Onside’s Post

I'm 45 years old. If I was starting over, here’s the #1 piece of advice I would give my 25-year-old self: Before we get to that, let’s recap our journey so far this week… On Monday, I shared the discovery I made when I reached the 7-figure earners club and the VP level for the first time. The secret: The people I joined who have done it too are no different from you and me—insecure, feeling like an imposter, and just trying to figure it all out. → Takeaway: You’re good enough - so just go for it! On Tuesday, I talked about how climbing is best done on a mountain, not on a (corporate) ladder. Once you realize you’re capable of going after big things, then you understand it’s actually less crowded on the “mountaintop” versus playing the silly status games in the busy “marketplace.” → Takeaway: Pursuing big things in life is safer in the long run than playing small games with people who want to stay comfortable and keep you stuck on the hamster wheel. On Wednesday, I discussed the importance of asking yourself bigger questions, especially when you’re pursuing new things for the first time in your life (like transformation deals with massive brands). I shared how asking myself a Great Question when pursuing Chipotle led to a $10M contract in 7 months. → Takeaway: You’re taught early in sales that the key to getting positive results is asking good questions. The most important (first) question, though, is the one you ask yourself before you even start the conversation with others. Don’t skip this part! On Thursday, I deconstructed how to find a Great Answer once you ask a Great Question. Using a framework from Gary Keller's bestselling book “The ONE Thing,” I laid out the case why exploring answers at the bounds of possibility is key to taking your career (and life) to the highest level possible. → Takeaway: Even if it scares the sh*t out of you, it’s worth exploring what’s possible. Find the answer if you don’t have it, and then plot a new course until your standards exceed what’s been done before. This is how you enter the top 1% without sacrificing your soul. Yesterday, I broke down the anatomy of the largest proposal I ever sent in my career ($504M). No, we didn’t capture all of that, but had we not shot for the stars, no way we could have landed on the moon. → Takeaway: Numbers are neutral. A $500K proposal can be overly scrutinized, if not more, than a $500M one. A client’s data is the data. Deal with the facts and manage your fears if they lead you to new heights. Solving a big problem is the key, not the price tag. So…back to that advice to the young man who was: - Living in New York City - Working 2 jobs to pay the rent - On the brink of bankruptcy and burnout What would I tell him if I had a time-traveling DeLorean? “Just keep going. You’ll figure it out. The best is yet to come.” We want all the answers now, especially when the pain is real. But the journey is worth every penny. Keep going! 🐝

Just yesterday, our incredible leader Liz celebrated her birthday 🎂🎉! Last Thursday, we held a lovely morning tea to celebrate her birthday as well as those of our very own Steph and Emily. As a special birthday gift, we decided to put Liz under the microscope with a few challenging questions! 1. Can you share a major challenge you faced in your career and how you overcame it? Taking over Cirrus International is definitely the biggest career challenge I have faced. Although I shared an office with my Dad; Laurie (running my marketing business), I didn’t know all of the details of the business and had to learn all of the pieces to the puzzle. This meant finding new ways to do things which worked for me regarding my own knowledge and experience and put in systems so that everything ran smoothly. Being logical and patient with myself was really important but also not being afraid to ask for help was imperative for success. 2. What advice would you give to other aspiring small business owners? 1. Surround yourself with great people and when you find them, do what you can to keep them!  2. Inject your personal values into your business, such as providing high quality products, delivering incredible customer service and making the whole process from initial interaction through to repeat purchases easy, informative and an overall great experience. 3. Keep learning. There are so many factors outside of our control which change almost weekly - technology in particular, but also things like the economic climate and current trends. Listen to your customers and your staff and evolve to suit the market. 3. Can you share a memorable experience from your career that has shaped your perspective or approach to your work? In a previous job many years ago I held a role (one of several similar roles around NZ) which was largely held by older men. I was in my early twenties at the time and it was a huge struggle to be taken seriously. I was sitting around a table with others in the equivalent role to me in a meeting and was spoken down to - essentially told that I was not capable of my role. From that moment, I made it my absolute mission to be the best I could possibly be at every single role I ever found myself in, I was determined to prove him wrong. I did, and I continue to take that memorable experience to drive me to be at least 1% better every day.  4. What is your proudest achievement in your career so far? I can’t think of a particular instance which makes me the most proud. I have proud moments every single day and that’s down to being surrounded by amazing people. I love celebrating the little wins, whether that be gaining a new client or project, staff loving their job and feeling fulfilled or keeping businesses going through tough times like covid. I also love learning new things, coming up with new ideas, injecting them into my work and watching that become successful. 

