From Precious
April 10, 2008
Carole Pyke | Marketing / PR
Richardson Pyke Associates
www.richardsonpyke.com
Precious: Tell us about the route to your business.
I have worked as a freelancer before and I was the partner in a book marketing company but it wasn't until I started co-writing a book called 'From God given to God Driven: Reclaiming your dreams and fulfilling your life' earlier this year, that I knew that it was time.
I am a creative person and have never been short of marketing ideas but lacked the drive to move them forward (okay I'll be honest I was scared) but one day it all came together. Richardson Pyke Associates has been set up to help individuals, organizations and businesses to develop marketing muscles and foster profitable customer relationships through personalized consultancy and training, personal marketing and multi-media products guaranteeing growth and development. The business is really a combination of things I feel passionate about, a new way of thinking (I have created The Marketing Gym and The Building Marketing Muscles Programme) and an answer to some of the challenges we face in business and as individuals that prevent us from being all we can be.
Precious: Did you have any experience of the industry that you entered?
I have been in the communication industry in one way or another - events, PR, general marketing - for as long as I can remember. I have a degree in Communications with marketing and a masters in Marketing Communications, I am a Chartered Marketer and a Life Coach. I am also the co-founder and the inspiration behind 'In Celebration of My Sisters' and have been involved in a number of events both in the UK and abroad. I even worked on a couple of Vivienne Westwood fashion shows in London and Paris.
My last job as Head of Marketing for a group of Public Sector recruitment companies taught me a valuable lesson. The company was started by one man about 11 years ago and he sold it after about seven years for £11 million. Definitely food for thought. What that said to me was you can because you think you can. As long as I believed it was possible to set up a thriving business then it was possible!
Precious: Tell us about the business planning stage.
I've done a few business courses over the years. I have also read a lot around the whole area of business. It is one thing to have a plan in your head and another to write it down on paper. As a creative writer I had to be careful to stick to the facts and not just paint pretty pictures. I looked at all the business templates from banks and from various business books (the business library in Moorgate is good for accessing business information) and got myself a business adviser from the Greenwich Enterprise Board.
I also kept an eye on what was happening in the business world with people like Richard Branson. With all the information I gathered, I realised that there really is no substitute for just writing down what you see as being the way forward for your business. It's not set in stone so when it's on paper you can always change it and it really helps you to focus and challenges what you think is the way you want to go.
Writing a cash flow forecast was a good exercise, it made me reassess my value and what I believed the expertise of my business was worth. A really sobering exercise, even if you are not intending to go into business you should do this.
Precious: Describe any setbacks that you encountered while setting up your business.
I'm not sure I'd call them setbacks really more like challenges. It is one thing to have a passion and a desire to do something and a completely different ball game to actually do it. Having worked for someone you take a lot of things for granted that when you are starting out on your own don't actually exist unless you create them yourself.
There is a huge difference between working for yourself and setting up a business. Working for yourself is limited to the time you have and the skills you have to make it all happen, whilst setting up in business is about recognizing that you can't do it yourself and for your business to grow you have to 'employ' other people to do things for you. So perhaps my greatest challenge was to recognize that.
Precious: Describe a typical working day.
'Typical' has been removed from the business dictionary as no two days are necessarily alike. I end the day with a look at what has been achieved and start to plan the actions for the next day so when each day starts I already have an idea about what I would like to achieve. I try to get the bits that I have 'no real passion for - correspondence, financials etc. - out of the way first and then get on with the days plan.
I also schedule a lunch break which gives me a chance to get away from it all and do something different. Sometimes I go for a walk. As it breaks the day nicely into two. At the end of the day switching off is a big challenge as I am always thinking about a new idea, a new angle etc. but I sit and read or catch up with friends or sit and watch some brain numbing TV.
Precious: How do you relax?
I love to travel so try to get away from it all as often as I can as it helps to gain perspective on things and to recharge. When I am not traveling I like to read anything from biographies to the secret diary of a shopaholic. I love writing and catching up with friends and I love to play scrabble. I also make handmade greeting cards which is very therapeutic
Precious: Is your family supportive of your business endeavor?
I have a small 'blood' family but a huge family of friends and supporters who always help me to keep grounded but provide the encouragement I need to keep going. My mother died nine years ago but she is always with me. She always told me that the world does not give you anything, you have to go out and take and that's exactly what I am doing.
Precious: What do you love most about what you do?
Freedom, flexibility but more importantly the feeling of operating in God's purpose for my life and the thought that what I am doing is actually helping other people
Precious: Is there anything that you really dislike about it?
Not really although, there are some days when I feel particularly challenged by something that has happened or hasn't happened but I just remind myself of my mission to help individuals, organizations and businesses to grow and develop and that seems to connect with something on the inside that reignites the passion and the fire to keep going.
Precious: Where do you see yourself in five years time?
A thriving concern with offices in London and South Africa, a strong team of professionals that embody the essence of what Richardson Pyke Associates stand for - helping and empowering others to develop and grow - and a strong client base. I will also be in demand as a professional speaker with a number of books published.
Precious: Any advice to those wishing to follow in your footsteps?
Whatever industry you are in or planning to be in, running your own business is a rewarding experience and not just from a financial perspective. It provides you with freedom, flexibility and an opportunity to grow and develop your skills as well as impacting on other people. But in order to be successful you have to be prepared to put in the long hours and the hard work.
" Be clear about what you want to do and why as this will help to keep you going when things don't look the way you expect them to.
" Set specific goals and objectives as they help to focus you and prevent you from getting involved in unnecessary activity.
" Know who your customers are (after all they will be responsible for keeping your company going). This will ensure that you are able to communicate with them.
" Remember to include marketing as part of the planning process
"Seek advice from people who know about business because a passion, a desire or skill alone will not help you to develop a business
" There is no need to reinvent the wheel, talk to people who have already done what you want to do and learn from their successes and their failures
" Believe in yourself and your ability to make it happen as you are your first customer and if you don't believe in you how can you expect anyone else to
" Recognize the power of networks. Who you know is like money in the bank
" Make sure you have a support network. If one doesn't exist for you naturally create your own
" Always strive to work smarter and not just harder as harder alone simply takes up more hours in a day whilst smarter gets things done more productively and efficiently
" Take time out for yourself. You are your most valuable asset and you need to be fresh and charged at all times.