Why thinking and not doing can hold you back

As a business owner you often find that you have to turn your hand to many new skills, but a little trust can set you free and create new opportunities.

Since leaving my role in a well-established design agency in 2011 and setting out on my own, the learning curve has been akin to a baby learning to walk. Over the first couple of years we found ourselves suffering the standard issues that affect all businesses at some stage or another; lack of time, cashflow and specialist skills. Not only that, there are one or two creative agencies in Auckland already.
For a while we experienced a strange phenomenon with the amount of opportunity coming our way. There wasn’t any shortage of enquiries or interesting brands to work with, but a lack of time to even brief or discuss the challenges faced by the client.
This seemed to be a barrier at first, but then it dawned on us that we were taking the wrong approach to solving the problem. Our current clients and potential clients were not looking for us to provide just a creative outcome (logo, business cards, brochure etc) but to guide them through the minefield that is communication and marketing.
When a business has a handful of staff members the desire to explore new ideas often comes at the mercy of the ‘daily grind’ of getting through the workload; so how can a country made up of small businesses expect to grow?
In 2012 we were introduced to Scott Rice from Quantum Events through a business associate. This was their first foray into working with a ‘creative agency’ and, as you can imagine, there were some nerves at first.
Part of the initial process for Scott was to find a partner that really understood the vision he had for an already extremely successful business. Having created one of the world’s premier ocean swim series, he had quickly carved out a reputation as being one of the most capable sports event organisers in New Zealand.
The unique aspect of the relationship for us was the level of detail and sharing that the Quantum team offered early on. There was a desire for us to be able to appraise the past activity, build upon the legacy and drive it to new heights – everything was up for discussion.
As the relationship grew we were provided the opportunity to influence more and more of the decisions made around their every move, both online and offline. With significant stakeholders looking for results, complacency was not an option. With in excess of 20 events throughout summer, the winter is spent reviewing participant numbers, their behavior and how the next season is going to deliver yet more value.
As we enter the second season in the partnership the benchmarks set are being challenged in every aspect of what we do. We agonise over the smallest detail to get another one percent conversion online, making sure that our brand tone is inclusive and that we can activate the goodwill of longstanding participants through social media.
From early on both parties knew that we had to grow together to get the long-term gain. The expectation is that we only make decisions that are in the best interests of the client’s business; this means challenging even the simplest task to get the right result. Sometimes this is more about what you leave out rather than what you put in.
Due to the fluid and unpredictable nature of this business we have put in place processes that enable us to deliver outcomes daily aligned with agreed monthly budgets. This makes a far more manageable outcome for small businesses working together – to be able to invest in a monthly fixed fee encourages ongoing activity and therefore removes the barriers of large capital investment and the lack of time to implement due to resource constraints.
This thinking is fuelled by my membership of Entrepreneurs Organisation (Ignition), which focuses on creating learning and growth, not hoarding of information – and like any entrepreneur we are encouraged to ‘boldly go’.
If we can look at every relationship as a safe and trusted environment, very quickly you find you work with the right people who you know will only do good by you and your business.

Creating trust
The way I see it is that we are taking the rabbit out of the hat and showing clients the inside to create trust. This gives them the ability to manage their own expectations in areas of their business where they may feel they lack some of the tools to be successful.
Our goal is not to become their external marketing team, but a trusted partner that will bring new energy and ideas to the table without all the formality; therefore closing the gap between what they know and what they do.
Throughout New Zealand there is a growing understanding that collaboration and intellectual investment in each other’s businesses can provide huge growth and prosperity on a domestic and global scale. Without the desire to search out and seek talent outside your own business we risk becoming a nation of businesses that are simply standing still because we don’t have time to grow.