Rachel Warrender is the founder and Director of Dubzz Digital Marketing, and has recently been awarded the title of Emerging Young Leader of the Year in the Westpac Business Excellence Awards. Here she talks about 10 key lessons learned in her journey so far:
1. You can’t do everything yourself
If you want to be successful, you need to learn to delegate; although it would be nice and give me personally a great deal of achievement to do everything on my own, this is not humanly possible. As a business one could try and offer every service under the sun, but there is a saying ‘be jack of all trades and master at none’. Learn what you are good at and stick to it, delegate or outsource the rest.
2. Treat your staff like volunteers
A few years ago I heard a saying ‘treat your staff as volunteers, as they volunteer the best part of themselves’. I would love to know who said this as they deserve a lot of credit. I make a conscious effort to thank my team for their work every day and let them know they are appreciated (which they are), in return they go above and beyond every time.
3. Hire for attitude, not for skills
This can feel difficult to follow as we work in a highly skilled industry, however in the long run attitude will win over skill set every time. If someone has the right attitude they will be willing and motivated to learn the right skills and deliver them in such a way that you and your clients will be satisfied every time.
4. Make time to look after yourself
Admittedly this has been one of my hardest lessons to learn. When you are young you think you are invincible and your good health will last forever. You have to make time to look after yourself! I have learnt that if you don’t make time to look after yourself, no one else will.
5. Get involved
Life is like most things, what you put into it is what you get out of it. Make the most of every opportunity that comes your way, you never know where it will take you. I love being involved in number of business, community and charity organisations, and get a great deal of satisfaction out of it.
6. Build a great support network
When venturing out on your own or trying something new there will be plenty of doubters and plenty of people who try and talk you out of it. I have learnt that you don’t need lots of people (especially the negative kind), instead you need a fabulous group of supportive people that will help and encourage you along the way.
7. Remember people’s names
My favourite business book, ‘How to win friends and influence people’ by Dale Carnegie taught me the importance of using people’s names. Dale Carnegie said, “The average person is more interested in his or her own name than in all the other names on earth put together”. Remembering and using people’s names in conversations makes them feel important, and lets them know that they are important to you. It sounds so simple, but makes such a difference. Try it!
8.Don’t let fear get in the way
We all feel afraid at some point or another and I can openly admit I have had some sleepless nights in the last four years. I have learnt that fear should not be a barrier, it should make you feel a sense of achievement as you are pushing the boundaries and learning or doing something new. Embrace fear, embrace change and grow from it.
9. Never stop learning
There is always more to learn, there is always a better way, and things are always changing. If you don’t keep learning you will be left behind. I keep learning by reading lots of nonfiction books, blogs and articles by thought leaders, and learning from others in webinars, seminars, or face to face. Our ability to learn is truly amazing and we should all make the most of it.
10. There is no such thing as a mistake
Every experience in life should be used to grow, to get better, and to learn something (even if it is what not to do). We all have to learn these things along the way. It doesn’t matter where your first job was (mine was at McDonald’s) or what you went to study but didn’t complete (mine was Biomedical Science), these experiences help to shape who you are. Use your life experiences, build on them, value them, and learn from them. They were not mistakes, they were experiences, and this is life.
These lessons are mine and like me you will have yours – embrace them, love them, and learn from them.
The things I have learnt have served me well over the last few years however, my journey still has a long way to go and there is plenty more I want to achieve. I look forward to reading more books, meeting new people, doing new things, celebrating more successes and learning more lessons. Bring it on!
Rachel Warrender is the founder and Director of Dubzz Digital Marketing, a digital marketing agency located in Rotorua, New Zealand. Having worked in Online Marketing for a number of years, Rachel decided to go out on her own after realising the growing need for all businesses to harness the online environment, and generate exposure and revenue from effective online marketing.
Rachel is the 2015 New Generations Director for Rotary Rotorua Sunrise, has previously served on the board of The Rotorua Chamber of Commerce and as Board Member and Secretary for the Rotorua Property Investors Association. Rachel has a BSc, Certificate in Online Marketing, and a PGDipBus in Marketing.