Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Venus Hawbaker. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Venus, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today

Realizing that *I* am the secret sauce to the success of this business. Picking the right CRM, joining the right networking groups, choosing the best tagline for my business, all are not nearly as important as trusting my judgement about what is best. At the end of the day there is no “right” answer, only what is the right fit for me. Trying to find the objectively “right” answers slowed me down from listening to my intuition and recognizing what works for another marketing firm doesn’t mean it is the right choice for mine.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

The Venus Collective is a collective of creatives, strategists, and marketing masterminds. My team has a potpourri of styles and knowledge, so you get connected to the right person for your particular needs. Our focus is to craft a platform of longevity and performance for our clients aspirations, which means we will guide you step by step to hit your personal goals no matter your budget. We are creating lifelong relationships, not rushing from one project to the next.

Services we provide are:
Branding
Graphic Design
Web Design
SEO
Branded products
Printed materials
Email marketing
Direct mail
Media buying
Retargeting
Geofencing
Event planning
Animation
Photography

Any advice for managing a team?

People are people! Numbers and metrics will follow when you see your team as whole multi faceted humans, and support them in every aspect of their lives. Not just how it relates to you or your business. Your team is ultimately your greatest sales force, and how we are able to do what we do professionally. Never take that for granted!!

Diversity, in all forms cultural/economic/political/education/location/gender/race/communication styles etc, are an absolute must. Without expanding our understanding of our world and how we interact with it there is no way we can be effective in our goal of supporting our clients and your team morale will hit an ever narrowing tunnel vision without it. Embracing the discomfort with learning and feedback is paramount.

Everyone has different comfort levels of socializing, meet them where they feel best. For example, some on my team are more introverted and prefer one on one chats versus traditional “team building” activities. Others have families and outside of billable hours want to have as much time as possible, so we create family friendly BBQ team events. Others still, would prefer a traditional Happy Hour. I do it all, so that they can choose how to participate in our team a way that feels most beneficial for them and their lifestyle. If they aren’t enjoying this, then we can’t bond as a team and then what is the point? Forced fun is gross.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Hands down, networking. People want to know, like, and trust you before they can even consider if you are effective at your profession. Gone are the days where people would work with someone who was unkind or unethical ‘because they are good at what they do’. Society is marketing savvy, and can sniff out anyone who is inauthentic in an instant. So traditional weekly networking groups, along with one of networking events have been the base of my business. Getting to know people shows them my consistency, and that my actions align with my words. Those referrals also help me cut back on clients not being a good fit for me or my team. People who recommend us know who we are and the flavor we bring, so those giving out the referrals are really sorting out the incompatible clients without me having to do a thing. At this point, I am exclusively referral only.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TheVenusCollective.com