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Kadeza blog post Hi guys. It’s Kadeza here and I’ll be
blogging about my business KDEVISION in this series. Welcome to my studio! I’ve only
been here a little while, only a few weeks.
Today I had a very special delivery which is my laser cutter there, my Rayjet. It’s
basically the biggest asset of my business, it helps me make all my products and I’m
more self-sufficient now as I don’t have to outsource it, which is great. The business
feels a lot more real now I’ve got it and I have to start doing some work!
It’s nice having my own space, paying rent and things like that. It gives me more responsibility
and also drives me to want to make money to cover those costs. I also have a part-time
job and I think a lot of small business owners tend to have another job until they’re making
enough money that they can leave their day job and support themselves on it. So it really
helps with small things like travel and those kinds of day-to-day expenses and it gives
me a little leeway when I’m not making much business.
So, how did the business start? I guess by accident, I was still on placement when it
happened. Some of my friends saw a lighting project I’d done for university and said,
‘can you make me something like that?’ It snowballed from there with other people
asking and making orders, so I think it gave me the confidence to think: ‘maybe I’m
on to something, maybe I’ve got a good start and it’s actually worth something’. I
think as soon as someone puts money down and makes a proper order, and it’s not family
or friends, and it’s not just because they’re being polite, it makes you feel that maybe
I can run a business, I can make some money from my skills.
I also took part in some enterprise activities at university as part of the enterprise department
and society, I’d go to some of their seminars in the evening and took part in some competitions.
I won some money and office space, which I really didn’t expect. But, again, it’s
such a big confidence boost and it gave me that drive to continue, even though it was
part-time while I was still studying. Two years later now, I’m on the graduate scheme
and I think that’s from taking part in those enterprise activities and having those contacts
and people having an awareness of what I’m doing.
So it’s been such a great start and great support and I think that’s what a lot of
people need: that confidence and empowerment to feel like they’ve got something to offer
and it’s worth pursuing because there is a lot of time commitment. I think having a
part-time job helps me and drives me to make this business work because it’s always nice
to be able to do something you enjoy all the time instead of going to work—which is sometimes
not great!
So hopefully I will show you more of what I’m doing as a start-up and the things I’m
going through. Maybe do some FAQs or something like that. So do let me know!
A quick tour of the studio: the door’s on my right and I’ve hung some pictures on
the wall that I like; a mini kitchen space with a kettle, no microwave or anything like
that just yet; the desk which has a computer; laser cutter, materials up there; really sunny
window; and there’s my second desk which is two metres long, really good for crafting
as well. Like I said, I’ll do an in-depth tour once I’ve got everything I want, I’m
still buying chairs and bits-and-bobs that I need.
So I’ll see you next time, thank you! Bye!