Elemental

This announcement turned up in my inbox this morning. I’ve been involved on the periphery of Sponge and the entrepreneur event in January for a while now. Add to your calendars now!

Wednesday 9th December

As part of Building Magazine’s Sustainability Now event we are collaborating with them to run an online discussion on green entrepreneurs.

The recession has resulted in many talented people being out of work or feeling vulnerable, but has also increased the competitiveness between companies and the potential benefits of innovation. And the sustainability agenda still appears to be strong. We therefore intend to consider questions such as:

• Is the time right for a new breed of green entrepreneurs to rise out of the ashes of the recession?
• What qualities do you need for a sustainable start-up?
• Can successful entrepreneurs offer advice on how best to do it?

The on-line discussion will be on Wednesday 9th December between 15.00 and 16.00.

Discussion Chairman
Tom Randall, Sponge Director

Entrepreneur Panel

• Nanik Daswani, Co-founder of Eco Consulting building sustainability consultancy
• Helen Heathfield, founder of Julie’s Bicycle, helping the music industry cut its greenhouse gas emissions.
• Russell Smith, founder and Managing Director of Parity Projects eco-renovation company.

You can find out more about Sustainability Now, and register for free to take part in the discussion here

Follow-up Event in the New Year
We will be running an evening event in the new year in London to provide those interested in starting their own sustainability related organisation with the confidence and inspiration to make it a reality. We will let you the details as they develop.

admin Events entrepreneur, Sustainability

A few years ago, just before I started this blog and around the time I started my MBA, I followed an eclectic bunch of folks on RSS. At the time there were not that many green blogs and even fewer construction industry ones, and the proportion of UK blogs was much lower. So my RSS feed consisted mostly of marketing, entrepreneur, venture capital and tech blogs from the US. In amongst them was an intriguing proposition called Escape from Cubicle Nation.

Pam’s blog does exactly what it says on the tin. And now she has written a book, summarising the best posts and comments and condensing the advice into a highly readable tome.  Through the magic of Twitter, she requested reviewers to read and write reviews, so I offered to give a UK perspective. Happily, Pam was willing to ship the book over to me and over the last week or so I devoured it.

As you can probably tell already, I enjoyed Escape from Cubicle Nation. It is a lifestyle choice book, aimed squarely at those who are considering a career switch, from something safe and corporate, to something more scary, but ultimately fulfilling. Initially, I was worried that it might be a little too touchy feely, Oprah style. Whilst it’s most definitely not a “butch, get rich quick, stomp the competition and watch them weep” kind of book, it’s not at all prissy and condescending either. Neither is it a step by step “nuts and bolts” book, with spreadsheets and cash flow projections, although she offers plenty of advice as to where to find such resources. The book concentrates on the mental preparation involved in becoming an entrepreneur for the first time. It would also serve as a timely resource for those who find themselves at a career crossroads not of their own choosing, through redundancy.

Pam’s prose is chatty and funny, with healthy doses of reality thrown in. My favourite phrase from the book by far was:

hating your job intensely is not a business plan

From a UK perspective, the advice stands up to scrutiny. Obviously, as the book is aimed at an international market, specific technical financial advice would not be appropriate. Too often I read a book from the US and they are peppered with references to Roth IRA’s and 401k’s. Pam has the good sense to corral all this into chapter 13, which is specifically about addressing benefits (health insurance etc). Very easy to skip over, but at the same time it acts as a mental jog to check out your own situation.

The takeaway lessons from the book from me were the importance of building up a network of support before you make any leap and also the need to check the finances and if necessary plan to keep that ‘cubicle’ job in the short term to finance your dreams.

Why should you buy the book rather than just read the blog? I have a well established fondness for books and there’s something about being able to flag up pages and flick through a hard copy that online just can’t yet compete with. The book is 300 odd pages, whilst Pam’s archives (which I recommend, but for new readers may be daunting due to the sheer volume) has over 42 months of content.

Escape from Cubicle Nation does not release in the UK until 9 July 2009, so I’m truly grateful to Pam for letting me get my mits on it so early. I would heartily recommend it to anyone who is toying with the idea of starting their own business but has been put off by the image of the blood thirsty “personalities” which are portrayed as entrepreneurs in the UK media (such as Dragons Den and the Apprentice).

admin Book Review Book Review, entrepreneur, Pam Slim