Success secrets

The Power of Plain Words

With only a shoestring budget and a plastic garden chair to sit on, Janet Basdell created a thriving technical writing company with top clients and a £2.2M turnover.

In a frank and informative interview she reveals how it was done.

For Janet Basdell, an experienced technical writer, the mission was simple: to stop working for other people and to set up her own firm.

Inspired by Ernest Gowers’ “The Complete Plain Words”, the not-yet-surpassed classic on English usage, she decided to set up an authoring company that would make reading technical documentation a rewarding experience – rather than one that leads to tearing your hair out. Users might hate software manuals, but she would change all that and make them clear and easy to understand.

Such was Basdell’s belief in her concept, she even went as far as naming her firm “Plain Words” (with the blessing of the Gowers’ estate).

Hard Work, but it Paid Off

Building up the firm, however, was hard work – especially as she was self-financing. But, in the end, it paid off. Plain Words is now a leading technical writing, training and specialist recruitment firm with many blue chip clients in the technology world.

Plain Words interviews the boss

But how did Basdell take the firm from nothing to a £2.2M turnover? To find out, Plain Words’ Editorial caught up with her during a brief hiatus in her busy schedule, and asked what led to her founding Plain Words.

“I was working for a technical documentation company based in Greenwich, and was offered the chance to become MD of the company. I was extremely flattered and it was a great opportunity. But I decided not to take the offer.

Some might have thought this was madness. But I stuck to my guns and duly stepped aside to allow them to appoint someone else. I continued to work for the company as a consultant, and my own business grew very rapidly, initially with work from the Newbury area. In fact, I soon needed to take on authors to cope with the amount of work.”

What kind of thinking is needed to go beyond being a permanent or contract employee to creating an organisation?

“Luckily, I am naturally an organised and practical person with a disciplined but flexible approach to things. So that was a good start. But I had to call on all these elements of my character because my abilities were stretched with each new challenge that presented itself.

I think you need grit and determination to get through the tough times, the will to keep going, and faith in yourself. It’s been an eye opener to me how many things you need to juggle to run a successful business. It only started to get easier when I was able to recruit people to take away some of the responsibilities – but at least I’d ‘been there and done that’ in every job in the company, so I knew what skills were required.”

How did Plain Words begin? Who was involved?

“I started on my own, working out of a spare bedroom. I asked a couple of friends who were technical authors if they’d help me put together some brochures and my husband created my first contact database system. I then set about marketing my services.”

How did you go about marketing and promoting the firm in the early days? How did you get it off the ground?

“It seems incredible now but I actually used Yellow Pages and business directories in libraries. It was a time-consuming and tedious process. I looked for software companies initially, phoned them up and asked them how they produced their user documentation. Surprisingly I got a lot of interest very quickly.

I didn’t get any loans or any grants when I first started. Apparently, I didn’t qualify for a grant because I hadn’t been made redundant from my previous job! Having recently bought a house I wasn’t flush with cash – I just had enough to buy a car (I’d had a company car with my previous job), a PC, printer and fax machine. I couldn’t even afford office furniture. My husband somehow managed to use the carcass of an old dressing table to build me a desk with chipboard and I used a plastic garden chair to sit on. I did, though, have a lovely view of the garden from my office window!”

What was your main personal inspiration in setting up Plain Words?

“When I read articles about people who have started businesses, they often talk about having a vision or an overwhelming desire to achieve something. I can’t honestly say that I felt that. I liked the idea of being ‘freelance’. I’d done this before as a translator when I worked in Italy. I also felt irritated that technical documentation is always seen as the ‘poor relation’. I felt sure I could convince people that good documentation is a real asset by explaining the benefits. I suppose I like a challenge!

I think that if I’d known how hard it would be in the early years I wouldn’t have done it. But having started down that road it starts to take over and you’re determined to make it succeed. I used to read statistics about how many businesses failed within the first three years and even the first five. When we reached those milestones I felt proud that we weren’t just another statistic and the longer we survived the more I wanted us to succeed. If I have any philosophy at all it’s – don’t give up!”

How did you make the move into a £2.2 million turnover? How is it done?

“We always structured the company for growth but tried to keep our overheads low. When we started we didn’t have offices at all – I worked from home, as did my authors. This wasn’t as common in 1991 as it is now and some clients were sceptical that it could work. I was managing a team of authors who worked remotely – it took a lot of organisation. I needed to be able to brief authors well and have a good quality control system in place to make sure that the work met the required standards.

We soon proved that it was a viable way to work – with the added benefits of a good work/life balance and being ecologically friendly (no commuting!). As we started to grow we considered getting premises but decided against it. Home-working was becoming fashionable so that wasn’t an issue any more.

We moved to a house that had a large office in the garden – enough for 7 people – which we’ve now filled. We continued to take on authors who work from home. We now have authors as far a field as Cornwall and Leeds. We’ve also built up a database of over 4,000 documentation professionals – authors, editors, instructional designers, etc, who we can call on to boost our regular team when we need to. It was this flexibility that enabled us to handle a large project lasting 3 years that involved 18 authors at its peak.”

July 13th, 2004
Plain Words Editorial

Janet Basdell on…

Working from home

“I’m a strong believer in the advantages in cost savings and productivity of having our authors – and myself – work from home. Staying lean and mean in this way enables us to compete with the big hitters and make a profit, despite sudden downturns in the economic climate.”

Work/home life balance

“I often put down the phone after talking to a major corporation to go over to the house and put the washing on. Or if I have to work late I do it from home by hooking my laptop into the company network. This means I can relax with the cats and sip a gin and tonic – and it doesn’t feel like work.”

About Plain Words

Plain Words has been providing technical writing services for thirteen years. There are four main aspects to the business:

1. Technical writing consultancy to help businesses and organisations create online Help, user guides, procedures and training materials;
2. Search and selection service specialising in documentation staff, trainers, localisation experts, project managers, and web content developers;
3. Writing Skills Training Courses;
4. Bids consultancy and training.

Further Reading

The Complete Plain Words
by Sir Ernest Gowers

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140511997