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Sometimes you can't see for looking, and you're too ingrained in a situation to see a solution. Glenn was in this position; he wanted to spend more time working on the business, not in it.
And so conversations with friend and business coach Jane Stevenson began. Glenn asked for Jane's assistance in interviewing for a general manager, but they were unable to find the right person. Glenn realized through the process that Jane was the person he needed and asked her to join him. After many discussions and a revision of the role, they joined forces.
The pair believes the partnership works because they’re both passionate, they can debate opinions without taking things personally and can sound ideas off each other to discover a solution.
Jane Stevenson had previously run a business strategy consultancy for 16 years, before being headhunted to become a director of an ad agency to strategically expand their business development across South Africa, so the creative space is familiar territory for Jane, and the move to Magnetic Storm was an exciting chapter for further growth.
"When I came into the business, Magnetic Storm was segmented into a variety of businesses that fragmented the offering externally. Beyond that, the Group have invested in many other business opportunities. They were businesses where Glenn saw the potential," says Stevenson. “So, we restructured the company from the ground up and developed a new strategy, branding position and packaged the business to maximise the brand equity of the business in the market. Previously, we were looking at it from an internal perspective which complicated and disjointed the brand messaging.”
Glenn recognised that the previous inward-focus was a concern and was introduced to Roger Hamilton and Entrepreneurs Institute in 2014. He joined Crystal Circle, and although being part of the movement for a year, it was when Jane joined the team that they both became very active in the mentoring. "It is intense and fabulous, but I realise the value in having a someone in the business to work with. The mentoring and guidance that Roger has given, has made a significant difference in the business, and we continuously evolve," shares Glenn.
Jane immediately found the sessions of great value. "Roger comes in from a 180-degree perspective," said Jane. "You can try to look at things differently, but you'd never be able to look at it that differently. You need someone who has no emotional attachment to it and is not afraid to challenge your mediocrity in a way that gets you excited.”
"On day two, we believed we had it – in our minds, we were thinking big. Then we spoke to Roger!" Jane remembered. "He saw that we were merely recreating the old business with small changes. Roger removes you from small-time thinking and gets you looking at who you are and what you want to build. He pushed us, as did all the mentors. We started all over again, stayed up all night to recraft and rework, and the next day, we introduced the Magnetic Group."
The Magnetic Group concept allowed Jane and Glenn to create a structure for different operations by creating a holding company and setting up multiple businesses for events, training academy, or team development under its umbrella.
The Master’s programme also introduced Glenn and Jane to Roger’s Wealth Dynamics profiling system, which clarified individual strengths and optimum roles for each team member. Most entrepreneurs build teams with other people like them; however, as Jane said, the market responds better to a more holistic approach.
“When you understand your profile, you can play to your talents. We realised how we needed to restructure our teams and change our behaviour. When you're a small business, it's easy to feel like a family, but as you grow, you've got to put processes and systems in place that people may rebel against. It's been a struggle to grow from 10 people to 45; changing habits takes focus, consistency and time,” remarks Glenn.
For the first time in 36 years, Jane and Glenn implemented a full sales team, freeing up the technical staff to focus on their strengths. As a result, they've seen a 15-20% increase in turnover in the last 18 months
Throughout the process Jane was able to work to her strengths and nurture her passion for strategy and optimisation, manifesting in the creation of Magnetic Minds.
So, what in 2015 was going to be a general management role became a whole new position and way of looking at the business. It was a journey of self-discovery that will now grow into a standalone business by the end of 2017.
Roger recognised Jane’s journey as a crucial lesson for entrepreneurs.
"You can be entrepreneurial without having to own your own business," said Roger. “Jane came on board at Magnetic Storm to help grow and evolve the business. Her whole focus was solving things from within the job. When she came to Wealth Dynamics Masters in South Africa and received Flow Consultant training, she realised that her own brand could be of value to Magnetic Storm as well. So now, they're building a training division, Magnetic Minds, which brings all the pieces together."
The question is, what is your greatest challenge and how can you capitalise on that?
How can you step back from being ‘in your business' so that you can work ‘on your business?'
And lastly, with whom can you partner to support your business or idea to allow you freedom?