A year ago today I did the thing that my Mum told me to never do: quit my job without having another one lined up. ✌🏼 Here are 5 things that I’ve learnt since I’ve been running my own business that it’s unlikely anything else could’ve taught me: 1. Not everybody will want to work with you and that’s a good thing - you should happily accept it. It might feel like rejection at the time but it’s always the right outcome. Let me explain… Unless you’re a really close match in terms of respect, communication style and expectation and you’re aligned with what you’re trying to achieve, then you’re not compatible enough. You’d only be wasting valuable time trying to convince other people of your value. 👊🏼 2. Context and perspective are really important. Did I expect to sign up every prospect I ever wanted to work with? No. 3. Everybody tells you not to get low on the lows… but it’s equally important not to get high on the highs either. Life is (hopefully) a long old thing and it’s important to pace yourself when it comes to celebrating the wins. 🏆 Obviously it’s important to recognise success but things can change quickly (in both directions) and unless I never have to work another day in my life, it’s business as usual regardless of what happened yesterday. 💡 4. Working for yourself - by yourself - most of the time can be isolating. There is limited office banter between me and my cats! Flipped on its head, this is a great reason to keep in regular contact with clients which is beneficial on so many levels. 🐱 5. Referrals carry even more weight than you realise. I knew that being referred by the right person to the right prospect could help me. But when the hard work to win the work has already been done for me by somebody else who the client trusts... it’s got me to the point where I now work pretty much exclusively from trusted referrals and I don’t do any marketing outside of these LinkedIn posts. I’m extremely and eternally grateful to everybody who refers work to me - thank you. 👋🏼 I started this by thinking ‘if I can just get to a point where I don’t have to turn up at work for somebody else then I’ll be winning - that’s literally all I want’. SWBK ⚡️ #Accountancy #VAT #Devon #Xero #ModernBusiness #Finance #Accountant #Somerset #Entrepreneur #Tech #Exeter #Xero #Outsourcing #Business #Bristol

Celebrating Success No. 3: Back on Track It's easy to lose sight of our career ambitions. We become so focused on the day-to-day grind, and as life gets in the way, we often switch to autopilot, existing instead of thriving. This year, I've worked with several clients who felt exactly that, lost, unsure of what they wanted from their careers, and left feeling unmotivated. In some cases, this even affected other areas of their lives. One client, in particular, stands out. He had flew up the corporate ladder, reaching a director-level position in a relatively short time. While this was undoubtedly impressive, it left him with little opportunity to step back and consider: Is this really what I want? When we started working together, we explored what he wanted from life and filtered that down to his career. It turned out that, while he didn’t hate his job, there were other things he was passionate about trying. Through multiple sessions, we defined what that looked like and developed a plan. Fast forward, his side hustle is now up and running—and he’s already sold his first product! (Amazing progress in such a short time.) His plan? To grow the side hustle to the point where he can leave his well-paid, comfortable corporate position and pursue it full-time. This journey resonated with me, as it reminded me of my own path. I love working with ambitious, bright, and brave individuals, helping them rediscover their passion and drive, and getting them back on track.

1 year ago today, I found out I was getting promoted to partner. It was a 10 year journey to get that news. 10 years of ups and downs. 10 years of relationships. 10 years of hard work. Many may say it was a culmination of all of the work over the 10 years. Not me. Culmination implies that the journey is over. Culmination implies the destination should be the focus. Don't get me wrong, I am very proud of this achievement. But focusing only on the destination sets us up for disappointment. What happens if we get to the destination and realize it's not all we were hoping for? Even if the destination is what we hoped it would be, there will always be the question of "Where to next?". However, if we focus on the journey and the activities leading us to the destination, we realize the destination is just one of thousands of stops in our journey of life. We realize the destination is the result of our activities and habits, not the why behind our actions. While becoming a partner was a destination, it wasn't the driving force behind my actions. I focused on what I could control. - Life long learning - Working well on a team - Being a respected leader - Building a personal brand - Producing high quality work - Developing a network of amazing people The destination is just a point in time. The journey is where all of the good stuff is. Where is your focus, the destination or the journey? #journey #publicaccounting #promotion P.S. Funny story, I was actually late to the meeting I was told I was a partner. Whoops!

