Reflections on 5 years

Wow. That went fast. 5 years has hurtled past in a flash of learning, growing, joy, stress and challenge. When I started Bite 5 years ago (to the day) it felt right. I felt confident that it was time for me to take that leap of faith, challenge myself and push myself into the world of the self employed.

I remember those first few months really well. I was excited.  I was also anxious. Have I got the message right? Do I have enough contacts to make this work? Along with the anxiety was the overwhelmingly strong feeling of giddy energy. I was right where I wanted to be and ready to throw myself into the challenge. At that time I wasn’t thinking too far into the future, but having reached the 5 year mark, pretty much on track, I now have a robust 5 year plan for growth and am feeling very optimistic about the future. Here are my top 5 reflections on 5 years.

1. Your team is everything

As we enter our sixth year in business I have plans to work more on the business than in the business. And I am extremely thankful to have a wonderful team here at Bite who work tirelessly to support our clients and each other. I am passionate about making sure that I stay close to the channel and will always stay hands on. Rolling my sleeves up and getting stuck in ensures I stay close enough to the market to ensure we stay relevant and I have the knowledge that my clients and my team need to ensure I can support them in the most efficient ways possible.

2. Cash is queen

I take this very seriously. Businesses operate because of their cash flow, not their profits. I am extremely fortunate to have a loyal customer base. But along with that we have watched our operational costs carefully. It’s extremely important to me to make sure we have enough cash to draw on should we face difficult times ahead. We were fortunate to weather the covid storm pretty well, but 2022 will bring its own challenges as the world pivots to adjust post pandemic and we all learn how this will impact our businesses over the next 12 months. We have not stood still. Check out our eBook for our marketing predictions for 2022.

3. Follow your gut

One of the main phrases we deploy here at Bite to our marketing customers is the fact that ‘We believe in making informed decisions quickly, communicating skillfully and acting on the results.’ However, there is certainly merit in also following your instincts. Instinct is based on our past experiences.  Trusting that knowledge and experience is important.

4. Its ok to take a break

I am really bad at switching off. At work and at home. But I have learnt that taking time to reflect and simply relax helps me to focus, helps creative ideas to surface and allows you to be a better version of yourself for your family and team. Often, we run from one place to another with endless lists of things to do, but it is so important to stop and reflect. Allow our minds to reset and recharge.

5. Kindness is key

Kindness to me is the most important value to harness. I don’t consider this to be a weakness. I try extremely hard to take a step back and think about why a client or an individual may have reacted and responded in a particular way and try to ensure that my interactions are progressive and positive. I hold onto the fact that acting with kindness brings benefits both to myself and to others. Kindness brings happiness to others, improves relationships and eases anxiety.

I enjoyed the article by the Harvard Business Review about the power of kindness at work

View the Harvard Business Review article here

As well as considering the impact of the last 5 years from a business perspective, we also took some time to share our reflections on how B2B tech marketing will change and our predictions for the future. In our latest eBook we cover everything from the rise of virtual to the resurgence of telemarketing, from what now works in email to how new privacy changes bring new challenges to marketers. Play by play, the eBook reveals what changed, what worked and what’s next. And importantly, it covers how marketing will change in 2022.

Head over here to download a copy.

Thank you for your time and have a lovely day 🙂