To start, own and run your own business is not for everyone. Many people have wonderful but are not blessed with the skills, business nous and sheer bloody-mindedness necessary to keep going when things are tough. In short, they don’t have the kind of ‘entrepreneurial gas’ that fuels the fire and separates those who will make it from those who probably won’t.

The economy hasn’t helped. We read that things are improving and the green shoots of recovery are sprouting up around us. Yet interest rates are on the rise, the Aussie dollar is on the rise (affecting anyone who exports) and the number of small businesses being sold is also on the rise. A disheartening dose of reality, but one which can be overcome if you are prepared, passionate and thick-skinned enough to really want to own and run your own business.

And it seems like there are a lot of us and the number is growing. The GFC has encouraged, by default, many individuals to rethink their corporate career and branch out on their own. SMEs currently generate a staggering 30 percent of our country’s wealth and employ half of all private sector employees. There are over two million small businesses in Australia.

So, what does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? Here are seven tips gleaned over 15 years of trial and error.

1. Know what’s important to you and what success looks like

Taking the plunge to run your own company often means you will need to be available 24/7, especially in the early days as you ramp up the business. They are busy, heady, exhausting days when you truly believe the sky is the limit. Your family and friends are likely to cut you some slack, understanding that it is the beginning, however an absent, distracted family member can soon wear thin.

My advice is from your earliest days focus on (or stop to re-focus on) what success look like; what is not negotiable and what is truly important for you. Maybe it’s having weekends off to spend with your family, maybe it’s being at the school to collect your children or freedom to pursue a hobby without asking permission. Maybe it’s something completely different, like ‘giving back’, travel, committing to sustainable and energy efficient policies, employing ‘local mums’ or promising to be ethical and honest in all your business dealings. For many, it’s a combination of the above, but it really helps to articulate what’s important and plan to make that work for you. One of my favourite pieces of advice is that you can’t hit the bullseye if you can’t see it.

2. Prioritise your business plan

Do you have a business plan? If you don’t, now is a really good time to write one. Look at what people are buying; determine what problem you are solving. Do you have an elevator pitch? Can you articulate what you are doing/making/selling in 30 seconds? Who are your best customers? How do you reward them?

If you do have a plan, get it out and brush it off. Keep it somewhere you can see it, and refer to it often.  I often carry mine round in my briefcase. Try not to drift. Again, it’s very hard to hit the bullseye if you don’t have a target. Make the goals SMART; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-driven and Tangible so you will know when you’ve hit success.

Having said that, be flexible. Small business is about being open to be nimble and agile and able to respond to changing market conditions and your customer’s needs. If you need to redefine your plan, do it now. If you haven’t already, get rid of excess, innovate, review your processes and cut all unnecessary costs.

3. Hire carefully and let your staff know they are important

This is possibly one of the hardest and most overwhelming tasks faced by new business owners. There is no magic formula for getting it right, but time brings experience in getting the right people on the bus, on your journey. Have a look at your business’s culture. Are you young and funky? Professional and conservative? Full time or part time? There is value in looking outside the square; students and graduates, part-timers, part-time senior mums, part-time mature people with lots of experience, men, women, Gen X, Y and Z and anyone else in between!

Consider training budgets and each individual’s motivations. Not everyone is motivated by money. Consider a three-to-six month probation period, setting appropriate KPIs and have tight, legally checked employment contracts. Be clear about your expectations and communicate frequently with your team so they know your priorities and pain points. Be prepared to counsel frequently, reward good work and have some fun times.

4. Sieve the business

Literally pour your business through an imaginary sieve as if you were sifting flour. Anything that stays in the sieve is almost certainly worth keeping. Anything that falls through – you can probably discard. Recession is a great time to clean a business out. Some of the big headings to consider are infrastructure: renting or purchase your premises, short or long-term contracts, rent or buy furniture etc; funding v self funding versus borrowing, business or charity and learning to love your bank manager.

5. Outsource

I am a big believer that we are never good at everything. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. And coincidently, we are usually good at our strengths and struggle at the skills we don’t enjoy. As a business owner you don’t have time to struggle. Find experts to do the things that take you time, so you can concentrate on what you are good at. Outsourcing to experts is important because it is often cheaper to get someone else to take care of the tasks you resent or simply don’t have time. Know your strengths, but understand you can’t know, or do, everything. Find good people you trust to do it for you.

