SoloCamp: a startup experience

Last Friday I attended SoloCamp in Leeds. It was a memorable experience and the most fun I’ve had in years talking about finance, billing, pricing and getting paid.

The day followed the unconference format where topics are chosen by the attendees and then developed in discussion that is facilitated by those who chose to do so.Contrary to what you might think, it is not chaotic and has the advantage of delivering what participants want rather than what presenters think they need.

The topic of ‘money’ came up so it seemed natural that I take the lead, especially as the three sub topics were sales, getting paid and profit sharing. The resultant ‘mind map’ (some might think mind mess) is shown on the left.

Other topics included growth, isolation and self-confidence. I was struck by the way most of the conversations came back to relationship and community. There are topics I’ve been banging on about for years. It tells me that professionals need to get better at these aspects of client management. The good news is there is plenty of opportunity.

For those who are working in the Leeds area, the facilities at Old Broadcasting House are first class. The free coffee is outstanding, solid wifi for anyone using the facilities and co-working space at prices that anyone should be able to afford.

The GoingSolo wiki contains bags of information from the day including attendee notes. For those looking for a summary and presonal reflections, then this page provides an excellent summary. Finally, those wishing to review the Twitter conversations around this event, check out this stream.

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