Couple Goals and Collaboration

Couple Goals & Collaboration over in Cardiff

Working in this industry is all about collaboration; when one person progresses, the whole team gains something. There is no formal sense of hierarchy and thus it’s less about the individual and more about the group effort. We work in a people-orientated business, we are working face-to-face with our clients and the sales are generated by making a genuine human connection with someone, so it makes sense that our company ethos is one that is driven by collaboration as opposed to competition.

We caught up with Magda Zaworksa to hear about her journey into the industry and how her and her fiancé, Josh Keeble, are making tracks together. They plan to get married next year and their business plan will act as the foundation upon which to build a new life together: the ultimate collaboration.

‘We strike a fantastic working balance, whereby my strengths are her weaknesses and vice versa, so in that sense we make a brilliant team (luckily!). We have quite different personalities as well, so it’s not just our skill sets that compliment each other, but our attitude and approach which is equally as important in a communication-based industry. In short we had an awards ceremony last year and Magda won ‘Mrs Hardcore’ and I was ‘Mr. Sensitive’ so taking that into consideration, I would say we make a winning team!’ (Josh)

Magda joined the company in June 2019, and in just 8 months has made a huge change to her life and career. She graduated from her Law degree in May and was looking for

033 a summer job, sent her CV out to various companies before Kev from Promotions Co. got in touch: ‘I thought he sounded really interesting over the phone, and even though I wasn’t really planning on working in Direct Sales, I was intrigued and so thought I’d give it a go’. Her plan had been to go back to study a Masters in Law with the intent on becoming a Solicitor and she had initially joined Promotions Co. in order to develop her communication skills to take back into my career as a Solicitor. This very quickly changed and Magda soon realised she wanted to progress in this industry: ‘In September I decided to drop out of my studies and commit to this career’.

During this transitionary time, Magda decided that ‘if (she) was going to commit to a career in Direct Sales, (she) was going to commit properly’, and with this decision to take herself seriously came the realisation that she could open an office of my own, that she had that potential. ‘This was the case for me, Josh and Vik, which was crazy! We all decided to change our plans and run with a career in Sales. To be honest, I realised that I never really wanted to be a Solicitor in the first place, but that I had never taken the time to reflect on my trajectory. I was simply drifting along in the traditional way, getting my Masters, on track for a career that would have been ‘fine’. Now I realise how important it is to question, to reconsider and to take the time to think about what it is you really want to do’. There is no point in wasting a time and money in pursuing a career that you’re not interested in, but it can be hard to come to that realisation when you’re halfway up the educational ladder.

When I first joined, I didn’t really take in how incredible this industry is. It’s really opened my eyes to the network, the worldwide network that we are a part of. The national and international reach that we have as a company is extraordinary and we are really making a difference. It feels good to be a part of that.’

- MAGDA ZAWORKSA -

Upon leaving her Masters, Magda was welcomed to Promotions Company and immediately started her coaching: ‘I was on Vik’s team and to be honest I had quite a tough start in that I didn’t pick things up particularly quickly. I had to adapt and learn very quickly and at one point Phil questioned whether or not this career was for me! But I stuck with it and I persisted! I concentrated all my efforts into proving them wrong, and it paid off. I’m quite a stubborn person in general, so I knew I would be successful but that it might take a little time’. After finding her way over a few hurdles, Magda eased into her stride and personally recruited her partner, Josh, after just 3 weeks of working here. ‘Even though in that moment I wasn’t doing so well, I saw a future opportunity that I didn’t want to waste. I had a really strong vision of where I wanted to be and what our future could look like and so I didn’t take my foot of the pedal. I I pushed through and brought Josh in’. Sometimes you have to take a gamble in order to get something in return.

It paid off! They are both now operating at Crew Leader level and have plans to open an office of their own in Cardiff this year. Magda explains how, ‘As soon as we were both part of the company, we were in every single day, we started progressing quickly and before we knew it, we were able to start recruiting people ourselves. We started to fill out plans for opening an office of our own, thinking about location and where would be best to establish our company’. They immediately thought of Cardiff; it’s not too far away from the base in Bristol and they’ve worked in that territory before. They’ve been on a few road trips to Cardiff, they know it well as a city and really love the atmosphere there; there are some fantastic bars and pubs for hosting Crew nights, and because it’s a University City, there’s a fantastic opportunity for recruitment. At the moment, they are working on building their team with the two of them aiming to hit Assistant Ownership by the end of March.

In terms of their strategy, I asked Magda how they plan ahead: ‘We have quarterly reviews to ensure that we’re all on track. Before Christmas, our goal was focussed on consistency in sales and making a big enough turnover. Now, our focus is on recruitment, so we’ve been doing a lot of Hot-Desking. I’ve also been using the phone app Jobs Today and have been contacting people on there which has been brilliant - there are loads of young people looking for jobs on there. Funnily enough, lots of the young people on there are just looking for roles in hospitality for example, simply because they’re not aware of this industry and how they might be able to get involved. Sometimes they are sceptical (because they cant believe that this opportunity is open to them) but they are always very interested. I’ve also been recruiting on Facebook via the group ‘Jobs in Bristol’.

And for people thinking about entering this industry? ‘I would say take a risk! Even if you don’t think it’s for you, it probably is! Be patient, be prepared to work hard and maintain a positive outlook. I would also say it’s really important to shift your perspective and try to take in the bigger picture. When I first joined, I didn’t really take in how incredible this industry is. It’s really opened my eyes to the network, the worldwide network that we are a part of. The national and international reach that we have as a company is extraordinary and we are really making a difference. It feels good to be a part of that.’