6. Networks, mentors and your IP

Who you know, how you met them and how you keep that information stored is perhaps the foundation of your most important intellectual property: your database. Customers, prospects, suppliers and influencers should all be stored in a workable medium, giving you ready access to the people who are going to keep your business alive and well, in all its iterations. Get out and meet the right people who will influence, grow, buy or assist the growth of your business and increase your spheres of influence. Collect business cards and store the information where you can email, mail or contact it efficiently and easily.

7. Marketing

No matter what your business is, you need a proficient marketing toolkit. Know what you are offering and tell people clearly and regularly. In its broadest sense, your marketing toolkit should contain database and direct marketing activities, industry updates, newsletters, events and response driven advertising. Specifically, your sales pack should include testimonials and case studies, clearly branded. You are your brand, so make sure how you behave reflects your business standards.

Finally, use common sense. Know your strengths, do more with less and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Ask the dumb questions. Work your customers, work with your customers and work for your customers. Deliver on your brand promise. Be passionate, believe in yourself and your product and keep the entrepreneurial fire in your belly burning.

–Sharon Williams is CEO of Syndey-based Taurus Marketing (www.taurusmarketing.com.au) and a member of the Dynamic Business Expert Panel. She also blogs regularly on the website.

The naming of the new Kraft product Cheesybite proved to be a highly amusing spectacle. Whether or not the antics employed by Kraft in the naming of its new product were a ploy to gain publicity or a genuine naming gone wrong saga, the company has successfully launched its new product with hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of free publicity.

While I understand this was a launch of a complementary product to an existing household name, the whole debate got me thinking about the wisdom versus the perils of rebranding, especially when it might affect an existing, highly successful, universally known and loved local brand, such as Vegemite. I mean what can go wrong with a brand as strong as Vegemite? There isn’t much to stuff up. Or is there?

Rebrands through the ages

In a two-minute office poll, we were able to come up with a list of rebrands that inspired significant media debate and opposition at the time. These included the reformulated Coke in the 1980s, the ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’ Australian tourism campaign and the British Airways image update in the mid-90s. It would seem however that often the short-term pain endured by a rebrand will offer long-term gain, especially if you consider the huge kick to product awareness generated by all that free publicity.

When New Coke was launched in 1985 to replace the original, much loved existing Coke formula, there was a huge public outcry. The new drink was considered a failure and the original formula reinstated. Although I would argue that this was a ‘bad’ or poorly researched rebranding exercise, the overall result was very positive for the original Coke formula, with a major spike in sales, renewed popularity and a consolidation of customer commitment. The advertising agency and head honchos at Coke might have taken a lot of flack, but was the product damaged? Not that I can see.

Rebrands gone wrong

Then consider the campaign to market Australia to the world. “Where the bloody hell are you?” was not popular with Australians when it was launched and, even more importantly, not popular with anyone anywhere, as the tourists stayed away in droves. GFC or poor tourism campaign, the campaign itself became well known, with opinions and blogs turning up everywhere. Unlike Coke, it would be interesting to see if the customers showed their displeasure by searching out the product despite the campaign. And maybe Australia will get on the holiday agenda for many for whom the campaign failed for first time round.  Let’s hope the next $20 million the Government is planning to spend on a new branding campaign is perhaps better researched!

Rebrands for mergers

A different circumstance is when two companies merge and there is a solid argument in favour of rebranding for e.g. the launch of BHP Billiton in 2001. In this case, there is an overall sense of double the strength of two iconic names, greater efficiencies in advertising, marketing and general business costs. There is almost a window in which the market expects changes to be made to the look and feel of the brand as the new company revises business objectives and positions itself for future growth and success.  At the time, the company received a lot of criticism for the estimated $400,000 rebranding spend, but I am not aware of any damage at all was done to the brand of either or both of these two companies. A good outcome overall.

The green shoots of recovery are wonderful words of optimism and I am all for ‘cup half full’ forecasts. But for some, particularly in certain industries, we will need to batten down for a longer term, recognising of course, that for some, business is actually booming in these times.

