I’ve created many small businesses. Early on, I realized I didn’t want to work for someone else; I wanted freedom.
When I was about 18, and when smartphones were far from being as good as they are now, I started a photography company.
Practicing multiple sports, and working for a local newspaper, I knew many people in the field.
I went to sport competitions, events, celebrations. Taekwondo, judo, karting, swimming, archery, dance… That was great.
But that could have never happened. One silly mistake still haunts me to this day.
Don’t Be Cheap
Being young, I did not have a lot of money. I started working at a young age though, so I had save a few hundreds euros.
I did well. The camera and the photo printer cost.. quite a lot for a young guy. So when it came to buying “the rest”, I did not want to spend too much more.
I bought some random paper sheet to print the photos. Not glossy, not premium, no-name.
When I went to my first competition, I was pretty happy of the pictures I took. I even had a few people wanting to buy them!
I started my first print. It came out badly.
“No problem” I said to myself, “that happens”.
Printed a second time. Bland colors, smudgy quality.
One guy had already handed me the money. Seeing the result, he whispered to his friend:
“Don’t buy one, the quality is shit”
Of course, I heard him. Of course, I was mortified. I took it personally. In hindsight, it wasn’t my work that was bad, per se.
Photos were good. On the laptop screen, at least. But I wanted to spare a few euros on the paper, and it turned out that my work, in general appeared as “shitty quality”.
After spending over 1k on the equipment, a 20€ saving cost me my first competition revenue. And could have cost me my business.
Reputations are made quickly.
Empower yourself
After that, as soon as I got home, I ordered the best quality photo paper, Epson Premium, Glossy, you-name-it.
It turned out great.
My work turned out great. At last, people were happy, and stopped whispering about my work, hindering my young confidence.
I was now proud of my work. But as a young man, Dunning-Kruger effect hits hard.
I could have done much better though. We can always do better.
More info about the Dunning-Kruger effect is here.
I should have sought guidance. Not only the YouTube tutorials. A real guidance. A mentor.
A mentor would have advised me about paper quality. They would have known. Been there, done that.
A good guidance can avoid many mistakes, and gain so much time. A good mentor can quickstart your business hard.
Having a mentor, maybe I would have picked the right events. The ones where I could have good point of view, good lighting, etc.
Lessons Learned
Now I’m much older. I started (and learned from) many other businesses. I stopped being cheap.
Saving a few bucks can cost you a lot. The first impression is the one that lasts, so you better work on it.
I’m now the one guiding and mentoring startups. I’ve helped project holders and CEOs for the last 15 years, and the errors they make always come from the same pain points:
- Being cheap. Tool-wise, or human-wise. Sure, experienced professionals are expensive. Of course, junior techs can be great. All that depends on the project. But deciding that only based on wanting to spare money is always a bad idea.
- Not getting guidance at the beginning of a project, hence making bad decisions (HR, budget, processes, tools)
Which leads to failed projects, and even more bad decisions (which team members to keep, how to communicate effectively with customer, how to deal with technical debt and create new process…)
If you want to start a project, go for it. Fully. Don’t be cheap. Don’t hinder your confidence, don’t make a bad first impression with your MVP or product, don’t have regrets.
Invest in your project, and in yourself. Getting the help from someone who have the expeience, who made the mistakes, will save you valuable time and put you ahead of the competition.
That’s what I still do, either directly or indirectly, with Dr Mehmet Yildiz (Main) and Tim Denning for writing, Mandy Liu for social network presence, or Veronica Llorca-Smith for mindset and motivation 🙂
Who I Am
I am Sylvain, I’m an Expert Technology consultant, with 20+ years of experience. I help CEOs and project leaders optimize technical projects and improve processes so that they can save time and money, avoid mistakes, and scale efficiently.
You can check my services here, and book a free call to talk about your project.
I also write a free weekly newsletter on Substack, about Technology and Business Strategy for startups. Feel free to check it out and subscribe to receive next editions.
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