Success is Yours for the Taking

By Tara Whitney

My journey founding and growing WA’s largest and most successful specialist grant writing business was, like many business owners, one of figuring it out as I went. I had no plan to start a business - I never considered myself a businesswoman or someone with entrepreneurial drive.

Istarted my business due to circumstances – my husband’s job was moving him to the country, and I could not continue my government grants assessor job. I had no special training, skills, or business knowledge when I started; I just knew about grants and government.

And yet, business is booming. Any way I look at it, my business has been a success from the beginning and is continuing to grow. From starting as a sole trader, Whitney Consulting is now a company with eight amazing staff members and we’re always busy. It often makes me pause and wonder why. How have I managed to grow this business year on year, even during a pandemic?

Whilst it was obviously the result of a few factors, if I had to pick the key, I would say it is because I embraced who and what I am early on. I am not a fierce, win at all costs, work 60 hours a week businesswoman.

I have a ‘biz bestie’ who has given me great advice and support over the years, and she is a direct competitor. We don’t hide information from each other and fight for work because that is not in line with our morals – we want each other to succeed, and we will do everything we can to help. We have referred clients to each other, worked together on jobs and she has definitely given me some of her business wisdom. If I had gone against my nature by being competitive and untrusting, I would not have received all the benefits that have come from this relationship.

Being clear about who I am has allowed me to use my personality traits, or to work around them as needed. And what I am is a contradictory mess of a human – I am confident, a caring mother-type to everyone, focussed as a laser, highly ambitious and jampacked full of love. And I have used all of these facets of me to make my business a success. to provide her daily peoplefix. Caring about my staff and promoting that within the team means we all work for each other – no-one wants to let anyone else down and we will all pick up the slack if another team member is struggling for some reason.

Now as an exceptionally taskoriented person, taking the time to stop and check in with staff doesn’t come naturally. I care about them, but I am so focussed that I could easily just keep working. But my awareness of how important it is to have that contact and the fact that I want them to be happy means that I make sure it is a regular feature of my day, even if I have to write myself reminders!

Because I truly care about each and every one of them, their families and their interests. So, I know Jeanette is an extrovert and I need to call her often whitneyconsulting.com.au

I truly believe that accepting who I am - playing to my strengths and being aware of my flaws – has played a huge part in my success.