Episode 7
with Simone Douglas
In this episode of Confident Networker, Simone sits down with Terri Williams from Clever Fox Creatives. Terri is a member of BNI A-Team.
Connect with Terri here:
https://instagram.com/cleverfoxcreative
https://www.facebook.com/cleverfoxcreative
https://www.linkedin.com/in/terri-williams-b1609a77/
If you’d like to attend a Chapter meeting and meet Terri, you can book your spot here: https://bnian.com.au/chapter/bni-a-team/
Chris Irving 0:00
Welcome to the confident networker with your host Simone Douglas. In each insightful episode, she chats with one of the leading people from the BNI and business world.
Simone Douglas 0:11
Alrighty, welcome to this week’s episode of the confident networker. Today, I am joined joined by the amazing Terry Williams from Clever Fox creative. Terry, thanks so much for coming on today.
Terri WIlliams 0:23
Thanks for having me.
Simone Douglas 0:24
My pleasure. So Terry is a member of BNI a team, they are one of our mid morning chapters they meet at 10am on a Friday. Terryi, tell me a little bit about your business for the listeners benefit because they don’t know you as well as I do.
Terri WIlliams 0:36
Yeah, sure thing. So I run a small creative agency called Clever Fox creative. So we do branding and website design for passionate business folks that really care about what they do.
Simone Douglas 0:47
Yeah, awesome. You have a particular niche that you do a lot of work in, do you want to share a little bit about that as well?
Terri WIlliams 0:53
Yeah, so we work in a few different industries. But I have a particular passion personally for non for profit work, and also disability support providers, or websites specifically for people with disabilities. So I love being in that space. It’s something that I think doesn’t get enough attention. And there’s a real opportunity to kind of grow that area. Yeah.
Simone Douglas 1:17
So how long have you been in BNI? For?
Terri WIlliams 1:19
I’ve been in BNI. For five years, it feels like so in a good way, yeah.
Simone Douglas 1:26
Five years is a long time to commit to you know, and a membership organisation. Why you’re still in BNI ?.
Terri WIlliams 1:34
So I kind of joined BNI very randomly, I had no idea what it was. So because I’m from the country and stuff, I did not know any business owners when I started my business, and it’s really scary being in business, when you don’t have kind of support network to bounce ideas off of or know if you’re doing the right thing. So I joined it for that reason. But the reason why I’m in it now, obviously, it’s great for your business, that’s one thing. But mainly, it’s it feels like a second family where I can really rely on anyone in the group. Yeah, and we all really uplift each other. And it makes it you know, being around people that have similar interests and similar goal and can hold you accountable and uplift you. It’s just that’s the reason why I stay in it now.
Simone Douglas 2:18
Awesome. Do you know roughly how much of your work comes from being an i referrals?
Terri WIlliams 2:25
It’s around 40 to 50%. So it’s pretty massive chunk
Simone Douglas 2:30
It is massive. I wouldn’t want to kiss that goodbye, necessarily just because what’s the best piece of advice like business advice, or otherwise, member of a chapter has given you.
Terri WIlliams 2:43
so when I first joined, there was a member of our chapter, Tyson de Silva, who you would remember, who was just a beautiful person, but one of the things I talked to him about was the feeling of when you’re new in business, and that imposter syndrome that kind of exists. Like what am i doing. Exactly and he’d been in business for so long. And it was a massive business that he runs as well. And when we first caught up, he basically just told me, Look, Terry, nobody really knows what the hell we’re doing. Doesn’t matter if you’re a big business or small business, everyone’s on the same kind of have the same concerns and the same worries. And it’s more important that you talk about it. And you seek advice from other people than trying to hold it in and act like you’re something that you’re not, because you’re creating space for other people to do the same with you as well.
Simone Douglas 3:32
Yeah, absolutely. That level of vulnerability. And I think that’s one of the things that I do love about BNI and being a member of the chapter is that it does actually create a safe place to explore the stresses the impact on your mental health with other business owners that get it that are going through it. You know, because if I take that home, you know, to my significant other partner, if they go eat and get up and they go to a job every day and come home, like bless them, but they don’t understand.
Terri WIlliams 4:00
Yeah, totally different ballgame. Really. Yeah, for sure. And you saw that during COVID. Like everyone coming together. I’m still in COVID. everyone coming together over zoom and things like that. And some people have more of a struggle with that than others. But just the ability that we could still catch up when we couldn’t see anyone else was pretty massive. Yeah, awesome.
Simone Douglas 4:18
Who has given you your best referral while you’ve been a member and what made it the best referral. So my best referral was, you know, like the Termite and Pest Control guy spent three years getting into Jim’s group and we looked after all of their national social media for years, until they brought it all in house, but who has like created the best referral for you and your time?
Terri WIlliams 4:41
Yeah, that’s a really good question. Um, one of the first members of our chapter who’s no longer in our group, but he gave me a referral to a woman starting a nonprofit in the disability space on both sides of things. And it was specifically for deaf survivors of Domestic violence. So it was a really sensitive topic. And she is a beautiful person and her and the other founder both death. So having that experience and being able to help them create that website, you know, it might not have been the biggest client in the whole world, but the meaning behind it was really important, and makes what you do really worthwhile and really purposeful, I think.
Simone Douglas 5:22
yeah, I think in marketing, too, that’s like a challenge sometimes, you know, being in that space myself is, you know, I spent a lot of time building things to sell things, and do stuff like we do that, you know, on that occasion that you get a chance to, you know, apply your knowledge in a way that really makes a difference to people’s lives beyond just selling things. That’s why I get up in the morning. I don’t know about you, but they’re the best job .
