Lessons and Advice on How to Build a Successful Business
Q&A with Becky Balderstone, the Ripe Founder
What three pieces of advice would you give to a new business owner just starting out?
Firstly, you need to enjoy every win. Running your own business can be time consuming but make sure you take time out to celebrate your success.
Secondly, once you get to the stage of growing your team, I would say recruit wisely. The team you build around you are crucial to your success, so make sure your team are awesome, energetic and passionate about the brand and the company.
Finally, work hard. It is not easy to build your own company, but when you look back its really rewarding.
To what do you attribute your success?
My success is down to being passionate about what I do. I enjoy every aspect of Ripe. I love getting hands on with the team and watching different areas of the company develop and grow. Most importantly I have a wonderful team around me, who has equally contributed to the growth of Ripe.
What would be your best tip on marketing for small business owners to follow above anything else?
Don’t let any opportunity pass you by and think outside the box. I always strive to ensure that new ideas are brought to the table on a weekly basis and if that means spending time with the team brainstorming or researching then I will, as I think it is extremely important.
Reaching new target audiences and gaining new customers is key, so it is important to always be looking for new ways to recruit, engage and retain. There are so many ways of reaching people, it is key to understand your target audience and make sure your approach and tactics are in line with that.
Finally, I would say that understanding the evolving digital space is also just as important. The digital era is upon us and a lot of traditional marketing approaches have been pushed to the side to create room for digital marketing techniques. Social media is one of those. It is a huge platform that if optimized and understood properly, will help you create and increase brand awareness and ensure you keep at the forefront of competition.
What were the difficulties you had to overcome when starting out and how did you overcome them?
My biggest challenge was learning to juggle a new family, whilst working full time and giving my team at Ripe the time they needed. I had to give up a lot of personal interests and hobbies and become extremely regimented in my daily routine to ensure I was able fit everything into each day. It was tough at first, but now looking back, I am proud at what was accomplished whilst still raising my children.
I would also say that the legalities and investment required to set up a business in this region can be quite challenging. I don’t think setting up any company is easy, and you will always face challenges. Every business I interact with has their own challenges and own success stories but if you follow your ambitions and do something you are passionate about you will be successful.
What other advice can you offer to those starting a new small business?
Enjoy it. Trust your team to get the job done. It is challenging but if it was easy to run your own business everyone would be doing it!
