Celebrating 8 Years in Business: 8 Reflections & Lessons

There’s a joke about running your own business: it gives you the freedom to work any 100 hours a week you want.

And as my team and I celebrate 8 years of Centric Squared, I’m reminded that every joke has some truth to it.

I often think of Centric Squared as my 4th child—no gruelling childbirth but still in need of constant attention and offering an equally rewarding journey. It’s been incredible to watch it grow from a little freelancing experience to a multi-year rollercoaster, and now a more mature, stable business.

There’s lots to be proud of, but also countless lessons along the way. Some I wish I learned a little sooner but I’m still grateful to have gained wisdom from them.

As I reflect on these 8 years, I want to share 8 reflections from my founder’s journey. Because if we don’t take time to celebrate these milestones, who will? Building a business is often a lonely path, but I hope these reflections inspire others who may be at earlier stages.

1. Get comfortable being uncomfortable.

I started consulting 8 years ago. The path felt natural because I’ve always been drawn to solving problems and helping others. But, while the work itself came naturally to me, running a business did not.

Sales, billing, contracts, and all the other trimmings of a business were not my strong suits. In fact, I’ll be the first to admit, it took me longer than most to fully grasp them. I made many mistakes early on: undercharging, permitting scope creep, setting unrealistic expectations, and having unclear processes. However, these mistakes taught me valuable (and tough) lessons.

My “aha” moment finally came when I realized how important it was to have clear, firm communication—including clear statements of work and contracts—with clients. I also learned that when expectations are clearly defined early on, both parties experience more success and security.

Getting to that point wasn’t easy. It took many uncomfortable moments and difficult conversations. But now, I see it as one of those “choose your hard” situations. The time and effort you invest upfront always pay off in dividends later.

2. Not all marketing has to be smoke and mirrors.

The second big hurdle I had to overcome appeared about 5 years ago: from freelancing into running a marketing agency. At that point, I’d been consulting for a few years, worked with a few dozen small business clients, and completed many CRM projects.

The truth is I didn’t really want to become a marketing agency. But I realized it was necessary to serve my clients effectively and build the team I needed. While I wanted to be a CRM agency, no one really understood what that meant, but they clearly got the marketing agency concept. And since CRM supports successful marketing, I had a choice: grow in a direction clients valued or ask them to invest in something they didn’t fully grasp.

I chose to position myself as a marketing agency while incorporating CRM into everything behind the scenes. This shift required me to learn marketing processes.

It took me a few months to overcome my own biases around that.

Why was that so hard?

I’m an analytical person at heart, with a Bachelor of Science background. I dismissed much of marketing as “smoke and mirrors,” especially after hearing small business clients share horror stories of wasting their money and not seeing results. I was skeptical of the role of marketing as well.

The shift in approach came when I realized I could approach marketing how I preferred, and that meant being scientific—putting metrics first, prioritizing ROI, and being transparent.

In fact, this approach is now our unique value proposition and something our clients truly appreciate.

I didn’t have to “do marketing” with smoke and mirrors if I didn’t want to.

3. Business is about trust & trust is earned.

While I struggled with positioning and contract management early on, earning and building trust came naturally to me.

As a people person, I’ve always valued strong relationships and being service oriented.

I understood that trust builds over time through consistent actions and open communication, which is why I approach every client with a “from 0” mindset. I prioritize open communication to my team at the onset of every project and client. That way, there is a clear understanding of commitment, timelines, expectations, and what to do when something goes wrong.

There’s a strong emphasis on accountability, making things right, and continuously improving.

This commitment to trust and care doesn’t go unnoticed. When clients share feedback like, “You guys are brilliant!” or “I’m a raving fan of Centric Squared,” it’s more than validation but proof that the care we pour into every project makes a difference.

Success can be measured in many ways—profit, revenue, clients. But for me, it’s about relationships. This year, we sent over 80 Christmas cards to clients and past clients, because they’re people I truly value.

4. Not everyone is a good fit, and that’s OK.

As any founder will know, running a business isn’t without its challenges:

• Some problems can’t be solved by marketing
• Scope creep often starts as trust builds (“Great job! Can you handle this too?”)
• Difficult conversations become necessary
• Some projects just won’t be a good fit

I’ve learnt that recognizing when things aren’t working is crucial. For our team, this means regular check-ins that go beyond just looking at metrics but also reflecting on our processes: How did we perform? How’s the team feeling? What can we improve?

Pushing forward with a poor fit benefits no one. It strains the team, frustrates the clients, and ultimately holds the business back.

When I reach a place of feeling overextended in account management for months on end, it’s often a sign that it’s time to move on. This goodbye allows growth in new ways as it creates space for new opportunities. It also gives us the chance to direct clients to the right resources, which is equally rewarding because it shows we’ve done our best to support them.

5. Don’t compromise on high standards.

It’s no secret that I have high standards.

It can be exhausting noticing every little detail but those standards have helped me to form the most impressive team.

