As part of the ten year anniversary of this small business I'm celebrating the key moments that I feel defined the last decade.
My first bricks and mortar shop came with a contract that stipulated we had to be open 11-7pm, 7 days a week, 363 days a year. That’s more than even the most passionate and determined entrepreneur can manage alone, so for me hiring staff came sooner rather than later.
I spent the first year not believing my luck that we continued to be in business, continued to have customers and continued to make sales. Yet I lived in constant nagging doubt that the end was just around the corner. The 3-month rolling pop-up lease simultaneously alleviated and added to that stress.
Hiring my first staff made success seem more real and I was thrilled to create jobs that people enjoyed. It was the biggest unexpected personal highlight of my entrepreneurial journey, and I still feel it now with every new hire. Hiring also seemed to lend the business more permanence, I was now not only responsible to myself and my customers I now had a responsibility to my employees.
So many great women have helped Revival become what it is today. They’ve shared my vision, they’ve done the work and they’ve shared in the successes along the way.
Surrounding yourself with good people is so important. Being inspired and inspiring others is a two-way street – as is being passionate – and it’s so important to me that everyone at Revival has the ‘care factor’.
Work should be enjoyable too. I decided to hire people who like people; striking up a rapport with a customer is where we gain our enjoyment. We know lots of customers on a first name basis and they know ours.
It’s not just the team in the shop either, but also our suppliers, our photographer and the models we hire. It’s about relationship building and believing in people, not just about money.
I enjoy running a small business, in fact, I love it. I’m not saying I want to run a lifestyle business, bottom line is important, but during the good times and the bad you’ve got to know what’s important to you, what keeps you going.
I value the people that help me build my small business. It’s important to me to nurture my staff, treat people fairly, and for us to build genuine relationships with our customers, suppliers and the extended community.
