25 years in business – My 7 guiding principles

Quite by chance, right now I'm mentoring a couple of people who have taken the move to start up their own professional services businesses. Love to see it.

Ach, I say ‘mentoring’—that makes me sound very fancy! It’s more that these lovely guys told me some of their initial thinking and it set off alarm bells in my head.?So, I find myself giving them some help to at least avoid what might be costly errors.

This prompted me to reflect on what I was told when I was in their positions all of, wow, 25 years ago—a set of basic operational rules that I am sure not only helped me avoid a whole bunch of issues then, but also help me keep the Good Ship Sarum afloat and prospering today.

A key confession: I had a cracking mentor at my side when I started--my then husband, who had started his own services business at 20, and at 27 had three office locations and was employing 100 plus people. So, he knew a thing or two about business and had a few scars that he learned along the way that he wanted to save me acquiring!

I almost felt bad for him when I buried him under the patio… JOKE!?We are thankfully still great friends. In any case, this is what he advised then, has been proven true since, that I have passed on to my mentees.

1. From day one, behave like a proper business

When I started out, companies were unsure of using contractors for a service like Public Relations. They felt safer with an agency that had a swanky London address, much, much higher fees, and an impressive reception area, kind of thing. That has all changed over the years, but I swerved being not taken seriously from the start by always presenting as a proper business.

So, I had a short and simple letter of agreement, nothing too detailed or complicated, no trying to wrap anyone up in legalities—and still today, Sarum has a one-page letter of agreement. I also committed from day one to standard payment terms—big companies will not respond to daft payment terms, so my advice is Give their Accounts Teams the 30 or 60 or, yes, the 90, if need be, days their systems demand. I was also impeccably VAT-registered, had lined up my credentials and recommendations, and generally behaved like a real business, not a sole trader or a freelancer.

That kind of professionalism and reassurance, that was critical to the kinds of clients that I wanted to attract and work with 25 years ago, is as important now as it ever was (even more so maybe in uncertain economic times).

2. Make it as easy as ABC to do business with you

From day one, almost all of Sarum’s new business came in through known contacts. The same continues to be the case today. ?The problem is, the contact knows you and wants to work with you, but they then have to convince their CEO, CMO or CFO. So, work with them and align with their specific processes; you have to be open to bend and flex---you can’t impose your restrictions on them, you're too small, too irrelevant… and if you make it too difficult to work with you, nine times out of ten they won’t bother!

Likewise, make it easy for the people you take on in your business; make it super, super-easy for them to work with you. Don't ask them to jump through reporting hoops or bill you by the hour, or complete endless spreadsheets. Always keep your business as easy to work for as you can.

3. Be the best they’ve ever met at paying as a supplier

I pride myself on paying everybody quicker than anyone else. First thing my ex-husband told me, and it’s stood me in really good stead for 25 years: the amount of good-will and positivity this earns is just so useful (and important). Also, never take on a cost like a new supplier if getting them paid depends on you're getting paid—in my books, that’s madness! Build up the money in the business first, then take on cost knowing you can afford it no matter what.

4. Surround yourself with people that are more capable than you

Note I don't say ‘smarter’ than you are. I never understand why people say that. Successful business is not about people being brighter than the founder/management team, it’s driven by people being at least as capable, if not more, capable than you. Why? Because what sustains your business is those capable people, ?that means customers get what they want, so they will come back time and time again.

5. Don't suffer bad debt

When it came to getting paid, my mentor was hardcore. Famously, he once threatened to freeze IBM’s account for not paying its overdue invoices. I took his cue, and I've never had a bad debt in 25 years. Don't get me wrong--I’ve had my fair share of slippery finance folk looking to duck and dive and delay payment, but that's kind of fine. It's part of the game and if you don’t let it stress you out, ?you just handle it.

Thankfully, the days of ‘cheque’s is in the post’ are behind us, and now we can all track payments electronically, so there's kind of nowhere for them to hide—but in my book, once a customer has established a fairly consistent payment record, I relax. Also note that after 25 years and despite the much bigger size of the business, I still keep a very close eye on my invoicing. ?I have an accountancy firm that does all the accounts and reconciliation, but it’s so important I do my own invoicing. Also, I recommend you personally chase if it looks like any issues are looming; I don't use someone else's email or voice to do that for me.?They know me.?I provided the service.?I should be able to sort out the problem. ?

This all comes back to the first point: if you behave like a proper business, you’ll be consistently, pleasantly surprised how people treat you, including and how they pay your bills.

6. Never take business change personally

No matter how well you get on, or how well you think you help them out over how long, clients won’t be there forever (though I am delighted to say we do tend to keep ours for a gratifyingly long time). What starts out as the perfect client fit may not stay that way; just be a realist and accept you might lose them through no fault of your own--your contact leaves, a new PR head comes in and brings in their favourite PR team.

On the flip side, we are so often the contact’s favourite PR team that we get taken in when they move on. The Universe balances out.

And finally,

7. Know when to walk away

As a grown-up you need to know when a client is no longer right for you and you have to walk away for everyone’s benefit. Companies change, people change, and the fit that was perfect to start with, maybe less than ideal over time.

So be brave, know your own strengths, and write an elegant (and that's the key thing) Dear John email where you can honestly and clearly explain how it's not you, it's us, kind of thing—you know the score. I've done these several times and while it was painful at the time, I deep down always knew it was the right thing for me, for the team and for the Sarum brand to part ways.

You may have wondered why I said ‘elegantly’ there. It’s because if you do it the right way, many of the people who received the Dear John letters go on to other tech companies--and they got straight back on the phone to ask us to do their PR.

So, to sum up:

·????????always operate as a serious supplier

·????? ??it's all about great people—so look after them, make it easy for them to work with you

·????????hire people being more capable than you to help you out

·????????clients may come and go—but if you and your team do your job right, they very often come back or spread the love by recommending you, based on a great experience working with you

And finally-finally: it goes without saying that if you wake up ready to do business honestly, keep a watchful eye on the finances, and make sure it's all tinged with a daily dose of humour—you, and my fledgling new company owner chums, will do just fine.

Carina