On the roots of my passion...

Where does my passion for business come from? To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I've always been interested in starting businesses from a very young age (my first business idea was a bit duff, aged 9 wanting to set up a paid 'fairground' in my parents' huge garden for the local kids to patronize!). I used to think it was because of the money-making aspect behind it, which I've now realised is false.

Money isn't a motivator to me. Of course; I'd love to have lots of it to give away to charities, spend on my friends and family, like most people, but it's not my reason for doing things. For me; money is a by-product of running a successful business, profit and cash flow are like oxygen, the business needs it to survive and prosper.

My parents' were self-employed for almost 20 years; yet although this is shown to increase your likelihood of becoming self-employed yourself, I don't think this is the reason either.

Business is probably the thing that excites me most (please don't tell my girlfriend this!). I lie in bed and night and analyse particular business models; be it a global corporation like Starbucks or the local newsagents at the end of my street. I sit and wonder what it is that they are doing right, wrong and how I could improve on it. I'm standing in line at the cinema; waiting to buy tickets and I literally CANNOT stop the cogs turning in my mind, wondering how they could treat their customers better, serve them faster, make the experience more enjoyable or improve the product on offer etc.

THIS is why I'm embarking upon this journey. It's not some sort of lifestyle choice. It's not a resolution to somehow improve my life or prospects. I'm doing this because I HAVE to, rather than want to. For the past few years whilst I've been involved in a very enjoyable, "lifestyle job", my mind has been continually asking me the question, "OK; so you've had your fun, when are you going to start a business?!"

If I don't do this now, I'll always wonder. It's the perfect time for me, despite the state of the global economy. I have no dependents; I have no mortgage payments to worry about, and apart from my wonderful girlfriend, I have no obligations to anyone but myself.

Business is in my blood. I'm not particularly sure why, but it is. What's the thing you're most passionate about? Think about it for a few seconds. It's not an effort to think about it, because you enjoy it, in the same way I do with business ideas. I think about fleshing them out, design logos, develop business plans and imagine them becoming brand names. This all might seem like pie in the sky, but now is the time for me to act and actually do it. 2010 is going to be a huge year...

My business interests revolve around the allocation of private capital; this is precisely the sort of businesses that lower prices, improve or provide customer service and enhance the quality or variety of products or services on offer.

The allocation of private capital is important, individuals are constantly looking to get more for their money. This is the reason why businesses are continually looking for ways to increase their efficiency. This theory is explained below;


"A) You can spend your money on yourself, in which case you will strive for a mix of the best bargain and the best quality. B) You can spend your money on someone else, in which case you are still interested in a bargain, but the quality of the product or service becomes secondary. C) You can spend other people's money on yourself, in which case price is no object but quality becomes a great concern. D) Finally, you can spend other people's money on other people, in which case neither price nor quality is of great concern."


This is the reason why I'm no socialist; I believe in a true free market, the like of which we don't have today, and the creation of a 'surplus of capital' which can then be reinvested in further production, Smith's classic 'division of labour' argument.

Business; and individual labour for oneself (small businesses in particular), is a force for good. My particular dream is to earn enough to set up a microfinance foundation, in order to kickstart small businesses in developing countries and really improve people's daily lives. A rather huge dream perhaps, but dreaming big is the only way I know how. Hopefully this explains why I believe business is a force for good, rather than some sort of evil, greedy deed.

'Business Boy', Seriously?!

OK; so I decided to address this early on, so I don't look like some sort of bighead to anyone out there reading this. I doubt I'll ever have a swathe of signed-up readers, as this is a personal journal rather than some sort of life-affirming business advice 'go and do it for yourself!' site, but on occasion there may be the rare person who stumbles upon this.

So, what's in a name? 'Business Boy'? Well, it's certainly nothing to do with the 'urban' use of the term. I certainly don't think I'm some sort of business guru; indeed, this whole experience is supposed to be a steep learning curve. I'm sure as I dictate my experiences; people may see obvious mistakes I've made, and I expect I'll make many along the way. "All I know is that I know nothing," as Socrates once said. There; see, I told mum that social sciences degree would come in useful some day!

Anyway, I'm no business guru. Secondly, I specifically used 'boy' instead of 'man' to show my relative inexperience. So; why, use a superhero as an alter-ego? Well, I truly believe in the power of business (and small businesses in particular) to do good and improve people's lives, despite the unfriendly business environment we live in in this country. I'm also an ardent Libertarian, and so see business and the power of choice as an ultimate ideal against the power of a corrupt; inefficient, bloated state and public sector.

So, hopefully that sets the record straight.

It Commences...

So I need a first post to start this 'journal' off. I've been sitting around trying to pen something profound for almost an hour and have come up with nothing, so decided to just get on with it!

The premise of this blog is pretty simple. As of January 2010, I'll be attempting to get 5 very different businesses off the ground in just 12 months, from a standing start! At least I hope they're all very different, since I haven't even thought of ideas for all 5 yet! I'm sure this 'thing' I'm about to embark on seems like an almost impossible proposition to most, but I'm willing to give it a shot, if only because if one or two or three or even four fail, hopefully at least one of them is bound to succeed, even in these credit crunch times.

I thought this might make an interesting book; so I thought about writing a book, but that's not my style and probably requires too much co-ordination. A blog is much more my way of doing things, a space to ramble idle thoughts to myself and where I can curse bad luck and celebrate good fortune at the same time. So; today, I created this blog as a journal of the forthcoming events. I hope this is interesting; or funny, if not educational, to those of you who end up reading it.

Hope you like the logo and the parody of myself as a superhero...