Any business owner can find it hard to step away from the temptation of getting involved in every single aspect of the company. But, at some point, we have to! If you’re too busy working IN the business, how are you going to find time to work ON it?
And perhaps more crucially: how can you manage your mental health?
I don’t want to hype us up too much, but Wildfire is relatively successful. We’re a huge player in the themed events and team-building space and have gradually added more to our services. We’re very busy and have many clients that have been with us for several years.
This success is a double-edged sword, though. I’m sure we attract great talent and more clients with this reputation, but it has left me wondering…
I think sometimes the perception is that we’re a multi-million-pound business, avariciously cornering the market. Whereas, in fact, we’re still an independent, family-run business. The only things we’re cornering are rage buggies and Go Karts.
We just love what we do and try to take that energy into every workday. But how do we take this enthusiasm for our work and help it filter into other positions? How do we create a culture where people who aren’t blood relatives still feel part of the work family? Even though we only have four family members out of 16+ members of the team, it’s still something we’re always conscious of: How does our passion become their passion?
We all have to do things we don’t like, at work and in life. But the more we can let people focus on what they’re good at (their zone of genius) and shed away the things they don’t enjoy doing, the more excited they will be about showing up.
If you’re good at something and you love it, it stands to reason you’ll be excited to do more of it.
If you’re constantly going to work and feeling like you’re failing (largely because you don’t like parts of the role), what kind of energy is that to take into every day?
If we have someone who is fantastic at running events – excellent with the clients, who all give rave reviews – but they’re not so hot on the pre-events work: the logistics and the admin, what do we do?
We could say, “it’s part of the job; get on with it,” or we could look at reshaping the role to fit their strengths. In my experience, positions are much easier to change than people.
Of course, none of this works if you don’t have the right processes and procedures in place. What do you do when someone is off sick? How do we know when a prop has already been hired for the day? What do we do if a client’s numbers double the night before?
If the owner can’t take a holiday because the whole thing falls apart, then you don’t have a business; you have a job!
This is where processes are key. Once the sales team have made a booking, for example, it’s what they do next that is going to make all the difference. Popping it in the calendar and shouting, “that’s another one, boss,” just isn’t going to cut it. (Although you might still get a pat on the back).
It may take a bit longer, but if they give a thorough handover to the ops team, by the time the information gets to the events manager, they are fully informed and ready to go. If someone’s off sick, it’s easy for a new person to step in, review the notes and still deliver an amazing customer experience.
If you don’t have the right processes in place, the sales team will constantly be scanning through old emails while the events manager is trying to figure out why you promised the client they could get a hovercraft into a private dining room at the Shard.
We are constantly looking to build roles for people with well-refined and defined responsibilities, so if there isn’t a board member around for a few weeks, the company can keep operating at the highest level. That is what a turnkey company is all about.
A lack of processes also puts pressure on every other department. Events are already stressful enough. It’s long hours. Early starts. Late finishes. Long drives. Adapting on the spot to last-minute changes. And everything has to be handled with a calm demeanour and a smile on your face. It’s like working in an airport. You’re just there to do your job, but everyone you interact with is off on their holidays.
We hire intelligent, hard-working individuals. We hire kind-hearted, friendly people. So, it’s on us to help them succeed because most of them should! We need to put them in their zone of genius, give them the tools to do the job and then support them when it gets tough.
Imagine if we have ten events between Monday and Thursday, and everyone is looking forward to some much need downtime on Friday. But the bloody sales team is flying in their zone of genius and has booked two last-minute events for Friday. Now, we have to be up at 4 am and drive five hours to get to a muddy field, dressed as Robin Hood but feeling like Friar Tuck.
At times like this, we need open and honest communication; we need to pull together and understand how people are coping.
Being in events is like being in a band or being an actor. You’re constantly on show, performing in front of people. So, you’re on a high with them.
You have to be able to come down from that. We’ve all had that feeling when you get home at 3 am, knowing you have to be up in a few hours, but you’re still buzzing from an amazing day. It’s easy to burn out, drink too much, and make bad decisions.
As a team, we need to make sure we can keep a sustainable life. We must find downtime to relax and look after our own mental well-being. And it’s not just the events team. People can get overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork they have to sieve through or feel the pressure of bringing in more revenue. Everything and everyone are connected. If one of us is feeling it, it has a knock-on effect.
As a business owner, you might be thinking, “I’m a machine, and I can keep going, and I always find a way.”
Well, that’s great (and I’m guilty of it), but you have to consider why your employees should put themselves through this! And what you can do to redress the balance.
We recently launched our new benefits programme; this includes Flexi-working, earlier finishes on a Friday and a goal-setting programme.
Our own goal is to refine our processes and procedures so that while the business operates all year round, the team can work four-day weeks.
We are constantly in the pursuit of excellence. We want everybody working at their best, whether it’s on the CRM, exceeding targets, or organising the warehouse. From the top down, we need open lines of communication to remove barriers before they pop up and understand our limits.
It’s an ongoing, ever-evolving puzzle.
But, as I’ve always said, no one enjoys puzzles more than us!
