Small steps that lead to big growth

The to-do list keeps growing and the decisions can seem endless for business owners. I’m a Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA) with over a decade of commercial experience and I was still overwhelmed with decisions when starting my two new ventures in the year that was 2020-  ‘Hacia Atherton International’ a courage coaching & keynote speaking business, and the not-for-profit ‘Empowered Women In Trades’. In hindsight a lot of these decisions seem so small, yet for me at the time they involved significant leaps of courage and self-belief. These are my top 5 learnings from establishing my two ventures;

1. Structure, structure, structure. The famous saying when it comes to property is ‘Location, Location, Location’. However, when it comes to establishing a business and growing one, an essential element to success is choosing the right business structure. I have seen so many businesses outgrow their business structure or get in trouble because they have chosen the wrong one. My advice, this is the arena you need to spend some money to ensure you get proper advice on how you should structure your legal entity, which will be the foundation for your business allowing you to turn big picture business dreams into reality. Yes, I know this sounds like typical accountant advice, however, I can’t stress enough how important the right business structure is, especially when building from ground zero!
2. Business personality AKA branding. When I started this journey, I thought branding was a colour scheme, a logo and a tag line. Boom, branding done! I was incredibly naïve. Branding is the heart and soul of your business, the personality, the tone and use of language. To establish my business brands, I went to the basics; I thought about my core ‘why’ of my business and from there added the values I wanted to live by in the business. Having clarity on this point made it easier to develop both the visual branding and also my communication content pillars (hint: these connect back to your core values). Because I developed a strong foundation for my branding, I have found it easy to be consistent and stay ‘on brand’. Having a strong and consistent brand will make it easy for people to spread the word about your business and recognise it when they see it.
3. Website and social media I would have to say this is where my biggest learning curve has been. IT is not my strong suit and to succeed in this digital world you need to have a strong digital presence. My communication pillars revolve around 5 key themes to ensure my social media communication has consistency. When I was setting up my ventures, I also jumped the gun on IT platforms and website developers and made a few mistakes. My advice here is slow down a little, do your research and gain an understanding of your IT needs. Then find contractors that share similar values to you and your business.
4. The power of outsourcing. I know how hard it is as a founder to hand over the reins; to pay someone to do something 80% as well as you could do it and expose yourself to the risk of being let down can seem rather unpalatable. However, to allow your business to grow, you need to put your energy into high value tasks. Therefore, you need to let go of the low hanging fruit and outsource, get a virtual assistant, find contractors on upwork and give yourself the support you deserve.

5. Let passion guide your purpose. I found starting my ventures a challenging journey and it doesn’t necessarily get any easier when your business gets off the ground and starts to grow. My family’s business has been established for over 130 years and we are still faced with challenges that test you. So, it is essential that you have a genuine passion for your business that burns bright and allows you to dream those dreams that scare or overwhelm you; then you need to back this passion with the courage to take the steps to turn these dreams into reality.

Establishing and growing a business takes dedication, persistence and long hours. I’ve reached that ‘I want to give-up’ point many times and this is when you need to turn to a strong support network to help keep you on track. In these moments I also remind myself of the story of the Chinese bamboo tree, which takes (5) years of watering and tending with little obvious growth, then all of a sudden it grows over 25 metres in just six weeks. Even when progress seems slow, keep ‘watering and tending’ the early stages of your business with both passion and patience in preparation for the growth ahead and the rewards that come with it!

By Hacia Atherton 

Author Bio:

Hacia Atherton CPA has over a decade of commercial experience in the Manufacturing, Education, Healthcare, Not-for-profits and Finance industries. Her passion is to inspire people to see their remarkable potential while empowering them to connect with their inner courage so they can overcome any challenge and turn their dreams into reality.

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