It’s been four months since I started on my own. The first weeks were a whirlwind of applications and registrations, some of which are still in process. I’ve been building up projects, finding my niche, and getting used to and developing my processes.
In the beginning I started by reading a lot of books; everything from business law to marketing to general advice on working from home. I feel like I’m getting an MBA by fire, but the stakes are a lot higher than being in school.
Here’s an overview of what I’ve done in the last four months:
- Registered my business with the WA Secretary of State, the WA Department of Licensing, and filed for an EIN number from the IRS.
- Applied for a trademark on the WYZGYZ name. I still haven’t heard back about that, but the process takes some time.
- Set up a business bank account.
- Set up http://wyzgyz.com.
- Met with a lawyer
- Met with an accountant
On the other end of the business, I’ve been involved with quite a few projects:
- Two contracts back to PNNL to continue to work on projects I was doing when I left. This is my source of income while my other projects are still in development.
- Volunteer development for the Atomic City Roller Girls. I redesigned their site and have been helping them with posting and using it.
- Working on a project called the electronic scoreboard. I built a second prototype, set up a web site, and am currently looking for manufacturers and getting feedback from users.
- And a few more things I’m not ready to talk about yet.
Between learning about and getting used to owning a business, my own projects, and my contract work, I’ve been pretty busy with WYZGYZ. I’m not discouraged, though I have had a couple rough days and some tough decisions to make. Rather, I’m excited that I’m doing this, and I have high hopes for what it will become.