12 MONTHS

AS AN
ENTREPRENEUR
Ideas, noodles, troubles, laughs and
dreams

WARNING

THIS IS NOT A GUIDE

MERELY A RECALL ON MY LAST
YEAR OF ACTIVITY
AND WHAT I WISH I KNEW 12
MONTHS AGO

ABOUT ME

FREDERIC CHANUT

Experienced Suit & Marketing Guy

Closet engineer
Special powers:
Can see company through Googles goggles
Workoholic and near insomniac
Self aware, daredevil, stubborn
A bit slow but learn skills quickly
Terrible driver taking unsuitable vehicles
across the globe in the name of charity =>

ABOUT ME

DONT REALLY HAVE TRAITS OF

AN ENTREPRENEUR

ABOUT MY IDEA

A HYBRID MODEL OF MARKETING

AGENCY

Try to combine effective tools and leverage

implementation for most effective results.

Issues:
Bootstrapped
Limited client base
No experience running an agency

ABOUT MY COMPANY

WHY DID I STARTED

Of course because it was cool, thrilling and exciting but beyond that
I wanted to scratch my itch.
As in-house marketer, I couldnt find decent agencies
I developed a certain passion against the whole agency model.
As an ex-agency worker, I found how dreadful the process was for
anyone with a touch of sagacity
Rather than bitching about it. I decided to see if I could change it.

ABOUT MY SITUATION

SO I HAD
the ambition, the vision, most skills
But

I was unsure of my vision

I didnt know where to start
I didnt have the xp
I didnt have the cash

all of that cost me a lot (time & $$)

ABOUT MY SITUATION

WHAT I WISH I KNEW BEFOREHAND

Reality/Difficulty
Literature
How to Setup
How to Position my offering
What Resources I could use

How to trust myself

REALITY/DIFFICULTY

HOW PICTURED IT?

REALITY/DIFFICULTY

THE ROLLER COASTER

10

REALITY/DIFFICULTY

HOW IT FEELS SOMETIMES

(STILL NICE VIEW)

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REALITY/DIFFICULTY

PERSONAL LIFE TOLL

+15 Kgs of fat

Min 70hrs work

Rarely see my GF

No/Limited physical activity

No social life

Only a few people understand your situation

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REALITY/DIFFICULTY

QUIT ENTREPRENEUR PRESS

13

REALITY/DIFFICULTY

FAME, FORTUNE, FLAMES

14

ADJUSTING THE COURSE

FINDING MARKET FIT =

FOCUS
Picking the wrong niche = near death of any startup
Revised my offers.
Stopped taking on small biz and Startups.
Getting more clients
Higher quality
Healthier
Happier

15

ADJUSTING THE COURSE

PIVOTING =
MOVE ON AND QUICK
Cant do everything at once.
Pick on thing you are really good at.
Build on it and consolidate later.
Learn to Say No

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ADJUSTING THE COURSE

BE PATIENT

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ADJUSTING THE COURSE

18

LEARN TO ADAPT
Google Changes

Source

RESOURCES

19

Link

WHY WE MEASURE

Source

20

21

WHAT TO MEASURE

RESOURCES

FINANCE
Focus on your financials
Automate the management

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RESOURCES

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KNOW YOUR WORTH

Average Work Week

60hrs

Hours per annum

3k

Time frame for sale

5 years

Total hours invested

15k

Exit worth

$5 Mln

Salary paid

($60k/yr)

300k

(5,000-300k)/15 = $313 per hour

RESOURCES

LITERATURE
Purple Cow Seth Godin
The e-myth
KPI Key Person of Influence
Rework 37 Signals
Startup school Seth Godin
The 8 weeks startup
Lean Startup Eric Ries

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RESOURCES

HARNESS TECHNOLOGY

26

CHOOSE THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Very few can build a success alone. Tools cant help w/out people doing
the work.

RESOURCES

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CHOOSE THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Watch out for:

Bad fit investors
Juniors/ Interns
Wantrepreneurs
Technicians/ Experts
Equity schemes
Business partners/ co-founders

Get instead

Client revenue
Contractors
Hire slow. Fire fast
Take classes
Wait if you can
Are you marrying the right guy

STARTUP = AWESOME

2013 WAS A BLAST

AND HERE IS WHY
46,000,000 bytes Initial data used for our latest 'little' experiment
+10,000 SEO visits/mths to one of our SMB client.
1,026 coffees - conservative consumption estimate
+306 % visits to our site from last year
+157% SEO visits in just 2 months
151 Events attended to learn, network, teach
7 Digital cadets trained at In Marketing We Trust HQ

#1 rated presenter at a leading event for Search Marketing

professionals. (I am scared of doing public talks btw)

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