Terri WIlliams 5:48
Totally, totally. Yeah, just makes you excited. And the best thing about the whole project as well as it was really, I had to think outside of the box in terms of what people actually need who are deaf. For example, I’ve never even really thought about the idea that most hotlines, obviously a phone hotlines, and so, you know, yeah, it’s really hard to get help when you’re in the deaf community. So just try to think of different ways of creating that. So like doing, you know, webcam, messaging, and things like that for people that have English as their first language instead of sign language and stuff like that. So yeah,
Simone Douglas 6:22
yeah, super cool. So how good is your Auslan skills? Because I’m very passionate.
Terri WIlliams 6:30
Okay. I want to live on five I’m about to start. Yeah, I’m actually thinking about going to TAFE now and completing the full thing, that’s all Yeah, I’d love to get fluent to the point where I don’t have to rely on any interpreters to kind of get by. And yeah, it’s, it’s harder than it looks.
Simone Douglas 6:50
It’s very hard. You know, my best, you know, because we partner with Jeff can do for the partner, you know, the first thing I said is, you know, teach me how to say that my Auslan is gonna be slow. And the best that I’ve got is, you know, and the other one other sign that I have down pact is this one. Like, again, I didn’t catch it. So. But yeah, same thing, I would love to actually find the time card for timeout, to become fluent, because there’s nothing more amazing than being able to speak to someone in their first language. And also as a language, it’s not, you know, a communication tool.
Terri WIlliams 7:31
it’s a second English language. So we should accept second Australian language rather. So it’s something that we should probably all be learning in school and stuff like that as well, honestly.
Simone Douglas 7:43
Absolutely.So, in your BNI chapter, what is the thing that excites you the most? What do you love about it the most? It is a hard question. So like, if you contemplate you’ve got your meeting coming up on Friday, and you’re going to be back, you know, face to face. Finally, you know, what are you most excited about for this Friday?
Terri WIlliams 8:06
I was gonna say hugs, but COVID. No hugs. Something that we’ve been doing recently, like quite a few of our members are doing public speaking, speaking training of Tom Hendrick who’s also been on BNI. And it’s really exciting. At the moment, hearing people implement some of those things. I’m super creative with the way that they do this referral class and stuff like that. I’m trying really hard to do it as well. I really want to do it 60 seconds around. The Queen eating nuggets, somehow. I know how it’s gonna go. But I love when people get really creative with what they’re gonna say as well. And it makes it super entertaining. So yeah,
Simone Douglas 8:45
no, I’m just saying I always love it when someone’s delivering their weekly presentation, asking for introductions, but it’s, you know, they catch you by surprise. There’s something quirky, and then all of a sudden, it’s they’ve taken over a year. And yeah, that’s really awesome.
Terri WIlliams 8:59
And just the whole mood of the room.
Simone Douglas 9:00
It really does.
And one of the things that I love most and get most excited about when I go visit all the chapters, is it just like, reinvigorates my love of business in general. Like people are, you know, so they, you know, they’ll share what they’ve achieved that week, or they’ll talk about how to help somebody else. No, go. That’s right, the courts a beautiful place. Yeah. So I think, you know, if you were talking to someone who was either new in business, or has been around for a long time, and maybe they’re a little bit tired and jaded, because you know, it’s been a year, like pandemics and things like that. And they’ve been invited to this BNI networking thing like some event because that’s usually how people describe it to me, but never be somebody and I think I’m going to on them on Friday. What advice would you give them if they’re like, I don’t know if I’m gonna go or not.
Terri WIlliams 9:50
along the same kind of lines of what Tyson told me all the way back in the day. Like there’s such a space of vulnerability in business owners and like the The the space that you make for yourself by being vulnerable enough to go to those events, it can do wonders for your business just because of the fact that you’re putting yourself out there more than anything else. And it can be really difficult. But the friendships that you make are lifelong. You know, there’s people that are no longer in BNI last to catch up with constantly and yeah, those kinds of things, you can’t get many places.
Simone Douglas 10:23
Yeah, well, you know, I like to say to that, you go to a BNI chapter networking event, you make 30 to 40 new business friends, that’s great. If you become a member, and you’re around for a while, then those friends turn into family, it’s natural, that family will carry you through the rest of your business life. So they’ll come and go, you know, and by all those BNI alumni, all those people that have been part of that chapter family, they never disappear. And that’s like, I love that. Yeah. Because they always come out of the woodwork and help you at the time that’s only expecting it. So I guess, you know, one final question. If I was to put you in front of one person who could help you take your business to the next level, or help you achieve a business goal or a business dream of yours, so that you could have a cup of coffee with them? Who would that be? Who would you want me to, like put you in front of or connect you to.
Terri WIlliams 11:19
that have to be something specific, why you think it’s a very nice action. But I would say that I actually really like public speaking. And I would love to be put in front of more disability service providers. So kind of educate around the fact that who you’re excluding from this, you know, you’re really trying to target people with targets that negative word, but you’re really trying to focus on people with disabilities, but you’re not creating a space for them. Yeah, in your website. So I’d love to do more public speaking in that kind of area, and be really, really beneficial even just for the sake of educating people a little bit more about the things that they’re missing out on. So any opportunities like that would be okay,
Simone Douglas 12:00
So for the listeners out there who are listening to our podcast, or watching the video, if you work in that sector, or if you’re one of those people that brings lots of people in the sector together. You know, maybe it’s a good time to get on the Adelaide North website, find BNI a team and book into go and have brunch with Terry and make some new friends because you know, that’s what business is all about, the more friends we have the easier life. Thank you.
Chris Irving 12:28
Thank you for listening to the confident networker. You can find more episodes and information@bnian.com.au/podcast
Transcribed by https://otter.ai