In September, The Editing Company began its 10th year of business. We have been celebrating our anniversary by offering 10% discounts, 10 complementary 1-hour consults, and 10 chances to win TEC swag through our Twitter raffles. Our team also had an extra-long lunch (on the Company) at a local restaurant.

Year 10 will continue until next September, and we will continue to offer excellent services, building on our strengths and editorial know-how. As one final note of celebration, I want to describe 10 amazing things about TEC to mark this amazing milestone!

1.       We made it to 10!

No one ever tells you just how hard it is going to be to build a business. Which is probably a good thing because if those of us starting up a new venture really knew, we might not take that leap. And it truly is a leap of faith. When I began the business 10 years ago, I was inspired, and it was this inspiration that propelled me through the long hours, the steep learning curve of how to build and manage an editing business, the financial worries of making ends meet, and finding the right editors to be a part of this endeavour. I also subscribed to Harvard Review of Business and Rotman Management Magazine, I read business blogs and took courses and seminars. Around year two or three, I read that if a business lasts 10 years, then that business is going to succeed. We have made it to Year 10! This is definitely a milestone to celebrate!

2.       Amazing team!

One of the ideas behind building an editing company was the opportunity to work with other editors who enjoyed the hard work of polishing academic, non-fiction, and business texts. I felt this would give us an editing space where we could hone our skills as well as share in each other’s company. I had no idea how to do this until I met with an entrepreneur who had started his own business and built his team from scratch. He told me how he had gotten started by hiring one or two assistants on a very part-time basis and setting up workspaces for them in his home office. He couldn’t offer more than the minimum wage, but he could offer the excitement of being involved in a start-up. I took his experience and made it my own. I started out by hiring one editor who worked for eight hours a week, then hired a second editor who worked another eight hours a week. When we moved into a “real” office space and bought a few more desks, it allowed us to expand our team and hire a third editor. Today, there are three or four of us managing the editing projects that come to us. It is the hard work of TEC editors that makes the business what it is. Each of the editors who has worked here has contributed significantly to the quality and excellence of our editing service. Those of us working here today, continue to polish many a manuscript as well as our own skills and abilities as editors.

3.       Amazing website!

In addition to our existing network of clients and the word-of-mouth referrals that helped the business grow, we added our amazing website. It took a good nine months to write and construct, and the work was worth it. We have been contacted by an amazing variety of possible clients over the years, some of whom have worked with us and others who dropped by for information. It is always wonderful to know that clients find us online. Our site has played a key role in building our presence. In the coming months, we will be updating the site and tweaking it to reflect the TEC we have become as we enter into the next decade.

4.       Amazing clients!

The Editing Company began with a strong base of clients in academic and higher education publishing. From this base we were able to reach out and network with new publishers, academic journals and scholars, and educational journals and organizations. Complementing our relationship with our academic clients is the relationships we have built with businesses and organizations. While it has taken some time to build these, we now have an exciting roster of clients whose projects range from training modules to resource guides to management magazines. We also work with many independent writers who send us their blogs, book manuscripts, and articles. The breadth and diversity of our clients inspire us, challenge us, and offer us amazing opportunities to practise our craft.

5.       Amazing learning!

From our amazing clients comes amazing learning. One of the greatest advantages of being an editor is the lifelong learning that comes with the trade. This is one aspect of editing that I have always valued.  From proofreading webliographies, to editing and producing resource guides for associations, to carefully editing the demands of academic works within the humanities and social sciences, to proofreading annual reports for financial and engineering firms to training modules – the variety is astounding and inspiring.

6.       Amazing bookkeeper and accountant!

One of the first courses I completed when starting up was a four-part series on the essentials of running a business. It was there I learned how important it would be to have an excellent bookkeeper and accountant as part of my business team. I have had the good fortune of working with a knowledgeable and supportive bookkeeper over the past seven years. Not only does she manage the details of QuickBooks, but she also provides insightful advice and direction about the business. Her constructive feedback is enhanced by the advice and direction I receive each year when I meet with my accountant. Their professional financial advice has been essential to laying the solid groundwork that has helped TEC reach Year 10.

7.       Amazing support!

Support of TEC comes in many amazing forms. We have the ongoing support of our clients who refer us to their colleagues and associates, and who bring us their projects on a regular basis. TEC’s editors have provided support through their hard work and dedication. My friends and family have been stalwart in their encouragement, especially during difficult moments of growth and learning. Our financial team and our website team applaud each successful year, and we have received many a congratulatory note recently through our Twitter raffle. Thank you to all who have sent us their good wishes!

8.       Amazing chocolate and tea!

What is editing without chocolate and tea? Tetley or Red Rose? Earl Grey or Green? Enjoy a KitKat with that, or maybe a Reese’s. One of our editors noted how delighted she was at her interview to know there was always chocolate on tap at the office. At TEC, chocolate and tea remind us to take breaks and reboot our editorial energy.

9.       Amazing indulgences!

At one time, our newsletters included photos of the amazing indulgences we enjoy at the office: scones, cupcakes, Timbits, boxes of chocolate treats. We celebrate birthdays with cakes and scones, and we share mini-cinnamon rolls at team meetings. We also enjoy lunches together at local restaurants or pubs, and last December we enjoyed our first week of indulgences – during which we could enjoy treats, both edible and not, whenever we felt like it. Truly, food is the nectar of this team of editors!

10.   Having the idea 10 years ago!

How great that I wanted to jump into something new 10 years ago. How great that I had the idea to build an editing team of excellent editors to service a wide range of clients, be they communication specialists, academics, non-fiction authors, business managers, bloggers, self-publishing authors, and more! It has been a demanding, challenging, and amazing decade. I can’t wait to see what comes next!

Thank you to all who have made TEC what it is today!