You don’t know everyone. When you have around 40 people you’ll get to that stage where you won’t know everyone in the business. Your role changes from working lots to overseeing others work. You start to get staff that hide, who don’t do as much as they should. When you can watch everyone it’s different in a small team. You will have to hire an HR department, have staff benefits and health and safety becomes more complicated.
Entrepreneurs have this fantasy around having complete freedom. You’ll have this idea that people will work for me rather than you working for anyone. But this is not always true. Noone will work for you, they will work for themselves. If you can match their values then you will create more loyalty. I try to hire people whose career is really important to them. If you understand their values then you can create the best opportunity for loyalty. I now believe that I work for my team, not they work for me. When you have a staff of 80 people you can’t do what you want although you have a degree of freedom, you also have a lot of responsibility.
When you grow mastery of your emotions is key. You can’t talk to people like a piece of shit, you can’t fire people like on the Apprentice. If you talk to people like that, then you won’t get away with it. They will defame and damage your brand online or in person. You have to manage that emotion, be respectful and strategic. Try and give feedback in a way that empowers people. People will and respect that.
What about competitors? You should not be obsessed with your competition, be obsessed about what they do. Don’t get aggressive, or go into markets just because they are. They keep you honest, and you can learn from them. Competitors will create a bigger pond overall as well. In reality, your competitors will be better in some areas than you. You should try and collaborate with them in some areas. We should be focused more on our clients rather than your competitors.
You will hit a ceiling at some point. How do you second guess them and bash through them? We’ve hit a ceiling with the training business, and we are going from 50% to 6% growth. It’s harder to continually sell a product without making something new or innovating. A new launch is exciting. If you can plan and prepare for these products then that will help.
Managing Cash. One million pounds is never actually that, as loads of people get a cut, and you might be left with 15% of that million. There are sorts of overheads and expenses when you grow. You should have a separate account for your VAT. We keep a year’s worth of operating expenses for a year in case we have no sales. We try and take money as close to the product as possible. All these costs are a reality.
You get legal issues. You can get online defamation, you can get to tribunals with staff. You have to plan and prepare for that. Your emotional management is important. If you just fire people then you can get into a tribunal situation. Manage your online reputation effectively, and deal with complaints appropriately don’t threaten to sue everyone.
Balancing Multiple Streams of Income. If you only have one income stream you are at risk. If you do too many things, then you can get overwhelmed and you break. It’s completely chaotic, and you don’t go deep enough down in one model to be successful at it. Mark and I have maybe 8 or 9 streams of income. We take on one thing at a time, systemise the past things, and layer them up over each other. Systemise one a year. It’s important to have multiple streams of leads as well.
New Sources of marketing. Marketing is the most important function. Without any interest and leads, there is no money to convert. Without marketing your business will fail. Marketing is about ROI, rather than the overall cost of marketing.
Your ongoing energy. Make sure you have a variety but not too much. Being around people that I like. Having the freedom to do things that I want to. Are you doing the things that you enjoy? Are you reinventing yourself every few years? You’ll have to seek out the things that you enjoy. I have managed to keep that energy in the business. It might just be a really good conversation or documentary. The energy of your business comes from you.
Market Trends. What is happening in the market? How is VR going to affect training business? What technological innovations are there that will affect your business? Are you on top of that, and how will you adapt? Do you have enough time to work on that high-level areas?
Systems and Processes. Fundamentally you should be documenting everything that you do. Have you got a system in place, a specific processed way of getting an outcome whether it’s sales or finance? One page checklists are the best to operate. Sometimes they can have screen grabs or audio notes. But remember people still perform processes.
Best Moments
‘The faster you grow the more things will break.’
‘You have to get over tour perfectionist edge.’
‘I’d rather be reactive to growth than not have growth.’
‘Business is chaos.’
‘As you get bigger, you will have to get managers.’
‘Having a team will mean you see the benefits of leverage.’
‘You need to keep the feel of when you’re a one-man band.’
‘You have to keep the culture throughout your business.’
‘Your role will change.’
‘Being an entrepreneur is about continuously solving problems.’
‘Try and give feedback in a way that empowers people. ‘
‘You have to manage that emotion, and be respectful and strategic.’
‘Don’t get in fights that aren’t worth fighting.’
‘Sometimes in critical feedback, there is some truth in there.’
‘Focus on your own business, not your competitors.’
‘We should be focused more on our clients rather than your competitors.’
‘If you get complacent then you are dead.’
‘Don’t mistake passion for not being in control of your emotions.’
‘None has control or the right for any market.’
‘One million pounds is not as much as you think. There are always expenses.’
‘Online reputation management is really key and important.’
‘Marketing is the most important aspect of a business.’
‘Always test new ways of doing marketing.’
‘It’s all about ROI data into your marketing.’
‘People still perform processes.’
‘Can you reinvent yourself every few years?’
VALUABLE RESOURCES
- The Money Podcast iTunes | Omny
