it better for me to:
-Get it done well and quickly by paying someone to do the logo and the website
-Get it done slower but for free and maybe have a lower quality result (especially if I do it) by either learning and doing it myself or depending on my friends’ generosity and infringing on their free time
I don’t know the answer yet.
Working on it ok?
I’m contemplating my paid vs free dilemma but in the meantime I’m:
– Reading articles and tutorials on WordPress design and graphic design while playing around with both a bit
– Working on a campaign for my newspaper client in Edinburgh
– Working on more details of my business model
– Friday I have an exciting meeting with a family friend who has been in the same sort of business for 12 years and is willing to share his wisdom and experience
– Approaching some potential clients I already have a relationship with to see if we can work together, hopefully early next week
Advice is greatly appreciated.
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
Compelling Momentum 
Kati, would like to talk to you about a job.. and, you should really put your contact info on your Linked in site if you want peop to contact you 🙂
It is a position where your marketing and event experience will be a huge help. Pls contact me thru email then we can set up a time to talk joe@PromoMoJoe.com
Thank you!
Great thanks Joe! I’ll shoot you an email. And I just checked my LinkedIn, my contact info is public so I’ll have to find out why you couldn’t see it. Look forward to talking to you!