Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in marketing but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Wesley Cude, Managing Director of Cude Design, located in Leatherhead, Surrey, UK.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a web-building agency specialising in emerging trends. For example, four years ago, we began working with clients looking to launch their own CBD brands. There are many obstacles in their way, such as finding a payment provider.
Now we are venturing into providing NFT solutions with WordPress, making it easier to integrate the pair. This has led to us launching our own WordPress plugin, which will make the integration of web3 functionality easier.
Tell us about yourself
I started to develop websites as a hobby as a 15-year-old. I hadn't realised it could become a career until eight years later as I began to sell websites to customers in a pub I worked at. Slowly my portfolio grew, and I realised I could make a real living from it. I have always wanted to travel from a very young age and realised that creating an age would allow me to be location independent. For the last ten years, I have been traveling globally and building an agency.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
From being a kid who could only do part-time school due to anxiety to building a sustainable business with zero investment that allows me to be location independent and travel the world solo.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Not to take things personally. When dealing with clients and providing services, it is important not to take hard situations personally. This allows you to deal with uncomfortable situations with a clear head but also ensures issues at work do not spill over into your private life and your downtime with friends and family. Leaving work issues at the workplace. In the early stages of building my business, I was obsessed, every issue felt like a mountain, and I would talk about it to death in my personal time.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don't wait for perfection before starting your business. Get the business moving and see whether you can create some traction before spending too much time and money making everything perfect before you even know if the idea works.
- Take one thing at a time: Often, you can become overwhelmed by the number of tasks that need to be done. Just take one thing at a time, be patient and over a long period, all those little things build up and come together.
- Seek out business advice from people who have a proven track record, take on board what they say, and use it as a reference, not the law. Trust your own abilities.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.cudedesign.co.uk/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVsxBmBuBwP363J_YY9Wj3w
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cude.design/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/562DBbwO9dDuZL5OMJk2Gh
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cude-design/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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