Julie is the founder of Wyseminds, starting the business following 20 years growing a brand that still holds importance to her today. Drawing on many experiences of navigating the booming world of business, Julie brings a wider perspective that she’s poured into Wyseminds. With a passion for decluttering the minds of female entrepreneurs, she is able to translate experience and researched theories into a language that helps you see the path to growth, whilst ensuring it’s an exciting adventure.
It was 3am in the morning and there I was, hands in the air and staring at the stars; who would have thought the most pivotal point in my business life would be painted at that moment.
Working 70-hour weeks was a given, it’s what I believed it would take to make it happen. To make the business a success or to allow it to just survive. I was my own worst enemy in some respect, frustrated with the lack of speed towards the next growth era and often wondering would it be quicker to knock on every person’s door in the whole country myself, telling them personally how much we could solve their problem.
I remember that night so clearly, I can see the stars above me now, I was sat there asking the universe to give me the answer to where the next leap in brand growth would come from. The direction seemed constantly clouded with potholes and blockades and I was looking for an epiphany to appear!
Without knowing it then, what I did next redefined me in business and enabled me to really grow the brand I loved – it was the true turning point.
The next day I walked through my normal stopping points of marketing and communications and went straight to the function leaders who worked with the frontline teams everyday and told the story of my 3am thoughts. It was in this moment that this group, now lifelong friends, supported me to push my energy in a different direction and change course. “Forget the processes, the marketing, the sales targets, the decision-making” and “change the course of the journey from the frontline only.”
The greatest learning moment was seeing the importance of me finding the love and passion again in what I did. Having been so caught up in the day-to-day running of the business, I hadn’t even realised it had gone. With a clearer mind and energy, I could reignite the passion in others and well, the rest as they say, is history.
By allowing myself to be free to lead the total company team (all 900 of them) in delivering the purpose of the brand to the customer, along with leaving others (who were far more qualified) to create the processes that supported the business itself, we could take back control of our purpose. We moved away from short-term sales related targets, to measures that only celebrated our unique value to the customer, a measure of a purpose we could all influence, with all 900 people knowing how. We were united again, an unstoppable team, who that year touched market leadership for the first time.
That was 15 years ago now and I see the challenge for female entrepreneurs remains the same; having the space to think, the time to see things differently and to know which people to turn to who can help you with all of these things. You can’t imagine any option other than carrying on as you are; I’m here to reassure you – and show you – that it does not have to be this way.
I could write for hours about the things we did to drive forward a greater growth from that pivotal moment, what I learned, the processes we used (and got rid of), the changes we made, the systems we introduced (and got rid of!) are all things that feed into the way we work and the stories of other entrepreneurs who have worked with Wyseminds, just in a quicker, smarter way than I did back then.
So reserve staring at the stars at 3am, for that first weekend break of freedom you take,
that freedom you can only feel when you’re doing what you love again.
I want Wyseminds to be the support system behind every female entrepreneur who is seeking a new era of growth, a combination of people, knowledge and tools to allow you to make the next change you are looking for.
It’s amazing how one small change can propel you forward in ways you could never have imagined, and once you put yourself back in the place that brings you the most joy, you see that the answers were already sat within.
I hope you enjoy exploring this website and that we get the chance to chat some time too!
Julie Perkins
Founder, Wyseminds