It goes without saying that we are experiencing some of the biggest changes in modern history, both economically and technically. These include an exponential rise in the use of social media, improved technology, a challenged economic climate, global financial pressure, slow cashflow cycles and increasing competition. It is pessimistic to espouse doom and gloom but for the most successful brands, risk management and caution prevails. There are many things you can do now to ensure you are in the best possible position to rise and survive, and rise stronger.

Sieve the business

It is not too late to pick up your business and sieve it as if you were sifting flour. Let only the essential ingredients remain. Or if you let it flow through, recognise it is not essential, but an added ingredient you will keep watch on carefully. Get rid of everything that wasn’t or isn’t working. This should be a first step.

Now is the time to look at all aspects of your business from your offering, your partners, your staff, to your brand, the database, current and potential customers right through to the suppliers you use. This process will allow a re-look at how the business is run and give you the opportunity to improve how the business operates and where you can reduce costs or even make investment.

SWOT it!

It’s never too late to do it again! Check over your business with a fine tooth comb:

• Identify its STRENGTHS
• Examine its WEAKNESSES
• Research all your OPPORTUNITIES
• Recognise the THREATS.

Turn it on its head

This is your chance to throw out traditional thinking. Hard times make you think and challenge you to look at things in new ways. Recession or economic downturn—whichever reality you’ve bought into—provides new opportunities: new products, new services, new processes and increased focus. With the economy under strain, the temptation is to put new products and new business developments on the back burner. However historically, tumultuous economic times have produced great innovations. Consider how to expand your offerings or make your service available to a new industry and/or clients. Research your customers and how to respond and adapt to changing customer needs.

While, it’s natural for people to focus on security and survival, this is the ideal time to cut through and make a difference, while still remaining cautious.

It’s all about contacts

There has never been a better time to use networking to increase your sphere of influence. Most companies and professionals grow either in reputation or sales by referral or word of mouth. Business can be generated from meeting someone face to face so it is has never been more important to be ‘out there’ mixing with influencers, champions or potential buyers who can influence the success and sales of your business and yourself.

Champion your own brand
In this highly competitive environment and with the dominance of social media, never before has your personal brand been more important. The economic climate, however challenging, is full of positive opportunities for those prepared to search.

You are the captain of your brand. Only the most confident, resilient experts in your field will survive the next 24 months. Hesitate and you are out. Focus and you can emerge stronger, surer and way ahead of the field. Even during periods of robust growth, it is important to steal market share by developing your personal brand, and as a consequence increase your company profile.

At a time when the economy is forcing us all to re-examine how we do business, the importance of personal branding has never been greater. Hesitate and you are out—only the most confident and resilient will survive. Things are changing exponentially and the good news is, that with focus, you can emerge stronger and ahead of the field.

The rise of social media

The traditional ways and pace of how we used to do business hold little promise in the future. Add spontaneity and the immediacy of the rising wave of social media and you have a clear equation.

A sharp, crisp, confident personal presence + the capability to respond to opportunity now = the face of future success.

Only this morning I was speaking to my elderly father-in-law, who spent many years as a bank manager in the UK, running some of the country’s largest accounts at a time when bank managers were pillars of the financial community. He commented to me that in all his years, he had not seen a financial crisis as the one we are now living through and how he believed only the very tough, and innovative, would survive. Life and business, he feels, will never be the same. We have to be prepared to change and be ready for the inevitable recovery—if not to where it was—in his lifetime.

My father-in-law still dresses every day in a shirt and tie even though he has been retired for over 30 years and I believe we can all learn a thing or two from him. Your dress might only be one aspect of your personal brand, but it is a key part of the external image you present to the world and it mirrors your core values and professional ideals. These days, even more so, our customers, employees, suppliers, stakeholders, the media and others are placing a greater spotlight on their CEOs and business leaders.

Your personal brand helps you stand out

Your personal brand is what differentiates you from the pack and makes you stand out in a tough market. Your brand is represented through your body language, the way you speak and what you say, your image, how you promote your online presence, how you demonstrate your expertise and how you deal with people.

The GFC is, professionally, forging a greater wedge between the strong and the weak. A strong, confident personal brand allows you such a richer choice of future options. It is amazing that more leaders, and next generation leaders, are not embracing the full opportunity to improve their personal brands.

