Guest Blog: Anthony @ Tree Two One

This week we asked Anthony from Tree Surgery Business, Tree Two One to guest blog for us, and he has given aspiring entrepreneurs some top tips!

This week we asked Anthony from Tree Surgery Business, Tree Two One to guest blog for us, and he has given aspiring entrepreneurs some top tips! This week we asked Anthony from Tree Surgery Business Tree Two One to guest blog for us, see what he has to say!

My name is Anthony Maunder I am 34 years old and I have been running Tree Two One since November 2014. As I approach the completion of a second successful year in business I feel that I should share some useful tips to help you take that first step in self-employment.

 When I was considering the leap in to self-employment, I found myself reading or watching videos that seem hard to relate to or that after the bombardment of good advice and top ten lists, I found myself slightly bewildered!  If you are just starting up and you feel the same way, I hope that my words can help you make your decisions or at least keep the fuel in the engine.

 Here are a few things off the top of my head I would say are things are of help:

• Don’t be afraid to think ‘You’ can do it. ‘You’ can! Every Oak tree once was an acorn and all it needed was a little soil (Idea/service/product) and a little light and water (market/opportunity/contacts). It’s like when you say I’m going to start the Gym or go running you know its within your ability but you have to put your kit on and get out the door and the more you get out the door the easier it gets.
• Diversify! Do you have another string to your bow? Can you sell your service or product by other means? When I started out I sub contracted until I had enough work coming in from my own marketing and advertising. This can also help on your expansion and growth if you manage to make solid contacts.
• Be active on your marketing. You can’t get noticed unless you’re always shouting. Make use of Facebook it’s very easy to administer and can reach a wide audience. Get yourself on Google+ as a business. It’s very easy to make and verify an account which links to Google maps and your YouTube if you are making marketing videos.
• Participate in local shows or fairs. It’s one thing to be spotted around town in your sign written truck but to add that real stamp of legitimacy get in arms reach of your potential customers or word of mouthers.
• Be friendly. Try and spark up conversation and find common ground with your customers. I have found that if you are approachable and interesting to talk to then your customer needs a real good reason not to use your service or product. It’s the fact that your customer blindly trusts you to provide and back up what you have said you will deliver. Being beaten on price doesn’t always mean you get a better deal…. Pay peanuts get monkeys or be reassuringly priced.
• Don’t worry if things go quiet but don’t rest on your laurels be active in some way to positively increase you likely hood of business. Do an hour of marketing or research ways to diversify or look in to new vendors for your product.

 So there are a few things I would say would help if you are reading this then you have aspirations to be self-employed and you are pretty much looking in the window of the sports shop thinking what trainers will I get, just go for it!!! There really is no rule book and as long as there is enough cash flow to support your outgoing then there is always next week or month to take a new run up.

 Lastly, it’s better to try and fail, than to have never tried.