One of the things I love about BNI is the way we celebrate each other’s business successes. This celebration is one of BNI’s core values and it really gives you a lift to have that external support and positive feedback. This year I was fortunate enough to have my own business’s success celebrated as a finalist at The David Awards. In New Zealand, The David Awards recognise the unsung heroes in home and small businesses throughout the country. They acknowledge people whose tenacity, courage and ingenuity place them firmly at the forefront of entrepreneurship in this country.
Lisa Garrud – Owner Isatrin Ltd, David Awards Finalist. BNI Remuera Member.
Lisa Garrud, owner of Isatrin Limited, member of BNI Remuera
My story
My name is Lisa Garrud and I am the owner of Isatrin Limited and a member of BNI Remuera. I am a finalist for the Solo Meo Award: This Award celebrates a solo business owner who runs their business single-handedly. It recognises all-round business excellence, from concept through to execution. Entrants in this category must be sole owners of their business, and cannot employ anyone else in a dedicated, ongoing capacity for over 10 hours a week (e.g. virtual assistant, sales rep) but can employ others to undertake specific tasks for the business from time to time (e.g. an accountant, web designer, copywriter or product demonstrators).
Isatrin began with a redundancy as the website company I was working for went into liquidation due to poor decisions by the owners. I rescued the clients who were being left in the lurch, initially replacing their websites for them. My services grew to include design (which is my background); branding, stationery, advertising, etc.
Two years ago I introduced a new service ‘content marketing’. I generate or source content – articles to update websites. We use these articles to create a newsletter to send to their customer database and we take snippets of the article to post on their social media channels. This is a great source of regular income which has helped my business to grow.
The awards
I have entered this category before so I know the value of going through the process of entering your business in the Awards and getting that feedback on your business from experts with proven experience. I was fortunate enough to be mentored by a previous winner of The David Awards – Richard Conway of Pure SEO. He got me into BNI originally and encouraged me to enter into the Awards. As a solo operator, the recognition and feedback you get from awards is gold. It has helped me develop my business and add high calibre clients.
For me referral networking through BNI is my main source of work with 30% of my business coming from BNI. It’s not just what you know but who you know and BNI has significantly improved my connections with the business community. I am now building relationships with more clients who are purchasing my regular services and will help grow my budget so I can take on employees.
Challenges
Running a business on your own can be a lonely journey. Whilst you’ll always find someone to celebrate achieving a goal, it’s the little steps that have to be taken alone to get there – like the early networking breakfasts to get more work through to the late night overtime to get the work done. Every day it can be a decision between chasing work for tomorrow or getting the work you have now finished.
I have to take the energy I have left to make sure that I spend quality time with my daughter and am involved in her life. I have to keep in touch with my friends so I have a social life. I have to push myself in all aspects of life to ensure I actually have one – and to be honest, the ‘have to’ pressure can get a bit much. BNI helps me manage this balancing act.
The David Award winners will be announced on the 12th October so I am looking forward to that; I recommend other BNI members consider entering your own business next year – it’s a fantastic experience.
Lisa Garrud, owner of Isatrin Limited, member of BNI Remuera
