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birthday, business, Hub Marketing, The Hub, The Hub Marketing Communications

Happy birthday Hub!

You are probably looking at my photo and thinking… seriously, she looks a bit older than nine… (only a bit, surely!) 

This year my marketing business, The Hub celebrates its ninth birthday.

On 10 February 2005, I sat down at the computer for the first time, without a secure job, as The Hub Marketing Communications. I started with one client, the spare room as the office and one staff member (ok, he was my dog, let’s just say mascot).

Interestingly, at the very same time I started officially wearing the entrepreneurial hat, others were doing the same – YouTube began and the Huffington Post was launched.

Other events worthy of mention in 2005 – the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system, Eris, was discovered. There was the landing of the Huygens probe on Saturn’s moon Titan. The movie, Catwoman won the 25th Golden Raspberry Awards. Steve Fossett became the first person to fly an airplane around the world solo without any stops and without refueling. Tiger Woods won the 69th Golf Masters Championship.

Clearly, The Hub was in good company.

In a professional sense, much has changed since the advent of The Hub. Social media and digital platforms began and changed the face of marketing and communications. Dependent on your attitude (and control issues) from a business perspective you might think it’s the worst thing since the Catwoman movie. Or like me, consider the significant opportunities these platforms create for business.

We have grown from one person and one client, to a team of ten with more than 40 clients Australia-wide. Who would have thought? Actually most people know I have a 15 year plan – I am a bit like that. I even planned the timing of the birth of my first child.

From a personal perspective, I had a few milestones myself, with the most notable being getting married, having two children, finishing a couple of degrees and publishing a book. It is amazing what you can get done in only a few years!

Through all this, The Hub and I have happily and steadily evolved, innovated, changed and grown. I’m a big believer in not growing the fastest or being the biggest, this doesn’t drive me. What drives me is partnering with exciting inspirational leaders wanting to achieve exceptional results in whatever sector they lead.

We are inspired by these people. We like working with them in helping them achieve their goals and at the end of the day, this drives our team.

inspire, business

To inspire is great!

 

Throughout our nine years a couple of things haven’t changed.

My vision, of being the most sought-after marketing communications firm. The other being my first ever client is still with us.  Brian Leyden, it is good to have you still with us after so many years.

Here’s to the next exciting nine years.

Nic

PS – for more Hub news, check it out here

 

There is no doubt… if you want to change something in your life, the beginning of a new year is a great time to start momentum.  You’re fresh from a holiday, enjoying the sunshine (in Australia anyway!) and return to work inspired to do things differently.  I get it… I really do!  But if you truly want to make a change, the last thing you should call it is a new years resolution – otherwise it is certain to fail!

New years resolutions get a bad wrap!  Essentially as a brand, resolutions don’t have good stickability.  The concept is built for failure because you will inevitably – not live up to the resolution.  It is a short-term brand built on guilt!

So what to do?  As a parent that has just (very recently!) turned 40, it is all about clever branding – by not calling it a resolution!  You will be more forgiving on yourself, more flexible and if it doesn’t work out – you can call it something else further down the track – I mean who has ever set a new year resolution mid year?

I have some changes I want to make to my life.  Changes to a routine I have built up over many many years.  Changes to some habits that are no longer serving me well. Changing to increase more ‘me time’, a focus on being healthy, exercising more and blowing bubbles more (scuba diving).  These are my changes for 2013 and to help encourage its long-term success – I am branding this change my ’40 and focused’ phase.  See – it even sounds longer…

Why start the new year destined for failure?  Brand your changes the way you want – its more fun that way!

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Me diving with a massive beautiful Potato Cod at the Rowley Shoals

I am selfish.Women_in_leadership_ppt_JumpingWoman_Slide29

OK… weird way to start… let me clarify.

I am selfishly invested in recognising the value women have in business… hang on, hang on… before you close this blog – hear me out.

It has taken me 40 years to admit publicly that I am in fact a feminist.  Growing up in the 80’s the term feminist certainly had negative connotations, of hairy armpit, bra burning, aggressive women that never brush their hair.  In hindsight I think I was a closet feminist, although I never burned a bra and well… did the other bits regularly – but you don’t need to know those details.

Why am I now comfortable to publicly admit that I am a feminist?  Because now more than ever it is time for change.  This is where my selfishness comes in…

When it was just about me and my career as a business woman – in the early days I did it on my own, without really a thought of changing it for others.  It was easier to focus on me and what I needed to do to progress, glass ceiling or not.

Why was I so career focused?  In hindsight I think was because at a young age my mum died and I turned to my Dad as a role model.  Dad had always run his own business and from my perspective – he instilled in me a strong work ethic, a no handout mentality to create your own independence.  If I wanted something – you worked for it.  Maybe that is why it didn’t seem like a big deal when starting and growing my own business.  I am pretty sure Dad doesn’t understand his role in my life choices.  It is what it is – I can’t change who I am, nor would I want to.

But then I became a parent.

I had two children.

Two girls.

AND EVERYTHING CHANGED.

Suddenly it was more than about me – but actually this made me even more selfish.  Now it is about the world I want for my daughters to grow up in.

If my daughters were entering the workforce now – this is what they would face in Australia.

This is just not good enough.

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With two young girls, my focus is the betterment of this – for them.  No matter what or who they want to become – so they have choice, freedom and a pathway to be whoever they want to be…

We need to encourage change.

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We know…

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A huge thank you to the Lush TV team for producing this video.  They rock www.lushtv.net

Information and research data for these two videos were sourced from McKinsey and Co, EOWA, the Harvard Business Review and Nicolle Jenkins.

The design was created by my awesome team at The Hub Marketing Communications www.thehub.net.au or follow us on facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Hub-Marketing-Communications/115176038521060