The Team Behind the Scenes
Working collaboratively brings so much joy and breeds new ideas.
It's easy to feel isolated working on your own though. And even though I welcome the peace and quiet when I have the opportunity to sit down without any distractions (she says, currently isolating with COVID!) the truth is, having people around me is a real energy boost.
But hiring staff isn't the right thing for me at the moment.
In the last two years I've discovered a different way of working that has all the banter and excitement, without the worry. It's also enabling me to scale sustainably and challenge the professional stereotype that I was struggling to fit into. I'm challenging the status quo.
So I wanted to share a bit behind the scenes of KVIST so you can see the makeup of my team now. Because there are actually eleven (!) wonderful people (virtually) sitting behind me these days making the magic happen. I go into this in more detail in a podcast I did recently with Jodi Grinwald - check it out here on Apple Podcasts.
My new way of operating started by connecting with my amazing business coach, Michelle Meadowcroft.
She really opened my eyes to the importance of building a support structure that allows me to grow based on my values rather than hustle.
Also on the team are Abi and Lisa, who help me implement the company's marketing plan each quarter and content plan with me monthly. Abi is a launch expert and a superb copywriter. Lisa is my social media and content designer. She prepares the posts, sorts out the graphics, schedules them and makes sure they're going out on time. These two keep the cogs of our audience building and social engagement turning consistently. Without them you'd hear from me ten times in three days and then nada for three months when I have my nose in design work.
Valerie is my money rock and removes me from invoicing, chasing fees and preparing accounts. Sweating over my tax return in my dining room two hours before the deadline feels like the distant past. Thank God.
Lucie helps keep the KVIST Boutique website running wonderfully. She also helps us with regular tweaks because it is an evolving venture. At any one time we don't quite know what we need next but whatever it is, she's on it.
Emily is our maker community manager. She helps me connect with new up and coming artisans that we feel would be a great fit and supports them with getting set up on KVIST Boutique.
Alongside these lovely ladies, I have Katie my approachable legal adviser and Stuart, Rosa and Helen who support me with delivering design work. All of these amazing people are 'outside' the walls of my business, working remotely and supporting a small group of aligned clients.
We've recently taken on Hannah too who is helping me with all sorts of business and project admin tasks to keep me focused on the big picture.
Being able to draw on niche experts who can lend me an ear and overlay their expertise onto my ideas is so powerful. And as fellow business owners, we have an unspoken connection. We know the value of our time and that we need to put our foot on the gas to make measurable progress.
Of course, I'm paying for quality and I have to cover that cost. But I've been in a position before where I was trying to do all the things - or teaching someone else how to. It was stressful and exhausting. And I was flitting around from one thing to another; quite often I losing the sense of why I was doing it. Which is a frustrating, head-banging place to be.
Working with this super team allows me to focus on my priorities and my zone of genius. It allows me to drive positive change professionally and personally. Which in turn, allows me to scale sustainably and build the business of my dreams.
Image credits: Hannah Busing, Marvin Meyer, Ian Schneider, Chris Montgomery - all from Unsplash.
Wow - you made it all the way to here!
Thank you for reading, and cheers to that! Hopefully you found this helpful.
If you did, please share on social media and shout about my blog and resources to anyone you know in need of a bit of support (or just cheering up whilst the building dust flurries around them - I get it!).