After swapping from careers in banking, and with over 20 years' experience in cruise travel, Paul and Jo-Ann Kennedy set up GoCruise and Travel to help clients realise their dreams to travel.
The two founders joined Boost’s Growth Mentoring programme to gain helpful support for key areas of their business. They share their thoughts with Boost and offer advice for new entrepreneurs.
We received mentoring support in terms of finance and marketing strategy. This has enabled us to update our technology and give us a social media presence. We felt that we had a gap in our social media marketing strategy and we were conscious it had to be addressed urgently. The mentoring has been a wonderful refocusing experience.
It has been clear through these difficult times in the travel industry that we had become far too inward focused in dealing with the many problems we have encountered. As a result of the mentoring we are now spending more time on the business and not just in the business.
In recent times it would be Paul’s nephew Richard, a first class honours graduate from Oxford who retains the skill of being highly successful not only by using his many technical skills but more importantly his mantra to use and know the value of building personal relationships as the key to success.
Honestly, we are motivated in knowing that when we have provided our professional services to our clients the vast majority treat us as trusted friends and that results in referrals, the greatest compliment of all and the best way to gain new clients.
As we work from home it is important to do that old fashioned thing of getting properly dressed for work. If you are scruffy and slovenly in appearance just because you work from home that will inevitably reflect in your standard of performance in our view.
We have such diversity in the county, and this gives potential clients from so many areas.
Definitely go for it as not only is it free advice, but particularly for small businesses, it has been an invaluable experience to have a second pair of eyes look over the business and challenge many long held views which upon reflection may have become inappropriate in these times.
By whatever means is best for you, it must be the Number One plan to understand the value of personal relationships with your contacts and clients. Also, when looking at potential sales and their value to the business remember turnover is Vanity, a good margin is Sanity and income is Reality.
Would you like to see your business grow? So would we. To speak to someone from the Growth Hub about business support, contact Boost online or call 0800 488 0057.
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