Burning the midnight oil

Late last year, I just went for it. The Knoble was an idea that I had shelved for nearly a year to focus on my new full-time job as an academic advisor. In the meantime, I wrote on blog networks and small publications to stay sharp and build credibility for when it was time leverage new and existing relationships. In the process, I was approached consult with my marketing background.

Consulting for an established media company was as beneficial to me as I was to their business. They shared tried-and-true methods on operating a sustainable company and I introduced new software tools to create more efficiency in an already well-oiled machine. This opportunity let to the next consulting gig with a fashion startup called NeoBantu, which let to the next gig with an small architectural firm.

Somehow I was able to excel at my full-time job, while consulting on most nights and weekends for months. Even more exciting was the fact that I was living off of my consulting fees alone and was no longer living paycheck to paycheck. But I new this wasn't a lifestyle that I could keep up, nor did I want to. I thank my close friends for giving me the space I needed to figure this out on my own. My family even noticed the inconsistency in long-distance calls. I let them know that I was working 60-70 hours a week to hopefully work for myself in their near future.

The fruits of my labor

November came around and it became apparent that I was in a position to make a big decision: Leave my job to take on another client or leave my job to turn The Knoble from an idea to a reality. (Notice how both decisions involved me leaving my job.) By then, I decided to sign a January lease with a friend to save money and was getting around on a scooter that got 90 miles per gallon. In this scenario, I had 6 months worth of my new rent in savings and felt compelled to take the leap towards entrepreneurship.

I came to a decision by realizing that if I took on another client, I would spend the majority of my days working for other people. So I put The Knoble on Kickstarter and raised more than $5,000 in contributions from friends, family and a few new supporters. In the days following, I collected a few offline contributions from people who were just as busy as I was during the holiday season. Running that campaign was the scariest and hardest thing I had ever done. Yet the result gave me the confidence I needed to putting a deadline on my corporate career.

Minimal viable product

I tell my friends to “always bet on yourself” when they’re thinking about starting a new business or reaching for an opportunity that is laden with uncertainty. I took my own advice by turning my living room into a studio and teaching myself basic video editing. I had no website and no major media contacts. But what I did have was hustle and a passion to make The Knoble a thing.

Since the campaign, I have been using the success of it as leverage to get buy in from new and established content creators, as well as setting up meetings with nonprofit organizations. The Knoble, won’t be a hobby or a part-time thing. I’m committed to putting in the long hours it will take to make this a huge success. Otherwise, I could have continued moving up the corporate latter with the medical benefits and 401K that many in my position will live comfortably with. I’m looking forward to the unknown in the brave new media world.

Feel free to connect with me at ahrif@theknoble.co. If you find this helpful, then follow the collection and hit the recommend button so more people can see it.