The Outline:

Customer: Nicky Thomas

Company: Growth Community

Industry: Professional Networking

Introduction

The Story of Nicky Thomas

Nicky is the founder of The Growth Community - a collaborative networking community that is aimed at supporting businesses and working together to grow. Nicky has a background in networking having worked in the industry with a franchise for nearly 3 years and with her expertise as a VA, arranging meetings and getting people organised came naturally to her.

The Growth Community has grown over the last couple of years, despite having to go online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With 13 meetings currently and at least three more in the pipeline, The Growth Community is going from strength to strength.

The challenge of getting a business off the ground

Nicky wanted to start the business due to a bad experience in her previous networking franchise. She had no money or business to set up but we began talking and I started setting Nicky deadlines to complete small tasks.

Nicky had things going on personally in her own life that meant she needed someone she could trust to be her confidante but also give the push to make decisions when needed.

Not only that, she was starting a business right at the beginning of the pandemic, with no clue as to how long lockdowns would last. She needed to be flexible but also have plans in place for changes if needed and there was a lot to think about.

"It was like we were Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak"

Why Nicky Chose Pippa

Nicky and I met through networking, I’d been to a few meetings with her and we’d become friends. It was an organic process of us working together, I knew that Nicky wanted to get this going but she was struggling with the creative side of getting it set up.

I don’t think Nicky considered any other business management or accountability coaches, as I’m not sure she realised at the time that was what she needed. We discovered that working together worked for us, that having goals in place and someone to challenge her and make sure that decisions were being made took some of the pressure off her.

Knowing that Nicky needed a friend but also a business manager was important to me, it’s important that I get on with my clients personally as well as professionally so I can find out about what makes them tick and how they set goals and plans.

“Pippa is proactive, genuine, focused, fun and passionate.”

How Pippa Responded

The first thing I did was set Nicky a few deadlines for the basics; what was the business going to be called, how would it work (face-to-face or online), what method of subscription would there be and how do you market it. From there, everything else seemed to fall into place. Nicky states that we are “a little bit like Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. One has to be creative and one has to be there delivering it.”

Nicky was able to talk about her ideas in a safe space and I was able to help her think of how to deliver those ideas and what things may be in her way during the process.

Setting up goal-planning sessions and accountability workshops and being aware of deadlines helped Nicky get The Growth Community up and running quicker than if she’d had been on her own, it also gave her to confidence to keep on doing it after previous experiences with networking groups.

As I knew Nicky from networking and we evolved into working together, it was incredibly easy to give a personable, friendly and yet structured approach to helping Nicky and The Growth Community get started.

Using those deadlines, she managed to get a majority of the bigger structures in place in just four months, which with everything else going on, is a huge testament to her determination to get the tasks completed.

“She brings a personality, the whole of her personality to the entire process.”

The Results

By April 2020, Nicky had a name and a very brief outline - by August, she had the website and everything was ready to go. In the Autumn of 2020, she had customers and groups that were being set up over Lincolnshire, Berkshire and the East Midlands.

Within the first year, Nicky had 13 groups set up with businesses networking fortnightly. These groups have produced thousands of pounds worth of business between the groups which would not have been possible without the Growth Community.

The Growth Community continues to grow, Nicky is at the helm of this networking ship, but in time will step back and be able to address other things in the business that may need work, like the procedures and processes.

Nicky and I worked together for 18 months and although we don’t currently work together, I still check-in and work with her on certain points of accountability.

“Pippa will always be my go-to for anything to do with accountability.”

Call-to-Action

If you want to see how Pippa can help you, from accountability and planning to business management - call today on 07907687963 or email pippa@donebypippa.com