A strong personal brand allows you to:

•    Charge premium pricing
•    Be exposed to a greater range of opportunity
•    Be a thought leader and sought after for comment
•    Handle the press and communication situations with ease
•    Build tangible brand assets and bankability
•    Increase employee morale
•    Attract the most highly skilled workers
•    Shine in the eyes of your target audiences, customers, prospects and suppliers, media, investors, partners and analysts
•    Increases awareness of your company or product
•    Feed the sales pipeline
•    Build personal, professional and corporate reputation.

Good leaders demonstrate their core values with every appearance. If you look at CEOs such as Richard Branson, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, who they are, what their companies do and most importantly, how they do it, is all a reflection of their personal brand values. Everyone knows them, everyone knows what they do and each could start a new business tomorrow and have instant recognition and success.

1. Write down what you really need. Be specific. What are you struggling with and what is slowing you down?
2. What skills will the expert have?
3. What does success look like, e.g. what would the expert be delivering in an ideal world?
4. Find experts by referral
5. Find experts who have delivered exactly what you need before
6. Check experts have put what they know into practice rather than just flashy qualifications
7. Ask them for references and check, check, and check again
8. Have firm contracts in place with clear deliverables
9. Have a ‘get out quick’ clause if things go pear shaped
10. Don’t be afraid to ask the dumb questions.

Some of our biggest corporate collapses have happened because someone didn’t ask the obvious or dumb question!

For more information, please refer to ‘the benefits of outsourcing.’

The advice was pivotal in turning a commercial corner. It changed the way I ran my business and underpins the way we operate today. 

We outsource a whole range of activities and skills from payroll, bookkeeping, accounting to security and cleaning. Although we are PR and marketing experts, we even use creatives and PR specialists to help us look at our own backyard!

The key thing to remember is there are only so many hours in the day and small business owners are critically time poor. So my premise has always been you might as well concentrate on doing what you love. And coincidentally, we tend to be good at what we enjoy doing!

On the flip side, we are usually not good at what we don’t enjoy. That doesn’t mean we deserve a ‘get out of jail free’ card. You only have to reflect back to school days to see we just can’t get out of what we don’t like doing. Life isn’t a bed of roses. With perseverance, conquering our weaknesses is greatly rewarding. But what it does mean is that it’s worth taking an unemotional look at your strengths and weaknesses (and those of your team) and finding those skills to complement or fill the gaps.

As an example, when GST was introduced a few years ago, I could have spent many hours trying to understand it, deflecting precious time on building the business or other high pay-off activities. Instead, I hired a specialist who took me easily through the steps. For me, GST was painless and easy because I paid an expert to show me how.

This is the basic premise for outsourcing decisions. Outsourcing a key function allows you to meet your core objectives far quicker and leaves you to focus on what you know best—your business.

When should I outsource?

• When there aren’t enough hours in the day
• If the task requires experience and skills you don’t have in-house
• When certain tasks are taking too long
• Staff are complaining that a particular task never gets completed
• When the thought of tackling that task is too scary—it is ignored
• When certain tasks are distracting you from high pay-off activities
• You can’t find those skills in spite of recruiting efforts
• Important tasks are being overlooked or left in the hands of juniors
• Business functions are not delivering real results
• Bottlenecks are appearing in the business.

The benefits of outsourcing

Outsourcing to experts can provide a fast, effective solution to all or some of these issues:

1.  Maximise results without increasing your headcount

The collective experience of a focused, dedicated professional or group of professionals can mean fast delivery of results to deadline and within budget. This can be more cost-effective and productive than maintaining projects in-house. Outsourcing gives you all the benefits of a specialist team’s experience, from mature consultants to new energy and ideas and fresh blood!

2. The way to speedy implementation

Using professionals who offer specialist skills and experience means you can get the job done quickly. You can choose to outsource all or nothing. Everything—even strategy to tactical recommendations—is at your fingertips when you need it.

3. Flexible, nimble service on tap

Using experts means you have the flexibility to ’turn the tap on or off’ when you need it. You don’t have to invest in the extra full-time resource and take the risk that an individual or group will sit under utilised when times are quiet.

