I gave a presentation at my old high school on the topic of "things I wish I'd known back then". It was part motivational, part educational. The slides don't tell the full story, but hopefully they'll ...
I gave a presentation at my old high school on the topic of "things I wish I'd known back then". It was part motivational, part educational. The slides don't tell the full story, but hopefully they'll be useful to someone.
Lily Grozeva, SEO & SMO Consultant at AllviaWeb, Sofia UniversityLove slide #18. It is non sense to do great work, PR and networking included, and still to believe cold calls are you best way to go. If you have to do it you simply don't do great job at the main thing you do.1 year ago
Pat Marcello, Owner/SEO Manager at MagnaSites.comThis is great, Will, and I'm surprised there are no comments. Just starting out on my own, and doing the cold call thing every day. It's hard slogging, but you hit the nail on the head. If you don't do it, you're done. Thanks for all the great advice!1 year ago
I wish I knew… Will Critchlow Founder, Distilled (2005-) Alumnus, St. Aidan’s (1991-1998)
This is my best friend – we met playing basketball at St. Aidan’s in 1991
This is my brother – he left St. Aidan’s in 2001
Somehow, we’ve grown a decent business
It wasn’t always this way – back in 1997, we made £800 and got sued.
In 2005, we made a go of it – we made £36,000 in revenue and learnt the value of getting things in writing
Overnight success takes years It’s really easy to stop here
We didn’t make a business plan – we got talked into college, then “sensible jobs” – which earnt significantly more than the business initially http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianvisits/5458806574/
Can I have some advice please?
Stop worrying what others’ think. Things don’t always work out great for the cool kids
Hang out with people who are smarter than you: you will come to resemble the people you hang out with
Business friends rock – you don’t get a network at “networking events”. Just like you don’t make friends at “friend events”
No, you can’t have a pony – you aren’t owed anything. Make your own way. Lead without permission Not yours Idea unashamedly from: http://media.b-list.org/presentations/2008/djangocon/reusable_apps.pdf
Curiosity is your best asset – I learnt Python and Django to (help) build our video store. It made $15,000 in its first month
NBED How to get hired – example of Ed Anyone can get hired – don’t scatter-gun CVs. Choose where you want to work and impress the hell out of them A guy younger than you lot made this to impress us
“For everyone who comes in here talking about the team they are going to hire, there are three others out there that did hire people” http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/01/28/on-leadership-teams-success-happiness/
Read these books: http://dis.tl/j53cJghttp://dis.tl/kgbEqrhttp://dis.tl/mqxG0j
“You need to make cold calls every single day otherwise your business will wither and die”. We didn’t. It didn’t.
Once you leave college, it’s not cheating any more – attribute sources, but copy away. Give yourself unfair advantages http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/05/whats-high-school-for.html
From here on out, do something you love– if you don’t, you’re “doing it wrong”
I hope I’ve given you some useful advice. Remember as you make your way into the world that most people don’t know what they’re doing “Never compare your inside to someone else’s outside”
Will Critchlow, Head of R&D Feel free to give me a shout with any questions or for any further advice you need.
Amplify Interactive
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