No Money, No Problems? The Ethics of Referrals
Do you expect to be paid for giving a referral? I don't. And even when other parties have offered to pay me a referral fee, I decline. All I want from my referrals is to ensure that my client enjoys a level of service and quality of delivery that matches Ruby Assembly's standard. In today's blog, I highlight why cash-conditional referrals can be problematic and lead to poor client outcomes [...]
The Wild Power of Saying No
Reader - I had a choice to make. A tough one. I could acquiesce to the client's demand that I edit my Service Agreement to their liking, or I could stick with my guns. Sticking to my guns would cost me a potential $24,000 in fees. So... what did I do? And - more importantly, faced with this conundrum - what would you do? We all have different 'red flags' in our [...]
How Parenthood Takes Entrepreneurs Next Level
Late last year, my husband and I became parents to a spiffing little lady. The experience has been an unmitigated delight, with any speed-bumps encountered barely memorable when compared to her sunny, funny presence. After barely three months, I returned to work - and so our newly-minted family's workweek rhythm began to find its groove. And while life is certainly more complex, it is all the richer for it. Like many [...]
Growing Business and Baby
I find myself in now in the first week of maternity leave, at a heaving 36 weeks pregnant. Our much-longed for baby is nearly ready to make their appearance, and my husband and I are simultaneously excited and nervous. I haven't shared much about my being pregnant over the past nine months, although many of you will have noticed from recent photography used by Ruby Assembly that I'm definitely looking [...]
A Marketer’s Guide: Identifying Business Owners Who Are Beyond Help
The success of a business is ultimately predicated by the attitude of the organisation's leader. No matter how talented a team of creatives, salespeople, digital strategists, product developers, scientists or researchers - the 'decision maker' is the one who supports growth and innovation, or hinders a brand. I'm reflecting on this subject as I was recently engaged to undertake a strategy audit with a marketing team from a staple Australian [...]
Getting Hired in Digital Strategy
Over the last three weeks, Ruby Assembly have been focused on recruiting a stellar Digital Strategist and Copywriter. It's a tricky thing to do, particularly in the midst of a pandemic lockdown; as complex a task for the employer as the potential employee. I found myself inundated with applications. Whilst we usually receive a tonne of applications for roles at Ruby Assembly, this particular role elicited well over 150 [...]
Coming Out The Other Side
It was months ago. Well, two months. But it feels longer than that, as I'm sure it might for you as well. I was getting ready for work and listening to ABC Melbourne radio, when an announcement was made that Victoria was in a state of emergency lockdown. Whilst I didn't - I couldn't - know the extent to which our lives would change as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown, I [...]
Brave New World
Yesterday, a State of Emergency was declared in Victoria. These are unique circumstances and interesting times. None of us have lived through a pandemic before, one whose fierce virality means that we're resorting to plague-era epidemiology. While we can't guess exactly what will ensue in the days and weeks to come, one thing is for sure: the coronavirus epidemic will pass. Self-isolation will one day be a story we share [...]
How To Lose Millennial Business
Australia - nay, the world - is about to undergo seismic change. The next decade will see the biggest transfer of wealth from one generation to the next ever to occur. Businesses will change hands, family assets will be inherited (and more often, dissolved) and fortunes will be built and lost. India and China will erupt in a youth boom of technology and supercomputing. In Australia, we'll see Boomers leaning heavily on the [...]
Not Everyone Will Like You
When I sit down with someone who is curious about how I built my business, they'll often ask for the concrete steps taken. You know; the usual suspects everyone is curious about. How did I build my mailing list? How do I find new clients? How did I know my business would succeed? How did I decide to price? These are all useful questions to ask, but the reality is [...]
Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our insights as they get published.