4. Objective, independent advice

Professional consultants and specialists should act as informed allies to balance your internal skills and debates. They should operate as objective, trusted advisors and should ask the straight shooting questions to force improvements in your operation.

5. Mentoring

An outsourced provider should be able to mentor your junior staff and fast-track your internal expertise. They should provide eager and interested guidance and work hard to up-skill your in-house junior staff so they work smarter.

6. Turn up or down the activity dial

With an outsourced solution, you can choose to ‘turn up the volume’ on your activities without having to make major recruitment or budgetary decisions. So you can increase or decrease the volume of your activities.

Why would you outsource?

It is a wise individual who recognises you can’t be an expert in everything. To be successful you have to learn to let go and let others excel. Outsourcing may be one of the most rewarding productivity boosts your business has experience. Don’t waste time. Find experts to help.

Outsourcing is a corporate function that benefits small businesses to the largest corporates. Thinking of outsourcing? I say focus and prosper!

—Sharon Williams is CEO of Taurus Marketing (www.taurusmarketing.com.au) and a member of the Dynamic Business Expert Panel

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Your database is the single most important asset you have in your business. It is your very own personal intellectual property and should be protected as a priority.  After all, if your business goes belly up—heeding a few privacy laws—you can open up tomorrow and transact with all those who already know and love you.

I learned through hard-earned experience and building my own business that accurate knowledge is, indeed, power.  Yet in the daily course of business, it amazes me how few companies focus on maintaining the accuracy of their database. At Taurus, we make maintaining the database an accountable and KPI’d function—something we even celebrate as a business objective—when we hit new numerical and quality milestones.

Communicating is key
When times are tough it’s more timely than ever to focus on communicating (with those who are likely to buy from you). It makes a big difference if you know for sure you are talking to the right person and that they will actually receive your message.

In the old days, my boss filed his collection of business cards in a Rollerdex; thank goodness technology has moved on and that’s not the case anymore! Twenty years ago, as an in-house marketing rookie, I used to collect business cards as a ‘nice to have’ in a card box situated on my desk. I remember even recording details by hand onto index cards. My boss did the same, carefully filing them away in his Rollerdex.

These days there are no such labours. Software packages—simple, sophisticated, complex or straightforward—are big business and can help you maintain your database. It is pretty straightforward; an investment like everything else but not one that needs to cost the earth. The payback of making your database life easy is multi-fold, believe me. It quite simply can change your corporate life.

Database software makes it easy
Using modern database software means you can communicate with thousands of warm contacts at the touch of a button. Specialised software allows you to see who opened your e-campaigns and, of those, who clicked through to your website: priceless information. But none of this is possible if the database itself is a mess and inaccurate.

As far as I’m concerned, marketing has always, and will always, be about ‘touch points’. The tools may change and evolve (thank goodness, that’s what keeps our life as marketeers interesting) but marketing is still about touching those you want to target. The more you touch your audience—metaphorically speaking of course—the more likely it will be they will recognise you, refer you and ultimately buy from you.

Relevant, timely and opted-in
It is vital that these touch points are relevant, timely, and you’ve sought opt-in to communicate. But my point is that no relevant and timely campaigns are successful if they aren’t going to an accurate name and address, and who at your company is tasked with ensuring the database is accurate? I don’t believe it should be left to the sales team—KPI everyone!

Personally, I am ruthless. I throw away an envelope that is incorrectly addressed. I can’t understand any organisation that doesn’t put a KPI around growing the database and maintaining it accurately.

In 1995, when I set up my own company, we made it a KPI to add to our database on a monthly basis. Our database became the foundation of the company. Everything we do is built on it, feeds from it and is fed back into it. We are so stringent we have created a system whereby data entry is double checked for accuracy. We double check that names are spelt correctly, titles are up to date and location details right.

Everyone’s responsibility
Keeping our database up to date is the responsibility of everyone at our company, and I mean everyone. So make quality database maintenance and growth an accountable process. I get weekly contact stats and reports on who has updated how many contacts, what records have been added, modified and deleted. We use them to celebrate as we hit our next numerical milestone. Our database administrator holds it all together, but everyone, from our graduate trainees, my PA to myself, is responsible for inputting new contacts and staying on top of movements or changes to those contacts.

