Believe it or not, we turn a year old today!
A year ago today, I was visiting the Gadget Show Live and checking my email to see if my accountant had sent through confirmation that the company was formed. On this day a year ago I received a voicemail from @ovationchris which to this day I still value and attribute to how I ran my business in the early months.
A year down the line and I'm back at Gadget Show Live but this time a lot more relaxed about my future and with a year of business under my belt.
Too much has happened over the last year to mention in a blog post, which is why I want to talk quickly about what has happened, and what is left in store for year two of [codepotato].
First off, some stats on year one.
- My contact book has grown from 20 to 107
- I've sent estimates for 117 projects
- I've just passed 250 invoices sent
- 18kg of Coffee consumed within the year (which equates to roughly 1800 cups of coffee or 4.93 cups a day)
- The company owns a 27" Apple iMac and Macbook Pro that share the same tech spec (this still baffles me to this day!).
- I came second at the original @geekkarting event held at Milton Keynes
- I've attended 4 awards ceremonies and can remember 3.5 of them.
- The best marketing I've done (based on ROI) was buying 52 stickers from Moo.com which cost £12.99 and equated to £4.5k of new business.
- I now run over 110 websites, including my own projects but not including the multi-site installations of WordPress that some of my clients run.
- I'm recommended by Threesixty Services (a leading service support company) and have admirable relationships with other leaders in their fields such as Assureweb, Primetime Retirement, @fireandstone and @wearekopi :)
- I've worked with over ten different freelancers / contractors in the UK and have recently taken on a part-time chap.
And now for what year two holds...
Truth be told, year one was the kind of year I imagined codepotato would have in year three or four. As a result, I plan on upping the ante and setting the sights much higher. Some of the tasks I want to achieve are :
- Take on two or more members of staff and get an office
- Release three of the web-apps we're developing in our labs
- Work closer with providers in the industry (meetings are already in the diary with a couple of big'uns)
- Roll out our ignition service for IFAs and Mortgage brokers.
- Buy more stickers...
- Double the company's income (at least)
- Maintain our reputation as the only company to go to for a kick-ass financial services website!
- Get nominated for an award!
- Get a regular column in a trade magazine
These are incredibly ambitious targets and I'm determined more than ever to make sure these happen. I've already scoped potential candidates for point one above and will continue to progress towards hitting each one of those points over the next year. However, I can only hit each goal with the continued help and support from all my clients and friends I've made over the last year which leads me nicely on to my final point...
A TRILLION THANK YOUs
Seriously, no amount of pixels can ever show how incredibly grateful I am for the continued (and ever-growing) support of [codepotato] within the industry I love. I would absolutely love to name names and give examples of those that have helped over the past year, but I would rather thank you personally the next time we meet or talk on the phone.
Today is a very special day for [codepotato] and I hope that every client and friend of ours joins in with celebrations. If you normally have one coffee a day, go make yourself a second cup! If you normally eat salad or soup for lunch, go treat yourself to a bacon butty!
All that's left to say is ROLL ON YEAR TWO!
Thank you,
Gareth!
p.s. If you would like to tweet any birthday messages today, please use the #cpbiffday hashtag. Let's get this trending!