Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laura Early. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Laura thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
WISE’s mission is to enable the military-connected community and small business owners to have the life, family, and career they have always dreamed of. We’re committed to creating an environment where our team and clients experience the fulfillment of meaningful work, career advancement, and a balanced family life. Our overarching goal is to be a cornerstone of support and empowerment, facilitating opportunities for growth and scalability within our community.
Our company’s mission is based on my and my co-founder’s personal experiences. Due to the demands of our military lifestyle and consistent moving, I had three jobs in the first four years of being a military spouse. I was tired of working for bosses who didn’t understand my unique struggles and saw my diverse experience as a liability rather than an asset.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Laura Early. I’m an immigrant, military spouse, and adoptive mom. I never thought I would be an entrepreneur. I had a career in nonprofit that I loved, and I thought I would stay in that industry forever. Then, I married my service member. I met my business partner Diana while our husbands were stationed in Fort Moore, Georgia. We were serving on a nonprofit board together. We became quick friends because we faced the same career challenges. Diana was working remotely for a company that had suddenly decided that she needed to work from the office, which wasn’t going to work with us being stationed 2 hours from the office. And I had three jobs in my first four years as a military spouse due to our frequent moves. We were both tired of working for people who didn’t understand our lifestyles and switching careers every time we moved. We started connecting over brunch and talking about our skill sets.
Diana is an engineer by trade, web designer, and technical operations wizard. I served clients freelance more in the marketing, people ops, and event planning side of things. If we combined our skill sets, we could serve clients in a really dynamic way. That idea grew to what if we offered this to our peers and friends in the military-connected community facing the same problems. WISE was born in a Panera Bread outside Fort Moore in Columbus, Georgia, almost nine years ago. We started with two, and now we have a team of close to 40 working worldwide. Our team is 80% active duty spouses and 100% military-connected and represents all service branches. We offer over 60 different services.
Our goal is to be a one-stop shop for small business owners to get the support they need to grow and scale without taking on the burden of employees. And we can do that because of our dynamic, talented team of military-connected professionals. We only offer services for which we have subject matter experts in. We are solving a lot of problems for clients. We’re helping them implement their solutions, but we also offer strategies. We’ll help them come up with a plan and goals. Then, we’ll bring in the team to implement, whether that’s digital marketing solutions, bookkeeping, web design, graphic design, administrative, or even just business strategy. What sets us apart is our team and the fact that we partner alongside clients. We really care.
Our mission is to provide our clients and team life, family, and careers. We get to know our clients, we get to know what their goals are, what they’re looking for, and what support they need, and we work alongside them. We partner with them for growth. We won’t do a service just because a client asks us for something. If we think something else is a fit for them, we’ll push back and give our recommendations, and clients really appreciate that we’re not just looking for work; we’re not just task rabbits, but we want to help them grow.
What sets WISE apart is not just our team’s military connections and their wealth of experience, but also our unique approach to service. We’re not your typical VA agency. We go beyond administrative work, designing strategies that enhance efficiency and foster growth. Our goal is to help implement solutions that our clients need to scale. Our specialty lies in managing multiple services through project management. Our experienced project managers manage multiple team members, tasks, and budgets, becoming an integral part of the client’s team.
I’m proud of the way we’ve grown and scaled our business and of the fact that our clients are 87% referrals, which means our clients are really happy with us. We have a 93% client satisfaction rate and an 87% team retention rate, and so we really are working to improve both our team’s lives and our clients’ lives.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
People want to feel seen, valued and heard. As a leader, it’s your job to cast the vision and make sure everyone in the organization is on the same page about where the organization is going and how they contribute. Team members who don’t know where the organization stands will not be truly committed. This includes values, goals, and expectations. These three things should be reinforced and reiterated by all levels within your organization.
Tactically, this means regularly touching base with your team and getting feedback, celebrating them when they do something well, and encouraging them that every failure is simply an opportunity for growth.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
One of WISE’s most effective strategies for growing clientele is harnessing the power of client referrals. 87% of our business comes from referrals. We focus on building trust with our clients and delivering high-quality work, so they are eager to share about us with their networks.
Client referrals work because they tap into human psychology. People are more likely to trust recommendations from friends, family, or colleagues over social media, Google searches, or other ads. Referred clients often come pre-vetted because your current clients know how you work and if they will be a good fit. The referral has already heard positive things about your business, so as long as the price is right, they are typically an easy yes.
Happy clients who refer become advocates for your business, continually expanding your reach without significant investment. This organic growth not only helps acquire new clients but also strengthens the loyalty of existing ones.
Consistently providing exceptional service is crucial to leveraging client referrals effectively. Satisfied clients are more likely to refer others, creating a growth cycle. Additionally, implementing referral programs that incentivize clients to refer others can further amplify the impact of this strategy.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wiseadviseteam.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/wiseadviseteam
- Facebook: @wiseadviseteam
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraearly23/