Personal Development
Starting your own business
Professional magazine asked Jason Davenport MCIPPMIoD, CIPP chair and founder of Calendar Consulting , to reveal his progress as a consultant and to provide helpful advice for those considering a similar venture
● What motivated you to set up as self- employed and/or to incorporate? – I had managed my career by taking on lots of opportunities to learn and grow. Both nationally and internationally, I have run operational teams and managed many tactical and strategic client relationships. Equipped with a broad range of skills and experiences, I felt the time was right to move to consultancy and create my own business. ● What services do you offer? – With experience in public and private sector payroll services, as well as in-house and outsourcing at a national and international level, I am able to offer all that for clients that may either be experiencing difficulties in their arrangements or needing advice in how to approach a situation. ● Did you identify a gap and/or a demand in services that you wanted to fill/exploit? – My first opportunity was passed to me by the then CIPP chair, Eira Hammond, who had received a request that she was unable to complete herself. That original ten-day piece of work gave me the confidence to set up. ● What skills, qualifications, and competencies do you consider essential for anyone contemplating a move to self-employed or setting up their own business? If a person does not have these skills how can they obtain them? – Motivation is incredibly important; being a father of three means I am driven to provide for my family and to ensure I do the best I can for them every day. As a founder of a business, you must do everything: find the opportunities, sell your services, write proposals, and complete prospecting daily, as well as handle IT, finances, and legal positions. It is vital to maintain relevance. I am
move? – You cannot know everything, and best to just get started. ● Has any part of your move turned out different to what you expected? – The level of satisfaction from doing a great job and being thanked for it, is a wonderful feeling. I have built up a mutual respect with each of my clients and look to them as colleagues. Engage and understand your clients on a personal level, and it will be so much more rewarding. I am also a business mentor now to several managing directors within small- to medium-size enterprises and that has been incredibly rewarding personally, too. ● Is there anything you wish you had done differently? – Take time to pick the right accountant. If you are starting a professional services business, get an accountant who specialises in that field and therefore can understand your challenges and help you with issues you will face. ● What are the most important issues and the lessons you have learned? – Whatever happens, good or bad, it is down to you alone. Networking is especially important as is following up quickly. Maintain an open mind always. I have continued to learn new things over the last three years, that I had no view on before. ● What advice would you give to anyone contemplating becoming self- employed/consultant? – Ask yourself what you want to do, challenge yourself both to understand what your costs are, so you can price your rates accordingly, and to know if you will have the determination to succeed. Spend on business and financial education and training, as it is an investment in you. And, finally, go for it. I have found the entire experience to be extremely rewarding. n
extremely fortunate and thankful for being a member of the CIPP board, meeting Chartered members and providers in the industry as they are sources of excellent forward-thinking intelligence. ...word of mouth references is crucial for business success. Continuing professional development is key to ensuring you do not become staid and outdated. I am also enormously proud of Professional magazine, which is an incredibly rich source of information and a great member benefit. ● Are there any specific things which proved crucial to your success? – Always be authentic and true to yourself. You must manage the client and not over-commit. If you cannot do something state that. Act quickly and getting things done is also particularly important. Put your client first and think more broadly than just the issue they are facing. Adding value at every interaction and taking and providing feedback, means you can help client teams develop at the same time as delivering a solution. This is also incredibly rewarding personally. I use the principle of ‘teach a man to fish and you feed him for life, rather than give a man a fish and feed him for a day’. Always look to build legacy, so that when you are finishing an engagement the client has been enriched. Having word of mouth references is crucial for business success. ● Is there anything you wish you had known more about before making the
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 67 | February 2021
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