I make no apologies for this blog post – it is an intensely personal one. And yet, being recognised by the 2014 Telstra Business Awards goes to the heart of what we, as an organisation and the SMEs we work with, are are all about.
‘Building a business’, Steve Jobs would say, ‘was not for the mentally sane. But it was for the passionate and the persistent’.
We all know that nobody seriously goes into SME business with the sole objective of making money. That makes us completely bonkers – most of the great businesses we work with are mad too. The really mad ones are also the most successful.
Like anyone who is mad knows, you spend a lot of time talking to yourself (you’re always right) – convincing yourself that the path you are on and the path that you are asking people to follow you on is better than that path ‘over there’. It can also be really lonely. Sometimes it takes something or someone from the outside, giving you a nudge with the message that ‘we think what you have all built is great’, for you to stand back and realise that it really is. That’s what Telstra has done for us.
For those who have completed the application process (and I can only encourage you to do so), you’ll know that the task is not for the faint-hearted. It leaves no stone unturned as you work through each key area of your business. It can only be done with everyone facing forward, looking at the same vista, pulling in the same direction, believing that the route ahead is the right one.
So to our wonderful staff (past and present), clients, suppliers, advisors and all those who said it couldn’t be done (yes, you too!). Thank you. We are only who we are because of you. And we’re insanely thrilled!
Better Business Basics 