Armed with $25,000 in family savings, a laptop and one employee \u2013 her dog – Naomi Simson started her business, RedBalloon on the 1st of April 2001. Starting a business on April Fools\u2019 Day might seem like a bad idea, but it was the least of Naomi\u2019s worries in the months that followed.<\/p>\n
By October, the odds were firmly against her. With the dot-com crash and the 9\/11 tragedy still very fresh, consumers weren\u2019t ready for good times but that was exactly what Naomi was trying to sell.<\/p>\n
Naomi found herself saying, \u201cNo customers today, maybe tomorrow\u2026\u201d over and over again. By the time she made her first sale a few months later, she had begun to learn that hope, by itself, was not an effective strategy for growing a business. She also discovered that growing a business wasn\u2019t even about money or resources and advertising; it was all about time, how she chose to use it and the relationships she fostered along the way.<\/p>\n
When Naomi stepped up to the stage at Bxponential last year, she reminded us that, \u201cmore than anything in this century, we want to trust who we do business with, whether we\u2019re consumers or in our businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Our customers trust the promises we make them so it\u2019s important to think deeply about the promises you are making in your business. Not only is it crucial to consider why your customers should trust you, Naomi also encourages us all to ask \u201cwhat does the customer think?\u201d at every step along the way.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also necessary to spend time developing and strengthening the relationships within your business \u2013 particularly the connections between team members and leaders. Adversity is often brings to light the quality of these relationships, but Naomi says that it\u2019s not really adversity at all: \u201cit\u2019s persistence, celebration and achievement\u201d that will bring out the best in your team.<\/p>\n
Naomi remarks that people will always be every entrepreneur\u2019s biggest problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re people! They keep changing their minds!\u201d she reminded us.<\/p>\n
Even though people are the biggest challenge in small business, they are what keeps you moving forward and they\u2019re essential \u2013 you can\u2019t do everything on your own, forever. \u201cYou have to bring people with you and you want them to be as passionate about your journey as you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Disengagement is costing the Australian economy billions of dollars in lost productivity every year but it is avoidable. The Business Review Weekly has listed RedBalloon as one of The Great Places to Work multiple times between 2009 – 2013, so Naomi has learnt a thing or two about what keeps employees engaged.<\/p>\n
Her advice? It comes down to the bare essentials. When your team asks themselves these questions, their answers can help you to know which areas you should focus on as you manage them everyday.<\/p>\n
1. Belonging<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cDo I feel like I belong? Do I connect? Am I part of something bigger than myself? We all want to belong to something.\u201d Naomi knows that when team members feel as though they belong to the business journey, they are more likely to engage themselves and get the job done, smashing expectations as they go.<\/p>\n 2. Physical health<\/strong> \u2013 Naomi encourages her team to get active, whether it\u2019s going on a walk at lunch or participating in a challenge like September, they all encourage each other to stay healthy in any way that they can.<\/p>\n 3. Brain food<\/strong> \u2013 it\u2019s always important to keep learning, but it doesn\u2019t always have to cost a packet. Watching Ted Talks together at lunch time or simply showing a fellow a team member a new way to perform a task \u2013 whichever way you choose to go about it, make sure you and your team are always learning something, big or small.<\/p>\n 4. Recognition<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cAm I noticed? Am I recognised? Do I know what I\u2019m here to do? Did anyone notice and do I go home feeling like a winner?\u201d It\u2019s one thing for your team to do a great job, but if no one encourages them and celebrates their successes, it can be easy for them to become discouraged and disengaged. Keep focusing on the wins and always keep an eye out for the great work that your team does so you can make them feel valued \u2013 \u201cbecause you want your people to keep showing up over and over again and playing full out.\u201d<\/p>\n At the end of the day, all of our businesses and workplaces are different, \u201cyour workplace isn\u2019t mine \u2013 it\u2019s yours! We all do it our way, what works for us and we align our people to that.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps the clearest piece of advice that Naomi gave was something that she said at her son\u2019s year 12 dinner. She reminded them that there were three things everyone needed to get through life, whether they were going to be business owners or not. A wishbone \u2013 the dream, passion and aspirations to drive you forward; a backbone \u2013 resilience, persistence, courage and follow through; and a funny bone \u2013 \u201cbecause if you\u2019re not having a laugh, what\u2019s the point?\u201d<\/p>\n So how do you create a business that you love? One that you own and it doesn\u2019t own you?<\/p>\n \u201cIt all comes from how you are as a leader. I want to remind you that your most precious resource is your time and the second most precious resource is how you recognise the people around you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Armed with $25,000 in family savings, a laptop and one employee \u2013 her dog – Naomi Simson started her business, RedBalloon on the 1st of April 2001. Starting a business on April Fools\u2019 Day might seem like a bad idea, but it was the least of Naomi\u2019s worries in the months that followed. By October,\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12,11,14],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe bare bones of small business<\/h2>\n