I was issued with this scary job description exactly one year ago today when I joined Professional Call Minders. What a year we’ve had, and it’s proved to be one of the best career decisions I have ever made. Sarah Preece is the dynamic founder and owner of the business and we have been friends for many years, so at the back of both of our minds we knew that it would all boil down to whether we could work together successfully. The first of my many questions was to ask what the ‘next level’ looks like and once we’d nailed that, it was time to make a start.
For the first 10 weeks Sarah and I shared an office which gave me total insight into how the business operated and how her leadership influenced the team. I spent time with the team to gain a greater understanding of them as individuals and their roles. The culture within the business is incredibly strong and when you have really great people great things can happen.
In broad terms the path to the ‘next level’ started with the team, then processes, business direction, greater understanding of the competition, re-brand and systems.
In January I moved to the Sales & Marketing office to get into the nitty gritty of the sales process where we have made significant changes. This is an appropriate time for me to thank my excellent colleagues Michelle Jones, our Client Services Manager and Lauren Martin, our Marketing Assistant, without their help and support and desire to make the business great, we would not be where we are today.
We approached the ‘next level’ with no fixed timescales but what we did do was to start the year with a company meeting where we outlined the business plan. This proved to be powerful in galvanising our direction and each quarter we have a repeat performance where we review the previous quarter, look at the priorities ahead and most importantly listen to each other and openly discuss any concerns.
The original ‘next level’ is within reach now and when we get within touching distance there’ll be another ‘next level’ which is just how it should be – that’s what keeps a business alive and exciting.
It’s only right that I conclude with a massive thank you to Sarah for her courage in taking a leap of faith in me. We’ve shared a lot of early starts and late nights, we’ve faced some big challenges together, we’ve had some disagreements but we’ve never fallen out, we’ve had a lot of laughs and learned so much from each other. Let’s see what the next year brings.
