Five Pivotal Moments That Helped Build An Eight Figure Business
I started Pure SEO in October 2009 with a couple of hundred dollars, a big dose of positivity, and a whole heap of naivety. Twelve years later, we have built the largest independent search marketing agency in New Zealand, with an eight-figure turnover and more than 70 staff across four countries.
Although we have grown every year since inception, the path has been far from linear. There have been some euphoric highs and some gutting lows. There have also been many pivotal moments that have shaped the business, some very fortuitous and some carefully planned. Here are my top five:
1. Grasping the value of our price
When I started the business, I had a psychological block around how much we could charge customers for our service. I often talked myself out of the larger sales because I perceived the monthly cost as expensive.
In 2011, we hired our first salesperson (he is our second longest standing staff member and is still with us today!), he went out and immediately started selling much bigger contracts. To say this was a game-changer would be an understatement; it allowed me to get over my pricing issues and really understand the potential of the business.
2. Getting proactive with our billing
In 2012, I also had a conversation with GreenLion (MHK at the time), our accountants. At the time, we had 50 clients and we billed them all on the 20th of the following month. This billing cycle caused a lot of cashflow issues and was put in place because “that’s what businesses expect”.
My accountant suggested that we change our terms to billing in advance/current month. In my mind, I thought we would face a large amount of pushback and disgruntled clients (I almost talked myself out of trying it).
Out of 50 clients, however, only one client was adamant about staying on the 20th of the following month. All the others simply accepted the change. Interestingly, the client that did not accept the change is still a client nine years later!
3. Taking wise money
In 2014, I sold a minority stake in my business. The offer, terms, and deal were completed within two weeks. Apart from taking cash off the table (which was nice), I secured two extremely experienced and successful businesspeople as business partners.
As business partners, Tony and Ian have been integral to the business’s growth and continued success; the business would not be where it is today without their input, advice and assistance. I have been in business with these people for seven years now and still do not have a bad word to say about them!
4. Learning from leaders on Necker Island
Also in 2014, I had the opportunity to spend a week with Sir Richard Branson and 25 other entrepreneurs on Richard’s private Caribbean island—Necker Island. The whole experience cost me about $20k (a massive amount of money to me at the time).
The trip was transformative for me. I got to learn from and become friends with some exceptional entrepreneurial talents from around the world. It also reinforced the value of PR for me.
On the plane on the way back, I wrote an article about my experience. This article and the associated picture appeared as a full page in the New Zealand Herald. The leads that came in from that article alone covered the cost of the trip many times over.
5. Firing Myself
While I am the CEO, I don’t run the business daily. I have a management team full of ‘A’ players.
In 2015, I recruited my first General Manager and stepped aside from the daily running of the business. Stepping aside was transformative. With me as a bottleneck in the business, it was only going to plateau and eventually stagnate.
From an ego perspective, it is not easy to step aside and recognise that there are better people for the job than you. However, stepping aside allowed me to do what I love: strategy, planning, and coming up with crazy ideas for my team to implement.
Those crazy ideas still reflect a big dose of positivity but, perhaps, a little less naivety.
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