It’s Our Birthday! What Have We Learnt?
Posted On - 07/07/2023
This week, Cerub PR celebrates its 20th anniversary so we thought we’d share some lessons Cerub PR founder Ceri-Jane Hackling has learnt about running a successful business.
1. Be nice
There’s a lot out there about the need to be ruthless when it comes to business but what doesn’t get mentioned often enough is to not forget to be nice to others and to yourself. Talk to people, help them out and don’t expect anything in return. Sometimes it pays off to just be nice.
2. Have fun
Business doesn’t always need to be serious and about important decision making. It’s important to make time for fun too. After all, we tend to be more at the top of our game when we’re enjoying ourselves and the work that we do!
3. Be actively engaged in your business
Having a great team of employees that makes the business run like a well-oiled machine is great but remember that it’s important for the business owner to be actively engaged. From being able to run day to day work to learning and development to get ahead of the industry, being on it means you can always rest assured that everything is under control.
4. Ask for help
You can’t always do it all by yourself. Even if you run most aspects of your business, don’t be afraid to admit what you don’t know or are not an expert at and ask others for help or support.
5. Be a good listener
Being a good listener is key to effective working relationships with colleagues, clients and other business partners. It’s essential to building trust and improving communication. Ultimately when you’re actively listening to others, you can gain knowledge that will help you make better decisions for your business.
6. Take time to think
There will be times when we need to make a decision quickly and that’s part and parcel of running a business but taking the time to rethink things where you can is also important. If you can sit on something for even an extra day then you might see something that you didn’t see at first that might be more beneficial to you.
7. Ask for feedback
How do you know if you’re doing a good job? You ask! Get customer feedback on a regular basis and find out what you can do to improve or customise your services. Most clients are not wedded to their services providers so you want to make sure that you give them a reason to stick with you for the long term.
8. Have a Plan B
You don’t have to spend tons of time thinking about ‘what if’ scenarios or catastrophising, after all running a business requires a certain leap of faith. However, having a back-up plan for when things don’t materialise in the best-case scenario can get you through the not so good times.
9. Build processes
Establishing processes will make your day-to-day life so much easier regardless of the size of your business or the industry you’re in. Having a process in place for tasks means that anyone can pick up that task, reduces miscommunications and saves you brain power for the more creative aspects of your work.
10. Do your own PR (or get us to do it for you!)
I run a PR agency so of course I would include this piece of advice! A lot of time, PR agencies are cobblers with no shoes. They focus so much on providing PR services to clients that they often forget that it’s important to market and promote themselves. Treat your business like a client and dedicate time to your own PR!
