John Bedford is the founder and editor in chief of VivaFlavor (https://vivaflavor.com/), a site dedicated to helping people explore their love of food and drink.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

I started my career in sales, but I’ve spent the last decade or so working as a journalist and editor. Although those are two very different worlds, the confidence I gained from selling - and the targeted approach to progress - has complimented the editorial aspects of the business to a surprising degree. 

What inspired you to start your business? 

I’d had the good fortune to spend the last ten years working for a company that encouraged and rewarded staff for starting new initiatives. I learned a huge amount about SEO, content research, and site-building during this time. 

Having worked in the same field for so long, I decided it was time to take that knowledge and explore one of my other passions instead. 

Where is your business based? 

I am currently “enjoying” lockdown in the sunny south of England!

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took? 

Research. Lots of research. Before leaving the company I spent many evenings researching content, keywords, and building the technical foundations of the site itself.

By the time I’d handed my notice in, I had enough foundational work to keep me busy for more than a year. That meant I could focus all of my efforts on making my “product”.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business? 

The best way of raising awareness for me has been to focus on making the best content that I can, and then promoting it to anyone I think might be interested in sharing it with their audience. It’s still early days for the business, and so the main focus remains on building something worth sharing.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them? 

I had worked from home a great deal in my previous career, but I had not appreciated the difference between working from home - with the option to hit up the office when you needed to - and working on your own. 

There’s a real sense of isolation to be dealt with - not just in terms of physical distance from people, but assuming sole responsibility for the fate of your business.

 The only way to overcome this is to go back to the basics of your business and evaluate whether you have the data to justify worrying about your progress. 

On the social side, I’ve tried working in coffee shops and libraries but it’s really not for me. I’ve made more progress by talking very openly about my doubts and fears with my wife and closest friends. 

How do you stay focused?

It all comes back to planning. I know what I need to get done because I’ve researched it so thoroughly. It’s a very simple operation in many ways, and it’s a case of just working through the content pile. If I don’t do that, the business won’t work - that’s all the focus I need!

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

The content I produce in terms of research and execution is made to the very highest standards I’m capable of. I put everything I have into it.

That’s not to say others don’t work hard, but I am never satisfied with “good enough”. I just can’t do it and I’m constantly tweaking and improving my approach.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business? 

I do a lot of outreach to other bloggers working in my niche, provide insight for journalists to help build the site’s visibility, and contribute guest posts where I can.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Even if you’re bootstrapping your business entirely, write a business plan for yourself, and just as you would if you needed a loan from the bank. Assign targets to all aspects of the journey, and focus on hitting them as quickly as possible.

The first three months are absolutely vital. Your enthusiasm at this stage will be at its highest, and the doubts that come with running any business will catch up with you sooner or later. Better to give yourself the best foundation possible, as quickly as possible, so you can answer those doubts when they come knocking.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

I don’t use a lot of apps so I have to give a rather boring answer of WhatsApp I’m afraid! While the pennies are being counted, it’s been invaluable in maintaining social contact with the good friends I made in my previous career. 

I’m more of a forum dweller than a blog reader, to be honest, and I have a wide collection of subreddits that provide insightful posts in my field.

I like books that challenge assumptions and really shake you out of the drudgery of our very narrow human view of reality. The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene popularizes some of the most complex aspects of physics without diluting them. On a more human level, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari is an extraordinary story of how we got to where we are now.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

Ahrefs without a doubt. From keyword analysis to networking research, there isn’t an area of my business that isn’t supported by the tool. There are lots of similar services that do certain things better, but it’s hard to beat it as a Swiss army knife for any online business.

Who is your business role model? Why? 

Rupert Loman, the founder, and CEO of my previous employer of ten years. It was a company everyone in the industry wanted to work for and recruitment was highly selective. He engendered an entrepreneurial culture across the organization, and people were trusted to be the expert in their field.

Management for management’s sake was all but prohibited, and there was a real sense of agency in our work. I would find it very hard to go back to a different way of working! 

How do you balance work and life? 

I’m extremely fortunate in that I invested in a garden office before making the leap to start my own business. I also purchased a dedicated work laptop that’s used for nothing but the business.

When I’m on the laptop, I’m working, and when I’m in the house I’m not. As excited as I am to be on this journey, it’s the third priority after being a good husband and father. Those things are more important to me. 

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

I spent much of the last ten years working in the videogames industry. While I love food and drink, of course, I have to say I still find far too much time to unwind with Nintendo!

What do you have planned for the next six months?

I’ll be doubling down on the basics of content and networking. Those really are the foundations of the business, and it’s important to avoid the temptation of tinkering with shiny, new, and exciting things that don’t drive the fundamentals of the site forwards.

How can our readers connect with you?

As the foundations of the site are focused on SEO and organic growth at this stage, I’m yet to focus on growing the social media side of the business. I’d love to hear from more people on Twitter and Facebook though!

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