By 1.Biggest mistake?
Trying to do everything myself. We’re a small business and, like many business owners, I’ve had to manage different aspects of running my company; accounts, marketing, customer service, and producing the product. In my particular case, the product is web design.
Up until 2016, this was fine. But then we got busy. I worked 8 am - 10 pm most nights, and Sundays were just another working day. The first thing to slide off my to-do list was marketing. I was arrogant enough to think I didn’t need it, what with all the clients rolling in.
But they quickly petered out, and I hadn’t done any marketing in four months. I neglected the one thing I shouldn’t have.
Now, I have a dedicated person looking after customer service, particularly aftercare. I work with several freelance copywriters to help me with my content marketing. And I pay an accountant to handle bookkeeping as well as the accounts.
This releases me to do the things I’m good at - designing websites and marketing. My weaknesses are finances, administration, and writing copy. I’ve learnt that it’s far better to get more capable people to do those things than struggle with them myself.
2. A lightbulb moment
"Stop trying to be amazing and start being useful." This is a quote by Jay Baer, who wrote "Youtility". I now try to remember this quote whenever I publish content online.
Everywhere you look, you see companies trying to go viral or jumping on the latest craze to reach more potential customers. This could be doing anything from the Harlem Shake to writing an opinion piece about Donald Trump. There’s pressure to get involved. Which is difficult when you’re shit at dancing and don’t want to spend one more second thinking about orange Voldemort.
After reading the quote from Jay Baer, it became apparent that people are after actionable, helpful advice. That doesn’t mean it can’t be entertaining, but I no longer get caught up in the whirlwind of what’s popular. In other words, I try to stay clear of any Wanky Bollocks ;)
3. Tip for tomorrow
Go to live events (preferably paid events). I went to my first marketing conference in Sept 2015, and that's when everything started to pick up for me.
Many of us work from our laptops, and while this gives us incredible freedom, it can sometimes feel isolating. By attending conferences, I was able to make valuable connections and friendships, meet industry leaders, and even gain new clients in the process.
Since then, I’ve spent around £10k in conferences and events, and they’ve delivered a healthy return on investment as well as developing my personal skills. If you view it as a marketing expense, it helps put it into perspective.
