Social media is fairly new to me. I have been thinking about building a personal brand, which is roughly why this website exists and why I am writing this.
A couple of days ago I sat down in my office to film myself talking to a camera. I started offering up advice. How to grow a business, what to do, what not to do, all of it delivered as though I were Alex Hormozi.
I had to stop and have a little laugh at myself.
The problem with that
Giving business advice one year into running a business feels completely disingenuous.
I have learned a lot in that year. Seven figure valuation, fifteen members of staff, over twenty active clients whose software we look after, a few other ventures alongside it. That is not nothing.
But most of the decisions I made along the way were not the right ones, and most of what comes next is a learning period. I change direction constantly. I change my mind. I chase shiny things. I act impetuously and rashly.
Every week I look back and think I was stupid last week. And then I do it again the following week.
That is not a position from which to lecture anyone.
I already did this badly once
When I first started the company I filmed TikToks every day, giving advice about things I had not done.
I had not made any money. I had not signed a client. I had not hired anyone or lost anyone. I had never dealt with a client leaving, or the legal side, or what you actually do with the first bit of money that arrives. I was talking as if I had it figured out, and I had done none of it.
A year later I still do not have it figured out. I am slightly closer.
So I am not going to do that again. I am going to document the thing honestly instead, including the parts that went badly, because there are a lot of those and they are the only half that is useful.
Who this is for
When I was starting out in Exeter there were not many people I felt I could talk to. There were established business owners who were content with where they were and not especially interested in changing it. I have met some excellent people since. But very few had taken the route I took, as a university dropout trying to build something in tech.
If you are in that position now, that is who this is for. I like talking to people in Exeter about businesses they are trying to start, and that extends to anyone who wants to talk about it.
The bit I am less sure about
I do not know whether spending significant time on a personal brand will make any meaningful difference to my businesses.
It is easy to see how outreach helps. Hiring, improving processes, building the product, marketing the actual companies. All of those have a visible line to the business growing. A personal brand is more indirect, and I have not yet seen whether or how it will do anything at all.
So I am taking other people's word for it.
Which is exactly the thing I have just spent several paragraphs objecting to. I am aware of that. The difference, I hope, is that I am telling you I am doing it rather than pretending I have evidence I do not have.
We will have to see what happens.
Anyway
A blog post a week, and something on social most days. Some of it will be useful. Most of it will probably be read by nobody, and that is fine, because it will be useful to me to look back on.
If it turns out to be a waste of time, I will write that down too.
That is what I currently believe. Writing it down is how I find out whether I still do.