The people at Centric Squared can only be described as world class. They are creative, resilient, open to solving complex problems, and show the highest level of professionalism. They collaborate seamlessly and bring diverse perspectives from all around the globe.

However, maintaining a high performing team is not easy at all. Sometimes, it also means acting swiftly when candidates aren’t the right fit. If I see my team is being stretched to compensate for other’s performance gaps, I know it’s time for a difficult but necessary conversation. It’s part of my job to make sure expectations get communicated and met and ultimately that we have the right people in the right roles.

It hasn’t been easy to find and retain the right people, or cultivate a culture of excellence but it’s absolutely worth it. This collective commitment to high standards drives our success.

6. Build the business you need.

 When I started this business, flexibility was one of my top priorities.

I had a baby on my hip and worked from the Panera near the drop-in playcare for a few hours a day.

My business was just a side gig that first year. My first project? A $968 job implementing a project management system for a bookkeeping firm. It included on-site training for a team of 5, migrating 4 years of historical data, and probably took me over 100 hours. It was a terrible rate, but it was flexible, on my terms, and empowering.

Thankfully, I’ve learned a lot about scoping projects since then. I’ve also had to lean on flexibility like a trustfall with 2 more children, and an international move. There’s more structure, more processes, more stability, but flexibility remains at the heart of it all. It’s embedded in our team culture and central to how we work with clients.

We consistently endorse work-life balance in how we operate, which for us goes hand in hand with self-care. So for our 2024 (virtual) summer social, we sent every team member a stipend to use towards something that filled their cup.

However, there are times when work-life balance goes out the window—during clients’ busy periods or when team members are enjoying well-deserved holidays.

But most of the time? I can do school drop-offs and pick-ups, sneak away to the local thermal baths on a random weekday, and manage sick days without worrying about scheduling conflicts.

What’s my secret sauce for the times I do have firm commitments? The world’s most supportive husband. (Get people in your corner, entrepreneur – you may want to carry the world in your own two hands, but that’s a recipe for burnout.) I can’t count how many times Thomas has re-arranged his work schedule to prioritize my business or let me book a working weekend at a hotel to be able to hyper-focus. He’s the unseen hero behind 8 years.

7. Objectively evaluate your business.

Over the past 8 years, we’ve experienced many growth phases: working solo, expanding to a team and eventually transitioning from consulting to agency work. Growth isn’t very comfortable, even though pieces eventually came together one by one, it meant that most of the time there was something out of sync that had my attention as I worked to find balance.

I can count the many times I’ve had to take a hard look at some aspect of my business and face the music: something wasn’t working, wasn’t profitable, or wasn’t even breaking even. It’s never a fun exercise (change takes effort), but being objective about your business leads to growth.

We have a tendency to dig into things when there’s glaring negative feedback. But the tricky part is addressing the issues that don’t wave red flags.

Maybe it’s my scientific background, or because I help clients all the time look at their data to make decisions, but I think it’s fun to find opportunities. Since 2018 I objectively review my own business too, I look at numbers—I even ask clients and team members for feedback to see what can be improved on. Nothing is off-limits, no matter how long we’ve been doing it.

Sometimes it’s an exciting exercise where new ideas and opportunities are identified! Other times, it’s more daunting like realizing a partnership isn’t working or knowing it’ll take months to pivot. But this approach has kept me focused on the big picture, ensuring that we’re working on things that are setting us up for success and addressing what holds us back instead of sweeping it under the rug.

8. It’s never too late.

When I started this business, I told my husband I would stick with it as long as I felt like I was learning and growing.

Lo and behold, we’re 8 years in and I still have stretch goals for myself. This year, I’ve finally started tackling my own retirement strategy. I’ll admit, my retirement savings took the backseat for a few years when I struggled to pay myself fairly. But it’s never too late to course correct.

It’s the same advice I share with clients. Whether it’s starting out in email marketing or building relationships with your customers, it’s never too late to start. The hardest part of getting ahead is getting started.

Closing Thoughts

Looking back these past 8 years, I realize this journey has always been about more than hitting targets or ticking off milestones.

It’s about the growth that comes from the challenges and the relationships built along the way. If you’re on a similar path, I can’t stress enough the importance of staying objective and holding yourself to high standards.

Today I’m celebrating more than just accomplishments. I’m celebrating the impact we’ve made for small businesses, providing a livelihood to an amazing team, and creating flexibility for my family. These are the things that truly matter.

Here’s to the next chapter. If it’s anything like the last 8 years, it will be full of lessons and rewards. I’m ready for it, and I’m so grateful to everyone who’s been part of the journey so far.

I often shared tidbits about life as a business owner on Linkedin. Let’s connect!

About Centric Squared

At Centric Squared, we believe in the power of authentic engagement and strategic feedback collection as pillars for growth. We have experience collecting customer feedback, managing customer feedback, and making it a pillar of your company’s growth. Reach out and let’s talk about your customer feedback strategy. Book a call today.