ROBYN GREAVES Join us in celebrating Robyn's boundless spirit and her relentless pursuit of a world where work knows no borders. Get ready to be inspired, motivated, and captivated by the enchanting journey of a digital nomad who is turning her dreams into reality. FEATURE EDITION | SEPT,2023 t h e p e r s o n a l b r a nd . c o a c h Spotlight
Meet Robyn Greaves co-founder start sort scale Robyn Greaves is a full-time digital nomad and start-up founder. She spends her time travelling the world, collaborating with business owners to optimise and automate their processes and set them up to scale. She is passionate about giving people the freedom to work from anywhere and live life on their own terms. BrandMe! Spotlight Feature Article - Robyn Greaves Prior to launching her business, Start Sort Scale, with her partner Jeremy, Robyn was an Executive Assistant for 15 years. She provided high level strategic and operational support to CEOs and founders across diverse industries including not-for-profit, media publishing, and digital businesses. Page 2
What inspired you to pursue starting your own business? Before starting my own business I was an Executive Assistant for 15 years and I had been living in Sydney, Australia for the last 10 years. After spending the pandemic stuck in Australia, unable to visit my family in the UK, my partner Jeremy and I decided to quit our jobs, sell our apartment and most of our possessions to go travelling in Italy. The plan was to travel for a few months and then set up in London - I would look for a new Executive Assistant role and Jeremy was a process optimisation specialist for large financial institutions. After being stuck in one routine for so long during the pandemic, the freedom of travel was liberating and we realised we didn’t want to recreate the same life in London as we had in Sydney. The allure of travel, spending quality time with family, and creating our ideal lifestyle were powerful motivators. This vision pushed us to explore new ideas about how we could combine our skills to help people. Our time off from work gave us the headspace to think about what was actually important to us freedom, flexibility and choice. This ultimately led to the birth of our business, Start Sort Scale. BrandMe! Spotlight Feature Article - Robyn Greaves “t e freedom of h travel was liberating and we realised we didn’t want to recreate the same life in London as we had in Sydney...” Page 3
professional journey that shaped your path? Jeremy and I recall different moments when we decided to start our own business but I clearly remember when I thought to myself “I’m not going back”. We were in Tuscany, Italy taking a break from a pasta making class. The couple who ran the classes seemed so happy and fulfilled - they had a beautiful rustic home on a hill surrounded by vineyards, a dog and a business that they loved. They seemed to be living life on their terms and had created something that worked for them, away from the 9-5 rat race. That’s when I knew I wanted to do the same. Expertise & Skills What are the key skills or attributes that have contributed most to your success? Three attributes that I have cultivated are: curiosity, courage and a growth mindset. Curiosity to find new trends, come up with ideas and spot opportunities. Courage to act on those ideas and take those opportunities. A growth mindset to be comfortable in the knowledge that nothing is fixed or certain everything is moving and changing all the time, in business and in life. How do you stay updated and continuously improve your skills in your industry/profession? I'm a firm believer in the importance of continuous learning - there are so many resources available online, I often start with YouTube - it can teach you almost anything! LinkedIn has also been an amazing resource, if you follow the right people there is so much valuable business advice available for free. Networking with other business owners has also helped me continually develop - many people offered help and advice in the early stages of growing our business. Business networking often gets a bad rap but I’ve found so much generosity and support in those forums. BrandMe! Spotlight Feature Article - Robyn Greaves Page 4
As a relatively new entrepreneur, what advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start their own businesses? Question your assumptions about what you really need to start your business. Things we thought were essential were often just things we were used to in our corporate careers - Do you need a website? Business cards? Logo? Maybe but maybe not. Networking and marketing play a far more significant role than the nitty-gritty details of 'how'. Get out there and tell people what you’re building before it’s finished, get advice and support, get comfortable talking about your business and yourself as early as possible. How do you approach risk-taking and decision-making in your entrepreneurial journey? When we started our business we’d already let go of so many things that could create a risk - we didn’t have a car or many bills to pay and we were carrying all our possessions around in our backpacks. The biggest risk was to our ego - telling friends and family that we were starting a business, living as digital nomads and not going back to our corporate lives. Once we got over ourselves things got a lot easier! In terms of decision-making, Jeremy and I are partners in business and life. All our important business decisions and life choices are made together, with our end goals in mind. Networking & Building Relationships: How do you approach networking and building meaningful relationships with peers, clients, and other professionals in your industry? Networking is everything when it comes to starting a business. In the early days we spent way too long on the “how” - what processes and documentation do we need? What should we include on our website? What font should we use? We thought we needed to figure it all out before we told people about our business. We put off networking because we didn’t think we were ready. BrandMe! Spotlight Feature Article - Robyn Greaves These days, I’m open to any opportunity to network - I’ll try something and if it’s not for me, I’ll let it go and try something else. The important thing is to practise putting yourself out there, talking about your business. If you have confidence in yourself, your skills and your business, other people will too. Also, if you’re uncomfortable networking, I’d recommend finding a purpose to networking that makes you feel comfortable. For me, it’s to grow my ‘spider web’ of connections - you never know when you might need someone’s help or they might need yours. Page 5
& Development How do you continue to learn and grow personally and professionally? Never stop asking questions. I make a point to surround myself with people who are more experienced and seek their insights. Self-reflection is also crucial. I regularly pause, assess, and recalibrate. When in doubt, I'm never too proud to ask for help. Have there been any mentors or role models who influenced your approach to business or work? One of the best things about my career as an EA is that I got to work alongside CEOs, Founders and industry leaders at the top of their game. I’ve seen everything from inside the boardroom to inside the inbox - all the decisions, negotiations, and strategy. I’m lucky to have been the right hand person to some truly inspirational leaders. Building Your Personal Brand How did you go about building your personal brand, and what steps did you take to establish yourself in your industry/profession? The most important lesson for me was to get comfortable putting myself out there online and in person. The more I have shared my story and experiences the easier it has become. I consistently create content on LinkedIn that is relevant to my network and adds value. I share my knowledge and learnings freely and I don’t worry about “giving too much away”, that’s helped me build an engaged and supportive network. How do you ensure authenticity in your personal brand, and how do you stay true to yourself while also adapting to changing circumstances? Everything in my life is intertwined and that keeps me authentic. My life as a digital nomad is fundamental to my personal brand but it’s also just the way I live my life every day. My relationship with Jeremy is the backbone of our business and my life. I’ve learnt the value of showing up as the same person in all areas and that keeps things authentic. How has your personal brand influenced the perception of your business or professional achievements? Our story has become an integral part of Start Sort Scale and our success. Our clients see that we “walk the walk” with our own business. We’re fully digital, automate our repetitive tasks and streamline our processes so we can work from anywhere. We offer that same service to our clients. We don’t think everyone should become a digital nomad, but we do think everyone should be able to live life on their own terms. Your business should help you create the lifestyle you want. If your business causes more frustration than freedom, we can help. Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robyn-greaves/ Follow our digital nomad journey on Instagram: @onthegocouple Start Sort Scale website: https://startsortscale.com/clarity/ BrandMe! Spotlight Feature Article - Robyn Greaves Page 6
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