Meeting Martina Laurie

Meeting Martina Laurie - Chief Executive Officer of Hands on Treatment

Hands on Treatment was started in 2002 and run as a Mobile Massage Company. Initially the business focused on providing mobile and on-site neck and shoulder chair massage service to the corporate sector, covering specialised labour-intensive areas such as call centres, events and exhibitions. The business has now expanded to include Hands-On Retreat and Sleep Spa, and incorporates an active, fulltime skills development and training programme.

  

After meeting with Martina Laurie, Chief Executive Officer of Hands on Treatment, I learnt that, “sharing is caring, especially when it comes to sharing business knowledge with fledging businesses.” Running your own business can be a lonely process as there is not always someone to soundboard things with; we need to look after each other. So I know that I am on the right track by sharing business experiences on this blog.

What a pleasure it was to meet another dynamic businesswoman, who was willing to give insights into what it takes to be a successful business owner.

What I really like and appreciate is that Martina, who is not a masseuse by trade, but a qualified Chartered Accountant saw an opportunity in the marketing and then invested in talent to grow and build her business into the success it is today. Working on the business opposed to in the business, is something that I think too many business owners don’t always remember to do.

I asked Martina what has been one of the most important business lessons that she has learnt since starting Hands-on Treatment?

"Being able and willing to make tough business decisions: you will in all likelihood be very emotionally involved with the business or an idea, but if it is not working and draining your cash flow, you need to have the guts to put the project on hold or even to cancel it. You need to make decisions that are in the best interest for the business. Admitting defeat can be difficult, but rather wait until the circumstances have changed and look for other opportunities that may be a lot more beneficial at a later stage.”

Most importantly - Follow your gut.

How does Martina keep herself motivated?

Martina says that by nature she is a very positive person and believes that motivation comes from within. “Surround yourself with positive people; success breeds success,”

“You need to decide to be positive,” says Martina.

As Martina explains, it is not always easy to stay positive especially when you start your business, you are the chief bottle-washer, accountant, marketer and strategic thinker; it’s not as it is in a corporate organisation where you have a whole team and support structure to work with. You need to make the decision to be positive.

To help stay motivated, her daily rituals are important. Martina starts the day by doing something creative, even if it is just to post on Facebook and leave more negative things such as disputes to later in the day. Her first thought in the morning is focussed on something positive which paves the way for the rest of the day.

Keeping a gratitude journal also helps to recognise and capture all the positive, little things in life that she is thankful for. It is not always all about the big things.

When it comes to strategic alliances I wanted to know from Martina how she saw them impacting on the company’s reputation and what her secret was to building these relationships.

“It’s not about what you know, but who you know in getting ahead,” she said. When you begin and want to engage with corporate companies it can be challenging to get acknowledged by them. It’s important to let them know that you can be reckoned with and are not just a fly-by-night business. From the outset it was important for Martina to have strategic alliances and form part of a bigger organisation. One of the biggest alliances that helped her was joining the Businesswomen’s Association (BWA) where she became the treasurer.

“Membership societies are very important, it not only helps build credibility, but it also opens doors to meet with fellow business owners and decision makers,” says Martina.

[I couldn’t agree more with Martina. One of the lessons that I have learnt is that membership in societies is not enough, it’s best to become involved in them to get the most benefit from them. Martina became the treasurer of BWA, which then helped her to get to know the board and all the other businesses as well. Personally I found that joining too many associations meant I had ‘spread myself so thin’ that I didn’t get around to half of the events on offer and barely got to know people within the organisation. At the beginning of this year I made the decision to only focus on two groups – the Institute of Directors of Southern Africa (IoDSA) and the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA); and on a personal level Rotary. I can attest that being more focussed has made a huge difference to the value I receive from my memberships.]

So, where should entrepreneurs start when it comes to selecting groups? Which one should they join? 

Martina’s advice is to look at the governing body representatives for your specific industry and join it.

Something else that Martina mentioned about strategic alliances is the power of sharing knowledge and databases. One tends to be very protective about this but we should actually be the opposite. The more information you give the more information you will get.

Years ago I lived in Paulshof in Johannesburg, and I recall regularly receiving mailers from Hands-on treatment. I asked Martina how she thinks marketing impacts a company’s reputation, and what are some of the marketing lessons that she has learnt.

“Most accountants will tell you that knowing your numbers and doing your books is the secret to success, I agree with that; without it you would not know where you are going to. BUT marketing is where a lot of businesses fail. Not enough time is spent on marketing to get your name out there. Marketing is also the first thing people stop spending on when things aren’t going so well.

“With a marketing campaign you will only start seeing the results after 3 – 6 months. If you don’t do any marketing it will be worse! Social media has become a cost effective way to market; although you still need to look at all the other aspects, but with that said, don’t stop direct marketing / hard copy marketing.

“There are also huge opportunities in sponsorships where you can barter your product or service in exchange for exposure - be it an advert or exposure on a website. That then leads to other companies using your product as a gift or a prize; when other companies start using your product in this way it raises your company’s reputation. No one is going to sponsor a prize that they don’t want their company to be associated with!”

When it comes to lessons learnt about marketing, “if it works, stick to it,” says Martina, but also adds, “you need to make sure that you stay up to date with new trends and be open to changes.

“Generally, entrepreneurs my age are terrified of social media; we don’t get it and tend to struggle with it, opposed to the younger generation who have grown up with it.”

What does integrity in the workplace mean to Martina?

“Integrity, is absolutely everything, I try and teach my staff that you need to build your own brand; it does not matter if you represent yourself socially, personally or if you are part of a committee, develop your own brand, you need to be consistent in how you conduct yourself. I try and hire staff based on attitude and not aptitude. Too often companies hire people with impressive CV’s, but forget to look at what the candidate’s attitude is about life.

“I am forgiving when someone makes a mistake when they lack knowledge or experience, I have zero tolerance for dishonesty and disrespect for clients or staff. An attitude impacts your reputation, creates and builds more trust. I am amazed at companies who turn a blind eye when it comes to bribery.

“We work with cash but I never take cash out of the till, NEVER. Often entrepreneurs have three sets of books, one for the bank manager, one for the receiver and then the “correct” one. If you are seen taking cash out of the till, your staff will question why they can’t also take money out of the till. You need to lead by example.

When it comes to communication, what is Martina’s biggest frustration?

“One of the biggest problems is lack of communication, and I don’t always take enough time to explain instructions.

“We are looking at ways to streamline our communication and have recently started using WhatsApp Groups a lot more effectively.

“Externally, it is important to keep your clients updated regularly, if you are slack with this, they won’t know about new products,”

When asked what Martina loves most about running a business, she explains:

“There is a deep inner desire in me to make a difference in this country. I love our country. If we can erase, or do what we can to eliminate poverty, a lot of things will change.

“The biggest kick that I get is at the end of the month when I do the payroll and I look at the figures and see how much money is being paid for salaries; this is really the highlight of my month – knowing that the money is going to the right areas where salaries are helping people to support a family.”  

Learn more about Hands on Treatment - http://handsontreatment.co.za/