She was made redundant while on maternity leave, worked three jobs to keep the house, and now runs two businesses at once…
In this Marketing 4 Business episode, Scott chats with Andrea Cockburn, director at Thermoglaz and one of the newest agents at Harcourts Gold Papanui, about 40 years in sales, buying and selling businesses, and what she is only now learning about leading a team. Andrea grew up in a state house, became a Canterbury coxswain at nine, and has lived in roughly 50 houses and renovated 15. She shares the tools and the mistakes, including:
- Why over-giving as an employer ends in disappointment, and the line from her own management team that reset it: not everyone is your family or your child
- The glass ceiling mistake Andrea owns up to, wanting every team member to push through theirs without ever asking if they wanted to
- Stop, start, recreate: the three-part review her directors and GM run on the business, and on their own weak spots
- The tank: how her management team scores mindset, health, family and personal life out of 10, out loud, twice a month, and the only question they ask afterwards
- What happened when they swapped the junk food pantry for fruit and water, kept the chocolate biscuits and the beer, and one staff member decided to get a haircut
- Why buying a business with great long-serving staff means keeping their traditions first, and what it cost the new owners of her IT company when they did not
- Nought to around 500 clients in six months selling makeup at parties, and why she still says growing fast can quietly over-commit you
- Turning $82,700 into $182,100 in 18 months on her first house at 20, on a renovation budget of roughly $2,000
- Why after 40 years she calls herself a communicator rather than a salesperson, and why she has never counted commission as income
- Her two-word answer on what makes a good student of a mentor
- Scott's own take on culture: small hinges swing big doors, plus the daily stand-up and "teach me" ritual he runs at Digital Influence
If you are a business owner who tends to give more than you get back, or you are trying to build a team strong enough that you can step out and do something new, this episode is well worth your time.
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