Time to Graduate

Graduating Class of 2015 in Small Business Management

I’m not sure many of you know about all the work which go on behind the scenes of learning the craft for Publishing and running a small Business.  To tell you the truth, nor did I. It has been a great journey so far and there is a lot more my business has to teach me as technology and business changes and improves. The ups and downs of seeking clients, the knowledge I pass on, and most importantly (well for me) is figuring out what I should be charging.  I  need to have a realistic business which can one day support me.

Plaisted Publishing House Ltd was formed on the 31st July 2014.  To early and too eagerly.  I learnt a lot over the following few months.  Taxes and GST (VAT in the UK), this is something  I didn’t need to pay due to the fact my income would be no where near $60,000 a year.  This will take some time to accomplish. I am building my business slowly to gain the experience needed to give everyone the best I can.

My biggest job so far was working with ‘Awethors,’ a group on Facebook.  Together we have produced 4 Anthologies to help market over fifty indie authors.  The exercise was a great success with lots of learning along the way.  Due to the type of Anthology all books were put together for free and can be downloaded from Amazon, Kobo, Apple, Inkstra etc for FREE.

Since April 2014, when the idea bloomed to be a publisher, I have had sixteen clients, many  from New Zealand, along with others in Australia, Canada and United States.  It has been a very enjoyable experience and one which I hope will continue.

In March 2015, I decided it was time to update my business skills.  I applied for two courses and much to my surprise I was accepted onto both.

The ‘Incubate Program,’ is a ten week business course for small businesses run by Rotorua X.  It is an excellent course, well presented and luckily for me funded.  I enjoyed all the visual learning which showed me the area’s a needed to tighten up on and progress to the next level.  All the other businesses were well advanced compared to me, though this in itself showed me the different timelines businesses go through as they grow.  I graduated with a certificate.   As you can see from the photo, I’m a bit scared when I was giving my speech about my business.

The other course I attended was ‘Certificate in Small Business Management, Level 4.’  This course was through Te Wananga  o Aotearoa here in Rotorua.  I attended the course once a week for three hours, listening, learning, getting to know other students and their businesses.  It was an amazing time, some areas of learning more difficult than others.  Mine of course were financials.  Totally lost it.   Our tutor, Heather, was amazing and the best part of the course to date. We still get together for the occasional coffee or lunch to see how everyone is going.   Due to the fact I enjoyed this course so much I have applied for Diploma in Small Business Enterprise for 2016.

I found out two weeks ago that I passed Level Four. I am now looking forward to our Graduation in a couple of weeks.