Starting
up and running your own business is a tremendously exciting and scary thing to
do. Many of us are somewhere along the journey of doing just that
and we have all got stories to tell, anecdotes to share and lessons we’ve
learned. This blog is about the importance of having the right people
around you to support you along the way, as it can be a very lonely and
disheartening path, with lots of high and low points. You need a strong support
network around you to ensure that you celebrate the good times, manage the bad times, move forward and
make your business a success and your dreams come true.
I
had the good fortune to meet a very inspirational woman called Catherine Connor who runs a very
successful business training professional photographers (Aspire Photography Training). She has a way with
words that resonates and lifts you up. One of her key talks is about the
importance of making sure you have the right people around you to make you and
your business flourish. I’m going to borrow two key labels from her and adapt
them to my own experience and views.
TRIBE
The
first term she uses is TRIBE – loosely a family or group that someone belongs
to. She uses it mainly to describe your target customer. I'm going to steal another very good analogy from Naomi Gilmour now; she tells us, that even though there are plenty of fish in the sea, we don’t
necessarily want to hook all of them and also they might not like the bait we
are offering. So it’s important to focus all your efforts on the type of
customers you WANT to do business with and who will want to do business with
you. This immediately rules out a lot of people. If you get this formula right,
you “gel” and go on to have a great business relationship. Many of my clients
go on to become friends because our
interests, passions and values are so well matched. These people become part of
my tribe.
However, my tribe is made up of more than just my ideal clients. My tribe is a group
of people that I belong to who share some common values with me and somehow we
give each other something. It might be support, love, advice, they lift us up
when we need it and rein us in at other times, or are just simply there when we
want them to be. They are in my tribe because they care about me and me about
them. We respect each other even though
we may be very different.
Your
immediate tribe is your family and your closest friends. Then you add people to
your tribe because you want to know them, have their friendship, spend time
with them, see them as a mentor, meet
them a networking group and realize that you can help each other, or just that
you “get on”.
You
will see some members of your tribe every day and others you will speak to on
the phone once a year. But they are no less important members of your tribe. I
love the role that social media has played in growing my tribe. I have people
in my tribe now that I’ve never met in person but have built a relationship
with over time on Facebook. I know they are part of my tribe because I can tell
from their comments and posts that they “get” me, like me and want me to be
happy and successful. I had a wobble on social media in August when someone who
definitely wasn’t in my tribe made a very hurtful comment. But my tribe rallied
round me, picked me back up, and were incredibly supportive during a difficult
time. Many of the lovely comments came from people I’ve not yet met, but really
hope too.
You
need to know who your tribe are and make sure you value them too and look after
them. Don’t take them for granted. Spend a little time working out who your
tribe are. And when you don't get on with someone, you clash, you rub each
other up the wrong way, don’t dwell on it, just accept that you belong to
different tribes and that’s fine. I wish I could get my daughter to look at it
like this and she’d save herself some heartache. But I think you need to get
the ripe old age of 50 before you’ve had enough life experiences to do this.
BUSINESS
ANGELS
The
other term I picked up from this inspirational woman was Business Angels. These
are very important people to you, specifically to your business. They are
probably members of your tribe already but they also perform another important
role: they are the people that whole-heartedly support your business. They
believe in you so much that they readily tell other people about you and
recommend you without hesitation. I’m
not talking about people who belong to the same networking and who might
mention you, I’m talking about your biggest fans. And we all have them if we
think about it. They might be existing clients, your best friend, your partner.
Although more often than not, the closest members of your tribe are NOT your
business angels. My dad, my brothers, for instance, aren’t. They respect what I
do, but they would never rave about me. But my niece does and regularly sends
clients my way. Her genuine enthusiasm for what I do convinces people that they need my
services.
You
need to identify who your business angels are and really take care of them.
Reward them in whatever manner is appropriate – with my niece I take gorgeous
photos of her baby girl whenever I see her and I support her business venture
even though I’m probably not a true business angel to her. Some people don’t
want to be rewarded but rather to know that you appreciate them. But know who
they are and make sure they are the first to know about new offers, products
etc. I have a closed Facebook Group for students and I regularly give them
useful information and links for free. A good number of them are my business
angels and get me new business. If you neglect them they might eventually fade
away.
I
decided to talk about this at my favourite networking group, because many of of the group are part of my
tribe and have supported me, “got” me, played a positive role in getting me
through highs and lows with my business and my personal life. A number of you
are definitely my business angels and you’ll know who you are – Sue France sprouted
her wings a long time ago and even though I know I’m not the only photographer
she supports, I know she believes in me and helps me whenever she can. As I do
her.
So
take some time to think about your tribe and your business angels and nuture
and take care of them.