We invest hours and dollars every week keeping our database up to date. Whether you buy a card scanner or pay a part-timer to perform data entry, the only thing between you and effective communication with your customers is making database accuracy part of your organisational structure.

The database should serve you as a business owner and marketeer, it needs to be easy to communicate with your target audiences

Last year I was invited to appear on Channel 7 as the in-house marketing expert for Kochie’s Business Builders. It happened quickly and we had to move fast to promote the opportunity. We ran some campaigns of our own to alert our current and past customers, suppliers, past and present staff, influencers, media friends, and hot, warm and cold prospects. We spent a few hours designing and refining a humorous PDF for our own self-promotion. It was good, damn good. This great creative however would have fallen flat on its face if we couldn’t be sure it would reach our target audience.

Keep your database clean
When the team hit the ‘send’ button, we knew that a high percentage of the thousands of people we were sending it to were going to receive it. We only had 40 bounce backs. A great result along with the thrill of instant communication! Within minutes we were receiving congratulatory responses. There is something very satisfying about pressing a button and knowing that thousands of people are going to receive a message from your brand all at the same time! This just can’t happen if you’re not investing in keeping your database clean.

My other bug bear is spending time to ensure your database is segmented or divided up into different types of people. This way you can use it for direct marketing pieces to re-ignite past customers, make relevant newsletter offers, email, send targeted event invitations or EDM (electronic direct mail). Further segmentation can break contacts into suppliers, influencers, clients, employees (past, present, potential), media and past customers (need to track where they’ve gone). And more than that, break it down by spend, geographical placement and description.

Get smart, get marketing
When the times gets tough, the smart get marketing, so clean up that database and start engaging it! My advice to all businesses is to take a moment to focus on your database. When were you last in touch with x? Is that person a potential sales opportunity? What about y? They might have just the skill set you were looking for. And z? Maybe it’s about time to reinvigorate that good contact.

So I re-state my case : your database is arguably the most vital piece of intellectual property you have. It’s a critical tool in the everyday running of your business and it is an insurance policy for the future. Whatever you might decide to do in the future, keep your database of clients, prospects and suppliers with you. You can start afresh next week if you want to, and inform those who you know, trust and would refer you so that you are off and running again. That message should be as easy as pressing ‘send’.

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In the 13 years I’ve been running my business, I’ve hired—and had to let go—many people for many reasons. I’ve experienced all combinations and levels of skill and commitment; this includes good team players, poor team players, low performers, those demonstrating the height of excellence and integrity, skilled but indifferent, highly skilled but not right for Taurus, old, young, and those somewhere in between.

The bad news
After all that time, through mentors, recruitment experts, psychologists and executive coaches, I have yet to reach a magic formula. As someone who is highly organised and process driven, not to have a definitive equation that works sucks. But I meet people every day—and particularly those in high places—and very few can talk me through a definitive equation for success.

The good news
What I do have, however, is some hard earned advice and valid recommendations to help. In the same way no-one has yet worked out an equation to help us find our right life partner, ultimately, hiring someone new should be based on the premise that you at the very least go with your gut instinct. Recruiting is a bit like marriage. Even with the best research and best approach, there is no guarantee it is actually going to work
The common denominator in all my experiences of recruiting is that it was my ultimate decision. Mostly I get it right. The people I’ve hired over the years have given me some of my most proud and memorable moments and are still doing so, even if they’ve moved on. But sometimes I’ve got it wrong and when it’s wrong, it can hurt.

At best, you admit your mistakes and exit someone complete and intact out of the business—after all it’s not their fault your job isn’t the right fit— so that at the end of the day, both of you are left intact. This is vital. Treating others as you hope to be treated is a good mantra to hold dear in recruiting and as one of your target markets, its all part of the marketing mix.

At worst, hiring the wrong fit damages your reputation and leaves your customer relationships in tatters. It causes disruption and sometimes heartache for one party or the other, not to mention the cost against the bottom line in training, advertising and recruitment fees, plus managing the handover of workload. Getting it wrong can result in lost business, lost clients, lost morale and ultimately lost revenue and sales.
On the flip side, it remains the ultimate truth that getting the right people ‘on the bus’ is critical to the success of your business and makes the world a happier, easier place. Like any relationship, the journey of finding and keeping that ‘right’ person is fraught with danger but can reward you with the greatest highs.

