How to sell your company with Paul Weeden

12/22/20 • 21 min

In this episode we hear from Paul Weeden who is the first How To Start Up guest to have not only started a company (at the age of 24) but also to have successfully sold it too.

Paul recognises that being your own boss is not as straightforward as it sounds: as it grows, so do your responsibilities. Having sold his business, he is now salaried again and is able to offer an interesting perspective on both employment options, especially amidst a pandemic which has changed employee freedoms forever.
Paul can be reached on [email protected]
Head over to Speakpipe to leave your voice note for future guests too.

Paul’s advice:

Harness apprenticeships where possible if you’re starting out young
Maximise your previous work experience
Allow it to help determine your focus for your company’s aim
Look for clients among people you already know and make sure you tell them what you’re up to
Make sure you are always paid on time, ideally in advance
Don’t undersell yourself
Don’t be shy about referring to your company as ‘we’ not ‘I’
Always be clear and focussed about what you have to offer. It’ll help clients know quickly if you’re a good fit
When you are quoting for a job, make sure you understand what the client’s needs are and what problems they need solving: understand your customer
Know that you must trust your team, and if you don’t, then make the necessary changes
When you’re growing a business, get used to the cycle of ‘storming, norming, performing’
Keep in mind you may need external senior support if you’re the company’s sole shareholder
Maintain transparent communications with your team
In a crisis, always look for the opportunity as with risk also comes reward

Links:

LastPass the password keeping site that syncs between devices.
Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
I use Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory to create this podcast series as well as their super simple hosting platform.
Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.
For contracts check out Law Depot.

I would be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company in 2020 as it helps others to find it.

Hosted by Juliet Fallowfield, founder of PR for startups advisory Fallow, Field & Mason, How To Start Up hopes to bring you confidence, encouragement and reassurance that you’re on the right track.
Recorded, hosted & produced by Juliet Fallowfield and edited by Emma Dewhurst in December 2020. MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link & Licence

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

In this episode we hear from Paul Weeden who is the first How To Start Up guest to have not only started a company (at the age of 24) but also to have successfully sold it too.

Paul’s advice:

Harness apprenticeships where possible if you’re starting out young
Maximise your previous work experience
Allow it to help determine your focus for your company’s aim
Look for clients among people you already know and make sure you tell them what you’re up to
Make sure you are always paid on time, ideally in advance
Don’t undersell yourself
Don’t be shy about referring to your company as ‘we’ not ‘I’
Always be clear and focussed about what you have to offer. It’ll help clients know quickly if you’re a good fit
When you are quoting for a job, make sure you understand what the client’s needs are and what problems they need solving: understand your customer
Know that you must trust your team, and if you don’t, then make the necessary changes
When you’re growing a business, get used to the cycle of ‘storming, norming, performing’
Keep in mind you may need external senior support if you’re the company’s sole shareholder
Maintain transparent communications with your team
In a crisis, always look for the opportunity as with risk also comes reward

Links:

LastPass the password keeping site that syncs between devices.
Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
I use Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory to create this podcast series as well as their super simple hosting platform.
Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.
For contracts check out Law Depot.

I would be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company in 2020 as it helps others to find it.

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

Previous Episode

How to become No.1 at what you do with Geoffrey Kent, Founder of Abercrombie & Kent

In this episode we hear from Geoffrey Kent, who not only founded world renowned luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent, but is also credited with creating experiential travel as a concept. I have long admired A&K for being leaders in sustainability across environmental, economic and social responsibilities.

Geoffrey shares his stories and experiences as an entrepreneur of nearly 60 years’ experience, including a foray into space travel and why delivering a business, service or product that no one else does is paramount for success as an entrepreneur.
Geoffrey founded A&K in Africa in 1962 with little more than a refrigerated ex-Army truck, and the best tents money could buy with the motto ‘off-the-beaten-track safaris’. Nearly six decades later, with Geoffrey still at the helm. If you’d like to get in touch with Geoffrey you can contact his team via [email protected] or A&K plus his book ‘Safari’ is also available.

Head over to Speakpipe to leave your voice note for future guests too!

Geoffrey’s advice:

Have passion, as you need to love what you do: dedication and hard work are what it takes
Never give up, always aim to be Number One
Come up with something new, something that no one else offers
Give your clients all your time and attention
Listen to and learn from others; it helps to take notes
Expect a long working day, and try to start each new day ‘driven’
Think through your decisions, write them down and consider them carefully to make sure they are the right ones
Turn your lifestyle into your business, not the other way around
Plan a business cycle and commit to the years it’ll take
Always put yourself into the shoes of your stakeholders so you know what they really want
Be exacting with your due diligence
Accept that you’re responsible for the company if you’re self employed and that you are ‘the last one in the room’
Never send an angry email; draft it, save it and think about it again the next day

Links:

LastPass the password keeping site that syncs between devices.
Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
I use Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory to create this podcast series as well as their super simple hosting platform.
Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.
For contracts check out Law Depot.

Thank you for listening. I would also be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company in 2020 as it helps other people find it.

Hosted by Juliet Fallowfield, founder of PR for startups advisory Fallow, Field & Mason, How To Start Up hopes to bring you confidence, encouragement and reassurance that you’re on the right track.
Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield in September 2020.
MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

Next Episode

How to manage stress & sleep with Gustav Lundberg Toresson, Founder of memmo

From forming his own startup at 18 and most recently Co-Founding memmo, today’s guest. Gustav Lundberg Toresson, is a Forbes 30 Under 30 board member and a born entrepreneur.

memmo is a platform where the likes of Sven-Göran Eriksson or Carole Baskin can record personalised video greetings for your own friends or family. With over 50,000 greetings to date, anything from proposals to pep-talks have already been shared.

Gustav shares his enthusiasm for the idea that an entrepreneur can - from their initial vision - follow any path she or he likes to turn that vision into a business and why sleep isn’t a waste of time.
Head over to Speakpipe to leave your voice note for future guests too!

Gustav's advice:

Embrace uncertainty; you don’t need all the answers at once, you will find them along the way
You will have many opportunities; the important thing is to prioritise
Focus on your core offering and try not to be distracted
Being disturbed by your phone or email distracts you for longer than you realise
Make sure you have a well thought out product-to-market fit
Be relevant; be aware of local differences in each of your target markets
Sleep can definitely help with creativity, smart thinking and efficiency
Try structuring your days so that you cluster meetings on certain days and keep other days free to concentrate alone
Think about what makes you happy and what makes you anxious; try to interpret things in a positive light, and build on the positives so that you stay upbeat
As an entrepreneur, you can go in any direction you like as there are no rules or right answers
The exciting thing about being self-employed is that you can have a vision and act on it
Try not to let stress drain you; learn ways of dealing with it, including having a mentor

If you’d like to contact Gustav, he can be reached on [email protected]
Plus you can find memmo on Facebook and Instagram.
The book Why we sleep by Matthew Walker is also available here.

Links:

LastPass the password keeping site that syncs between devices.
Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
I use Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory to create this podcast series as well as their super simple hosting platform.
Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.
For contracts check out Law Depot.

Thank you for listening. I would also be delighted if you could rate, review and share this podcast with anyone else who may be starting a company in 2020 as it helps other people find it.

Hosted by Juliet Fallowfield, founder of PR for startups advisory Fallow, Field & Mason, How To Start Up hopes to bring you confidence, encouragement and reassurance that you’re on the right track.
Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield in Septemb

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show