A year of reflection!
What a few year’s it has been! The challenges, constant twists and turns have been tremendous, yet at the same time there have been some truly inspiring stories out there.
This April, we are celebrating RIMU Marketing’s 8th business birthday – I am not entirely sure how that happened! Like many, this year I would like to take some time to reflect on the year just gone and consider the achievements made. I often start here, with any new client conversation, we are always naturally quick to say what has not gone well in our business or what we are struggling with. It is important to also take some time to focus on the successes and achievements.
Over the last two years we have seen an amazing level of growth with RIMU Marketing and I feel immensely proud and grateful for this. We have put in place some great frameworks for growth, plus through the help and support of our immediate and wider teams have made significant achievements which include:
- Continuing to work with some amazing clients – all awesome at what they do.
- Started working with some new clients – also awesome at what they do.
- Raising over £500 for local charities.
- I have joined River Radio as a host on the “Let’s Talk Business” show.
- Worked with Thames Valley Growth Hub, delivering their monthly marketing clinics.
- Been published in Families magazine, SME News, We are the City and Advantage Card; with more coming in May.
- We launched the RIMU Reflections interview series.
It has been an amazing journey and there are more good things on the way this month in celebration of our business birthday. Whilst we wish to continue to support local charities over the next 12-months, we have decided to extend our CSR approach to also include giving something back to the environment. For many, myself included the Glasgow COP in November 2021 was significant in helping us all understand some of the changes we need to make. With this in mind we have set up an account with Ecologi – so that every month we will make a donation and start planting trees – we have started with 250 this month – keep your eyes peeled for more on this as we grow – literally!
The last few years have given many the opportunity to review what is important to them and as such there is a lot of talk in the media this year about “The Great Resignation”. This is a trend identifying that people are actively considering if their job is rewarding, their company shares their brand values or if in fact they just want to take that leap of faith and set up their own business. In a recent survey by CV Library, they cite that about three out of four of us will plan to make a change this year. That is a lot of talent on the move!
If this is you and you plan to set up your own small business, we would like to share some thoughts to help get you started:
- Do your research: Make sure there is a market out there for your product or service, identify your customers and start to think about your target audience.
- Build your tribe. Think of this not just as building your audience, but also your support network around you, to help when things are tough. It is great to have a team of people you can turn to for help or to brainstorm ideas.
- Meet your clients. Having a clear vision of who your client will be is key to any small business. Whether you are deciding on your proposition, setting your prices, building your website or choosing imagery. Once you understand them, the answers to many of these questions become easy to answer.
- Get an accountant. For me it was a must have when I started out, I knew that the stress of submitting my accounts would be huge. Of course this might not be the same for you, if you are an accountant, but the point is to find that one thing that you know you are not good at and outsource it as soon as you can. If marketing is not your thing, please do let me know if I can help.
- Charge what you are worth. It is so easy to do work pro bono or for free when you are just starting out, you might be keen to start work. Just remember with a little focus and energy you will soon get busy, do your research and have a clear idea on what you should be charging.
- Enjoy the journey and sparkle!
As I reflect on our business birthday, I am grateful for the sense of achievement this year and for the support that friends, family and colleagues have shown. The reason behind why I do what I do remains the same, with my family being centre stage, ensuring I can do the school run, take things to school when they forget them (which is happening more frequently) and be around as I am needed.
If you would like some help in getting your small business off the ground why not join our complimentary webinar on 26 April or get in touch to arrange a no obligation discovery call.
Links to our past business celebrations: RIMU Marketing’s 7th birthday and RIMU Marketing’s 6th birthday.