I immigrated 1st time when I was 21. My entire family stayed back in Russia. They said, “The grass is always greener on the other side.” I had $1,000 in my pocket, my life savings. It took me 8 months of applying for every ad to get a job. I was first declined for this job due to being overqualified. Then the person they hired tragically died while driving to work on the highway. I was the next best fit, and I got the job. Starting salary was $500 a month. It was actually lower but since I was overqualified they made if $500 for me. I was almost always hungry. My lunch was 2 free cookies at the office (Thanks!) Something interesting happened, though. A new era. For the first time in my life, I had an opportunity to do well based on merit. Johannesburg has a well established legal system. The owner would not just be able to hire me for one month and then replace me without paying, like what I and many others experienced in my country of origin. There was a future here. And it was up to me. I was the first to show up at work, often arriving just after 6 am. I was the last one to leave, sometimes leaving at 10 pm. I treated the business like it was my own. Apart from my responsibilities I did whatever I could possibly do to make it successful. From getting the office ready for important client meetings to putting together marketing catalogs, to renegotiating contracts and driving down prices by 25% across all supplier purchases, which was huge for us given it was a manufacturing company. I worked NON-STOP. I got promoted as far as I could go in that company. My boss blessed me to go join a management consulting firm when there was nowhere else to grow (I was his right hand). He was my greatest supporter and believed I was destined to do big things. But I earned that with the results I delivered for his business. Within consulting, I got promoted 3 times in 2 years, following the same playbook. And then up and up from there. The moral of the story? Find a place where you can advance based on merit. Where your contribution will be noticed and rewarded. Earn someone’s mentorship and support based on the results you deliver for them. It's not hard to find mentors. You just have to do your part: deliver for them like no one else would. Have fun out there today. Continue the climb. (This photo is from my first international consulting assignment.)

🎉 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝘅 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗘𝗚 —and what a wild, wonderful ride it’s been! This isn’t just an anniversary; it’s a love story about growth, guts, and good vibes. 💪✨ 💭 𝗙𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵 I made a New Year’s resolution to shake things up and find a job that brought me joy and fulfilment. At the time, I was feeling stuck, a bit lost, and wondering what was next. As a migrant new to London, figuring out how to navigate being “too many minorities” all at once (woman in leadership, neurodivergent, career climber—you name it) wasn’t easy. Then, this opportunity came along. ✋ 𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹- It wasn’t exactly perfect: a HubSpot technical gig that could’ve boxed me in, a marketing team in need of a revamp, and, oh, did I mention the 25km bike ride EACH WAY to get there? 🚴♀️ But there was something about it. 𝗔 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸. It had all the ingredients for a marketer’s dream – a relevant product, a billion data points, a decent budget, an amazing tech stack and a sales team ready to team up! Plus, it was a tech company in logistics—and coming from a haulage family, I couldn’t ignore that gut feeling. This was the right move. 🚀 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝘅 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 And wow, what a journey it’s been! Every year, we smashed records. We built new teams, restructured the old ones, and tackled so many cool projects that boredom never got a look-in. Oh, and cycling became a passion! 👥 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁? 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 I’ve worked with some of the most talented humans out there—some became colleagues, and some dear friends for life. A few have moved on to amazing new adventures, and I couldn’t be prouder of them. This job has been more than just work. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. 🌍 Logistics tech isn’t just cool; it’s critical for keeping the economy moving and driving sustainable growth. And I’m so proud to be part of it. ❤️  🥂 Here’s to the past six years, the incredible people I’ve met, and everything we’ve achieved together. Thanks, Transport Exchange Group team and especially Lyall Cresswell, for the opportunity. 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻, 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱!💥🎊

🌟 The Unexpected Power of Conversation 🌟 I recently had an experience that truly highlighted the power of communication and connection. After a busy day at work, I booked a Rapido ride home. When the rider arrived, we quickly sorted out the destination and then started chatting about our occupations. To our surprise, we discovered that we both worked in marketing. Our conversation quickly evolved into a deep discussion about career paths, industry trends, and job opportunities. We exchanged insights on effective marketing strategies, shared networking tips, and reflected on the highs and lows of our profession. The dialogue was so engaging that time flew by, and before I knew it, we had reached my destination. When I asked for the QR code to make the payment, the rider did something unexpected—he refused to accept any money. Despite my repeated offers, he simply smiled and said, "It's not every day you meet someone who shares your passion. This ride is on me." I was genuinely amazed by his generosity. Here was someone who drives for Rapido to earn a living, yet he chose to forgo payment because of the connection we made through our conversation. This experience underscored for me how important it is to engage genuinely with others. Building connections through meaningful dialogue can lead to unexpected friendships and valuable insights that enhance both our personal and professional lives. In a fast-paced world, it's easy to overlook the power of a simple conversation. But life is short, and making new friends and connections every day can be incredibly enriching. This experience reminded me that effective communication can open many doors and create lasting impressions. #Networking #Marketing #Communication #CareerGrowth #LifeLessons #Kindness

