#WIB – Q&A With Kim Webster Director at Websterbiz Consulting
1. Can you please tell us more about your business?
A. Websterbiz Consulting is a boutique consulting business focused on offering PR & Communications, Media Management and Spokesperson Training, CSI strategy and implementation plans, Project Management, Training and Coaching.
Out business model is based on creating market access for independent contractors, freelancers and small business owners. As such, we keep our core team small, but leverage the service of a network of contractors consulting and joint venture partners to deliver our services. This model allows us to share opportunity and help more businesses stay afloat.
2. When, how and why did you start your business?
A. The business started in September 2020. The business move was largely driven by seeing so many needs during the lockdown, particularly the plight of Social Impact organisations and small businesses that were closing because leaders didn’t know where to turn to for support. We felt that we’ve got skills that we want to invest and so decided, to make ourselves available to help. It was also beyond business, just being able to help by volunteering, mobilizing relief efforts, and so forth. The freedom of consulting means we are able to take on various passion projects and serve a number of impact organisations with our skills.
Ruth and I were consulting independently but decided to bring our skills sets together to form Websterbiz.
3. What is your role in the business?
A. I’m a Director with a specific focus on Operations, New Business Development and delivering the PR & Communications related aspect of our offering.
I manage our suppliers and well as our own marketing efforts to get the name of the business out there.
4. Where did you study and what did you study?
A. I started off with a National Diploma in Public Relations Management from then Cape Technikon now, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). I chose not to pursue a degree, but to diversify my skills set from that point on. I paid for my studies working as a waitress, by paying small weekly payments from my tips. As such, I had to choose the cheaper study options.
I also completed a certificate in Retail Management from UNISA, whilst I worked in Retail and obtained a certificate in Project Management from CPUT.
I’ve always been keen on learning new subject matter; so have delved deep into workplace learning offerings and free online courses.
5. How did you finance your business?
A. The business is not financed. We started out of pocket paying for small things at a time. First the registration, then the URL for our emails, and bought computer equipment and software out of pocket. We’ve been exceptionally fortunate to have business literally from the first day, so additional expenses have been covered from our earnings.
At the moment, we are still working remotely from home offices, to avoid the cost of a facility that we are not using to its full value.
Other things like website, social media, e-mail hosting and even bookkeeping advice comes from within our immediate network: husbands, friends, and close business contacts.
6. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists.
A. I have a 6-year-old, so I try to balance my work demands around quality time with him and be consistent about it. I’m therefore the early bird for sure. I try to start my day before others awake.
My day is divided up quite consistently with a daily focus on deliverables for current clients, pitching new business to at least 3 unknown companies per day, reaching out to 1 old client or close network contact, and then business administration like getting proposals out, posting or overseeing the management of our Social media pages (I’m mentoring someone so have handed over this responsibility as a learning opportunity for her), checking on our analytics to see where we can make improvements or what we can learn from the interaction with our website and social media profiles. We also start every day with status as a team, so I try and close off my day with a review of the minutes or notes of those meetings and to plan for the next so that we don’t lose track of actions from day to day or week to week.
7. How do you balance your home life and your work life?
A. Balance is vital for me. I am passionate about my faith as well as supporting social causes. I’m also a partner in two other businesses and a community project that we are in the process of registering. As such, balancing all these priorities is critical.
I have a very integrated lifestyle. My husband, son and siblings are a part of a lot of the volunteerism that I do, so we get to do that as a family. I love nature, so our social activities are centred on that, which is also very child and family friendly. So there is a sense of balance when it comes to giving the family attention, whilst also escaping the responsibilities of home and work.
Because work is at home, with a home office, I try to be diligent about stepping away from the desk at specific times to prepare meals, for meal times, bath times and so forth. But I have the benefit of getting back to work for an hour or two after everyone goes to sleep of waking up and hour or two before them to start my day uninterrupted.
8. What drives you and inspires you?
A. Job creation and seeing people’s lives change. Being able to upskill by opening up opportunities for people and being able to share my knowledge and skills. That is why I do business. I want to employ people. I want to give people a foot in the door and most of all; I want to share my lessons so that they can avoid the pitfalls and advance from a good launch pad. I also mentioned my faith, which is my anchor. There is a scripture in the bible that reads: “… He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.”
This is found in Deuteronomy 10:18. That passage inspires me to be successful so that I can be in a position to defend the cause of the fatherless and the widow and to be able to clothe and feed people. I want to be in that position to give and to connect people to those who can give. So the desire to not just see change but to drive it is what inspires me.
9. Where and when do you have your best ideas?
A. In the middle of the night is when I have my best ideas. When I am quiet and just processing my thoughts and the information I’ve come across. I make notes on my phone of various ideas that are sparked. Ideas are like wildfires in my head sometimes. One idea sparks another… But the midnight hours are exceptionally productive for me when it comes to strategy and idea generation. Most people hear me say: “… The other night when I couldn’t sleep I was thinking that….” The sentence can go anywhere from there J.
10. Where and how do you market/advertise your business for sales leads?
A. Direct marketing is key for us. Finding our way to specific people to tell them about how services. Our strategy is built on developing layers of awareness with people. So we use Social media to connect into people’s worlds. We try and be relevant in certain online groups, share content that people find helpful, get into networking forums, speaking engagements, and such. This is the way we can build general awareness. So when we reach out in direct marketing efforts (even cold calling) people feel like they know us because they’ve encountered our names or our business name a few times.
So yes we are present on Social Media individually as business owners and as the business. We are on business listing sites and tap into groups and networking events.
The bulk of our business has come from servicing old relationships, building strong credibility, and direct marketing, where we handpick the type of businesses we want to work with, we research them and then we reach out and pitch to them.
11. What is next for your business?
A. We are still very much in the start up phase. We’ve only been around for 8 months. But we want to get to the place of operating in reserves and not waiting month to month for client payments. We want to expand our international business relationships. We’ve got clients abroad and wonderful partners that we’ve gotten to know over the years. Our next is definitely to harness these opportunities for cross continental collaboration.
12. What advice would you give to female entrepreneurs hoping to start their own business?
A. Just focus on being an entrepreneur or professional, what you are good at and why you are good at that. Don’t be distracted by the fact that you are a woman in anyone’s world. You are a professional fullstop. Never let the company of men in the boardroom make you feel inferior. You are likely more qualified that most of the men you will encounter in your work life. If you are married share the responsibility evenly. As much as I cook, clean, bath and feed my son, so does my husband. There are no my roles and his roles in the house. That takes a huge burden off me.
Can I also just ask women to stop competing with each other so much? We tend to be the first to break each other down before the men do. We’ve got a role to play in changing the game. There’s no better time to start. Let the responsibilities of life grow with you and your business. Don’t sacrifice one for the other.
Short Bio:
Kim Webster is a Communications professional who has over the 18 years of her professional career delved into roles with subject matter such as Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability, Fundraising, B-BBEE and Transformation as well as Staff Wellness.
She’s consulted for clients in multiple industries from Health to manufacturing, constructions to agro-processing and retail to food security to name a few.
She’s lived and worked abroad and has an international client base in Websterbiz Consulting, which she runs with her sister-in-law and business partner, Ruth Webster.
Contact information:
Kim Webster
- kim@websterbiz.co.za
- Twitter: @KimWebsterSA
- Linkedin: Kim Webster (nee Cleinwerck)