So what’s involved?
I’ve experimented just about every which way. I’ve hired people after one interview and they’ve started the next day (and are still here years later). I’ve also taken months to hire one person via the most complex recruitment process involving various combinations such as psychometric testing, multiple interviews, group interviews, one-on-ones, my business advisors attending and not, my team interviewing and not. I’ve recruited through specialist agencies, via online job ports, word of mouth and ads in local papers.
What might work? Well for Taurus, we’ve had the most success using online job sites such as Seek or the Sydney Morning Herald. Our process:

• Group buy-in on the job description
• Place the advert
• Review the resume
• Conduct a telephone interview
• Face to face, one-on-one interview at the office
• The team or management interview the candidate
• We reference check thoroughly
• We interview again for final OK
• We discuss the decision departmentally
• We offer the position
• We define probation and KPIs

Typically, partnerships are formed when two or more companies find value for their customers in each other’s products and/or services. (Source: www.cocommunications.com).

Partnership marketing is about finding people who offer complementary services and products who can work with you, or alongside you, to sell your services or products or expand the offering you provide to customers. For example, it could be an arrangement between an architect and a bricklayer, an electrician and a painter, a marketing consultant and an accountant, a hairdresser and a beautician, or an advertiser and a PR. The idea is that the two entities complement each other and provide value to a customer over and above the experience of buying from one alone. It is worth taking a moment to look at your business and see who could be assisting you grow.

Networking
Networking (a term I find really distasteful because it is far too contrived and prescriptive) is about getting out, mixing with and meeting people personally. It is about you and your brand being seen and the benefits can be many, including providing the opportunity to:

• Introduce your brand and services/products
• Be educated: you may have the opportunity to learn new things
• Find out what is going on in your market
• Find out what is going on outside your markets
• Meet new people
• Be referred
• Find people who have solved the challenges you face before
• Find new suppliers and consultants
• Find new prospects and customers
• Make new friends
• Build your database with new contacts
• Connect people you know and like
• Increase your sphere of influence
• Put names to faces

If you are going to use networking as a tool to build your brand, I recommend you are open to listening and learning. Be prepared to talk about your services and your products. This is your chance to have your company or service represented in a personal way.

Why it works
A universal truth in business is that most companies grow either in reputation or directly in sales by referral or word of mouth. This is known as third party endorsement and is usually spontaneous, objective, honest and free! So it inevitably carries more weight than any other marketing tools. In our technically advanced and modern world—which I take full advantage of and use daily—I believe strongly that face-to-face contact is still vital. We are social animals and people like to see who they are dealing with. Your prospective customers are no different.

We are currently experiencing some of the biggest changes in human history, both economically and technically. These include a dramatic rise in the use of social media, technology leaping ahead faster than ever before, alongside a challenged economic climate, financial pressure, slow cashflow cycles and increasing competition. At the end of the day, when times are tough, little beats a fully endorsed personal referral to a prospective client.

Extending your spheres of influence
Most businesses start with one client and, via referrals, gradually extend their spheres of influence by forming strong relationships that need to be maintained. Whether we like it or not, some success in life comes through the people you know, so it’s important they speak well of your company. If someone thinks well of you, chances are they are going to buy or refer you and your services. These days particularly, what people think is instant with online mediums out there providing the link to an immediate audience that is global.

Networking is one way to increase the spheres of influence and spread the word; a lesson big business should hold close to hand. Much business can be generated from meeting someone face-to-face and it is has never been more important to be out there mixing with influencers, champions or potential buyers who can influence the success and sales of your business. We actively get ourselves out there and most importantly, have fun, and make it fun, in doing so
At my company, as an example, 70 percent of our new business comes from referrals. So it’s common sense, when times are tough, to get out there and be seen.

Who might you meet?

The people you meet can be divided up into groups. It’s worth preparing for the chance to meet:

• Potential buyers
• Current buyers (customers)
• Suppliers
• Champions (those who think you do a good job and would talk positively about your company or services)
• Influencers
• Mentors
• Potential staff

Be conscious of this in your choice of which events to attend. Your time is precious and the events should be bringing you a return.