“The best thing they could have done was fire me. I mean, I was hedging my bets, and you can’t hedge your bets if you’re going to be an entrepreneur.
You’ve got to jump in.” -Sara Wheelwright
Sara Wheelwright shoots me a big smile and a wave as I walk up the stairs to join her at HomeQuarter, a locally owned coffee shop in Saskatoon. She has graciously agreed to do an interview for The Nomade Series. I knew she was a successful business owner and I was looking forward to learning about her entrepreneurial path. Since immigrating to Canada in 2006, she has built multiple businesses in Saskatoon and Regina. In fact, the coffee shop we are sitting in is one of her clients.
When I meet Sara, it is apparent that she lives a very full life and is an expert at managing it. Her twin daughters are hanging out nearby in the café as she is having dinner while being interviewed. Despite all the activity around her, she is completely present and poised.
As we get to chatting, it becomes clear that Sara is someone with true grit; she has overcome many challenges, and has worked extremely hard to get to where she is.
But, she explains, sometimes what seems like a worst-case scenario is exactly the push you need in order to take the next step. This was the case when she was asked to leave her job in radio sales in April of 2011. When that happened, she had to commit to making her first business, Trusted Online Directories Saskatoon, a reality. She was all in, no turning back.
“I needed to be pushed off the ledge. Because nobody could sell it like I could.”
“The best thing they could have done was fire me. I mean, I was hedging my bets, and you can’t hedge your bets if you’re going to be an entrepreneur. You’ve got to jump in. I needed to be pushed off the ledge. Because nobody could sell it like I could,” she said.
Flash back to 2006, when Sara immigrated to Saskatchewan from England. Despite having visited the province a few times, there was a lot to adjust to. Certain things can only be learned about a place by living there. For example, she struggled to find reputable contractors for various projects. After being ripped off herself and seeing it happen to others, she went looking for resources. Having worked in advertising sales, she was familiar with the concept of online directories, but found those online resources weren’t as developed in Saskatoon. She saw an opportunity.
Eight years later, her company, S & E Trusted Online Directories Inc. provides platforms for Saskatoon and Regina locals to find reputable contractors in their communities. In order to be listed in the directory, contractors go through a thorough vetting process.
Trusted Online Directories has grown into a household name in Saskatchewan, but Sara’s success didn’t come without a huge amount of grit and grind. Between April and May of 2011, she grew the roster of businesses signed on with Trusted from nine to more than 40.
Sara began building her business while juggling roles as a mother of three small children and as a full-time career woman. And she was building it in a country where she didn’t have a family network.
In addition to these challenges, her journey wasn’t without naysayers and pushback. When presenting her business idea to a former boss, she was met with, “Ah, Sara, websites don’t make money. What are you going to do when it fails?”
Despite this, she says her conviction that the concept would work allowed her to go beyond the fear and to start seeing the possibilities.
“The fear of somebody else doing it and me kicking myself for the rest of my life is the biggest driver I’ve ever had,” she said. “I’m passionate about the fact that this is going to work.”
It’s this optimism to which she attributes her success. In fact, she describes the first business plan she presented to Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan as “ridiculously optimistic.” But she says you have to go into entrepreneurship with this kind of mentality. Though she has made mistakes because of it, it has ultimately paid off.
Shortly after starting Trusted Saskatoon, it became clear that Sara’s clients needed marketing support, and they trusted her to do it. So, in 2014, she launched Trusted Marketing Services.
Sara emphasizes that building relationships, having integrity, and being honest- even if it means losing a client- is of utmost importance. Her clients know to expect sometimes brutal honesty from her, and that’s why they trust her to do the best job. Thanks to her reputation and ability to deliver, Trusted Marketing Services is now a full-fledged marketing agency with an in-house team of eight. The Trusted brand continues to expand, and plans to launch Trusted Online Directories in Calgary have been announced.
When asked for her advice to newbie entrepreneurs, Sara says to focus on long-term goals.
“You have to be very very strict with yourself,” she says. “If something doesn’t align with those goals, you have to step away from it. Even if it could enrich you in the short-term. Because it won’t help in the long-term. Trust your gut.”
This is especially applicable to those in the influencer marketing world, which can rely heavily on cash for endorsement deals (depending on how you go about it). According to Sara, the most successful influencers understand this, and they will only work with brands they truly believe in. After all, in business, it’s all about being Trusted.
As Sara puts it, “You can have transactional, or you can have a tribe. What would you prefer?”
Sara Wheelwright’s Tips for for New Entrepreneurs:
1. Focus on your long term goals, and don’t make short term compromises.
“You have to have your goals, and you have to be very very strict with yourself. If something doesn’t align with those goals, you have to step away from it. Even if it could enrich you in the short-term. Because it won’t help in the long-term. Trust your gut.”
2. Have integrity: be honest even if it means losing a client, and seek to serve your community.
“You can have transactional, or you can have a tribe. What would you prefer?”
3. When it comes to choosing business partners, set very clear guidelines.
“You have to set in stupidly absurd detail what everyone’s going to do. Stay in your lane of expertise.” And: “You have to put yourself in the head of when it fails, not if, but when it fails.”
4. Cultivate an optimistic mindset and believe in yourself.
“The business plan that I went to Women Entrepreneurs with, it was ridiculously optimistic… but you have to go into entrepreneurship thinking that.”
Read The Nomade Series, for more inspiring stories about women entrepreneurs.
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