The more we experience, the easier things become. One thing we are great at is taking action and trying things, so you could say there are plenty of opportunities to learn.
To celebrate their 8 year anniversary they have documented a few of the mistakes they have made along the way…
- Taking Our Foot Off The Pedal When Things Get Busy – it’s hard when you are busy to carry on prospecting for new work but if you don’t continue the lead pipeline will dry up meaning the new enquiries stop coming in! For us converting a new enquiry can take anything from 1 to 90 days. Do you know how long your average conversion takes? It is worth looking at this as it will drive you to continue marketing even if you’re busy.
- Not Understanding The Pattern of Our Business– our financial year starts in February and volumes of work tend to be split at 45% over the first 6 months and 55% over the second 6 months of the year. In the past we have stressed about this and even worried that work is drying up. Now we embrace the process. The first 6 months of the year give us time to breathe, plan and prepare. The second part of the year will be busier and there will be more implementing and getting the job done for our clients.
- Not Communicating Effectively With Each Other – one of the best things we did for our business was to get a Business coach. Steph our coach, check her business out herehas helped us to communicate more effectively with each other. It is hard to have those difficult conversations, at times you can feel like your visions don’t align. We are polar opposites, yin and yang, salt and sugar therefore communicating with each other is crucial.
- Thinking That a Swanky New Website Would Drive Leads – new websites don’t automatically mean you will get more hot leads to your website. In fact it is great content and great SEO that drives people to your website. Your website is essentially your shop window, but your SEO is your footfall driver. Our two top tips for help in this area are Ubersuggestand the principles of ‘They ask you answer’ by Marcus Sheridan.
- Not Going With Our Gut – from time to time you get that gut feeling that you are just not the right fit for a client but it’s hard to turn down work when you’re starting out in business.
This year we have turned away 2-3 jobs as we just didn’t feel like we were a good fit with the client.
Mistakes are inevitable, but what sets successful business owners apart is their ability to learn and evolve. Kate said ‘We are over the moon to celebrate our 8th birthday but our journey hasn’t been easy. Over the last year our team as grown to 5 and we are looking forward to seeing what 2024 has in store for us.’
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