I left the firm three years ago already, committing the next phase of my career to building HostWise.co. What started with 22 properties and <$1M revenue has grown to over 100, with ~$5M projected FY24 revenue. Growth is continuing to accelerate, rather than slowing down (further proof that #airbnbust is a myth spread by bad operations). Reflecting on this journey, if current me could talk to old me before taking the leap, here are a few things I'd say: -On Hard Work: You know that starting & running a business is hard work, but you really have no idea. Weekends off? Nope. Love skiing? Too bad. Tired of 10 hour days? Get ready for 15 hour days as your new normal. Your phone will become an extension of your hand (I have a "pinky rest" callus now). Friends & relationships? You're lucky they're patient with you, because they won't be seeing you much. - On Managing People: Leading a team is challenging, especially with highly variable experience, knowledge, & skillsets. At the firm, there were two defining characteristics - everyone was incredibly smart and highly motivated. Finding those traits in a small business setting takes significant time & effort. Letting people go is tough, but not as tough as working with people that don't share your passion. - On Ragrets: You won't have many regrets (not even one letter)! Are there parts of consulting you'll miss? Absolutely. Working with the C-level of $500M companies, helping them thrive, and working across a multitude of industries was interesting work. Dinner every night with intelligent people and discussing (sometimes debating) what's going on in the world was always fun, and let's not forget those airline miles! That said, building a business from the ground up has taught you more than you could imagine about marketing, finance, sales, management, HR... and loads more. Every day will bring a new challenge, but you (rarely) get tired of them. - On Networking: Building relationships in industry is much more important than you realize. Turns out conferences aren't just for drinking - you'll build friendships, learn a lot from those late night conversations, build partnerships, and more. There's value in just talking to someone that has, or is, walking in your shoes. When I started building this business, I was told not to be so committed to guest satisfaction & ratings, because "it's impossible to maintain quality at scale." Well, we now have over 11,000 reviews, STILL a 4.93 / 5 rating, 12 full time employees, over 30 cleaners, and we're still just in the early innings. We also have an exclusive registered trademark for Chore-Free Checkouts® , furthering our commitment to an incredible, easy guest experience. With properties now in Pittsburgh, Winter Park, Silverthorne, Austin, and Siesta Key, we're starting to move towards a national presence - stay tuned for more updates!

✋🎤💥 I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve officially joined the incredible partnerships team at Obie as a Channel Partner Manager II! Obie is on a mission to reinvent the insurance process for landlords and rental property investors. With our tech-forward approach, we’re not just simplifying insurance—we’re transforming it ✨ By taking the hassle out of obtaining coverage for our partners' customers, we help our partners: 📈Increase efficiency in their business ⚡️Enhance their value proposition I’m so excited to unlock and drive success together 🤝 I’m boldly diving headfirst into this next chapter, bringing big partnership energy to my new role at Obie 🚀 —-------------------------- I also want to recognize that navigating the space between opportunities can be both daunting and empowering. During my brief interim between roles, I took the time to reflect, recharge, and refocus my career goals by: 🏞️ Exploring the Great Outdoors: My family and I traveled to Acadia National Park to disconnect from the noise and reconnect with each other and nature. 👨👩👧👦 Connecting with Loved Ones: We visited family across Texas and Oklahoma that we hadn’t seen in years, recharging our souls and reminding us of what truly matters in life. 💼 Strategizing My Next Move: I engaged in deep, strategic conversations with my network and explored prospective opportunities to determine how I want to be supported and challenged next in my career which helped me dial into the perfect opportunity. 🧭 Realigning My Mindset: Every day, I consciously reminded myself of my value and intentionally chose to be grateful for the experiences that have prepared me to level up to this new role. This post wouldn’t be complete without expressing my immense gratitude to my previous directors and heads of partnerships—Aidan Weinrib (she/her), Kelsey Kearns, Charlotte Z., Brittney Heaphy, and many others—who always recognized my value and supported me along the way. 🙏 🤔 What’s one piece of advice you would give to someone currently in the midst of their career transition?