I can hardly believe that this little company is already officially six months old. Now, technically I started things on February 28, with some work going toward it during the shutdown in December and January. In reality I didn’t get things going until April. So it’s around six months, and it’s time for a pulse check.
Back when I was in real estate, they used to say that it would take six months from zero business to your first commission check. I did a little better than that with LP&G Cyber Communications, finishing my first paid work in August and my second and third paid projects in September. I have a pipeline, and work that I am currently completing, so we are not looking at zero again. That is all good.
I made a mistake early on with some marketing decisions that I regret. They cost me a lot of money for no return on investment, and I learned my lesson to do more homework before making certain decisions.
I worked with Lisandro, a college student, during the summer, giving him an opportunity to get some interning work while giving me some much-needed help ramping up. Now I have Aziza, who has brought some great ideas to the company and who is tenacious about figuring things out when I would have given up. Janice, known around here as “Our Lady of Contracts,” has gotten me to do the paperwork, get it in writing, and send contracts to her to make sure they are written correctly before they are signed. You’d think it is obvious but when you’re small and people want to do things with a handshake, you have to learn to be firm or you might not get paid.
I joined an amazing networking group, BNI Sterling Silver. It is through this group that I have made most of my connections and gotten most of my business. Although my desire to keep this company moving toward government contracting/subcontracting is still prominent, they have made connections for me that have shown me that there is plenty of commercial business to be had.
And truly, I am happy to have worked with some amazing people so far and proud to have done some beautiful work.
I’m looking forward to the next six months and moving forward and building more.