Helen McIntosh spent years working in corporate. She felt trapped and she knew she had more to offer than she could give in the corporate world. When it came time to decide between retiring or starting a business, she chose the latter.
Helen’s business, Operations Genie, is a company that fulfils the wishes of small business owners. With a clear understanding of how difficult it can be to start a business, she helps business owners get organised, develop a strategy, and plan out a system to keep control of their business.
What Helen thinks about running her own business:
“The best part is the flexibility. It depends on the day, but I like being able to work in the mornings, take a mid-day break to enjoy the sunshine, and do some more work in the afternoon. It allows me to catch up with people. I also get to spend a lot of time with other business owners. I really enjoy not dealing with traffic – and using my car less to benefit the planet.”
Three Pieces of Advice Helen Wishes She Had When She Started
- Invest in training courses – the best money you will ever spend is spent investing in your knowledge. Rather than buying loads of training manuals, spending time in training courses will likely produce a better result.
- Ask for help – business is a team sport. You need mentors, coaches, and masterminds to help you with your business. Networking and collaboration is beneficial too.
- Don’t make an expensive purchase without consulting others first – money is a resource and you don’t want to waste it spending more money than you need to, especially when starting out.
Helen’s ideal business involves efficiently running a business online while working both in groups and with clients one-on-one.
Helen’s Advice for Other Business Owners
- Have a mission and a focus so you can properly set goals – and with a realistic timeline
- Understand your numbers – you need to know how much money you are actually making
- Don’t underestimate the value of your business
- Document your systems – systems help your business grow. If your intention is to eventually sell your business, having systems in place will allow this.
Helen’s ideal client is an established business owner with an up and running business. The client wishes to grow the business but isn’t quite sure how to, and also wants to minimise growing pains and overwhelm. That’s where Helen can step in and help them.
Helen’s favourite entrepreneur is Naomi Simpson, founder of Red Balloon. She admires her due to her clarity within her branding and how she created her own niche.
On being a Premium HerBusiness Member, and how it’s solved a problem for her, here’s what she had to say:
“The quarterly Roundtables are a great networking, learning and social event. It’s comforting to bring a problem to the roundtable, and get several other business owners’ advice, comments and support. You walk away feeling lighter and with a plan of action.”
Learn more about Helen’s business here.
This post was authored by Allison Mullin. Allison is completing a journalism internship with HerBusiness. She studies editing, writing, and media at Florida State University in the United States.
