Ryan Magruder’s Post

Rawring into our 7th year anniversary this 2023! As we celebrate our 7th anniversary, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our amazing clients for their unwavering support and trust in our digital marketing expertise. We couldn't have reached this milestone without you! 🎉 #rawr #rawrglobal #anniversary #socialmediamarketing #webdevelopment #digitalmarketing

When you start your own company, it's not often you get a chance to step back and reflect on it until later on in life. Entrepreneurs take the leap for many different reasons. They've found an opportunity in their marketplace. They have a passion driving them to it. They want to be a boss and control their destiny. Money. 5 years ago, two of my best friends and I decided that it was time for us to make a change and for none of the reasons above. It was about relationships and a goal to shift to balance between our work and personal lives. It starts off sounding like the opening line to a joke. A Civil Engineer/Project Manager, a Product Marketer and a Digital Marketer walk into a conference room... We had worked for another company, sharing an 8x8 office for over 5 years and LOVED working together. We all brought different perspectives from our past lives and challenged each other to think differently. We worked on the same projects and clients together helping them navigate through their own business challenges. We loved it. The average person will work over 90,000 hours in their lifetime. That is 1/3 of their entire lives. That's about the same amount of time that someone sleeps. It's an incredible (good or bad) way to look at how much time we spend here. Working together for those years, we realized that rarely do you get a chance to pick who you want to work with in your life. The three of us knew, if it was going to happen, this was our chance to do it. We wanted to work with clients (and specifically, the PEOPLE who work for those clients) that was equally important. Having our work days filled between working with friends and clients you trust and truly enjoy supporting while providing fulfilling work for 9 hours a day? That was it. We thought it would be just the three of us at Strand for a long time - and we were perfectly content with that. A year later, we hired our first employee Erin Williams - and what a hire that was. 4 years later, there are now 25 of us and we are still growing. These 5 years (albeit 2 COVID years) have gone by in a blur. I love the people we get to do it with. I love the work we get to do. I love the balance we've been able to provide ourselves to start, build and grow our individual families outside of the workplace. I want to thank Ethan Wright and Jocelyn (Hein) Uhls for taking the leap with me. I want to thank our clients for taking the leap with us as well and allowing us to support you and your own business objectives and goals. And I want to thank the team here at Strand Marketing for giving us (at least a portion of) your work life every day. I think we've said this every year, but 5 years in and we're still only getting started.

Here's the first in what will be a series of blogs from Crystal Thompkins,CAP®,CSPG (she/her) about her career transition journey and whatever else strikes her fancy!

My business Eclipse Accountancy turned 6 last week and here is what I've learned since becoming a business owner. ❤️ Stay Nimble; Each client has taught me something new, reminding me that the only constant in business is change. Embrace it! ❤️ Relationships are Gold; It's not all about spreadsheets and calculators. It's the chats, the shared visions, and the mutual goals that make the work meaningful. ❤️ Invest in Your People; My team is my superpower. Their growth fuels our success, and together, we're unstoppable. ❤️ Celebrate the Wins; Big or small, every victory counts. Celebrating success keeps the team motivated and focused on our goals. ❤️ Learn from the Lows; Not every day is a win, and that's okay. The biggest growth often comes from overcoming challenges. ❤️ Community Matters; Being actively involved in local business communities has not only expanded our network but also enriched our perspective. ❤️ Embrace Technology; Staying ahead with the latest accounting software and tech tools has made us more efficient and proactive in our services. ❤️ Work-Life Balance; Running a business is demanding, but finding that balance keeps the passion alive without burning out. ❤️ Never Stop Learning; The world of finance is ever-evolving, and so is our learning curve. Continuous education keeps us at the top of our game. ❤️ Set Boundaries; You can set boundaries without compromising your professionalism or client relationships. Clear communication and mutual respect ensure that everyone's expectations are aligned, fostering a healthy working environment that benefits all parties involved. #businessbirthday #lessonslearnt

It's that time of the year! The time when we eagerly anticipate thoughtful gifts from our Secret Santa, hoping they're as diligently pondering what their assigned recipient might appreciate. I distinctly recall my first exposure to this concept back in Biocon, particularly in the year 2008 when Sathya Venkatesh became my Secret Santa child. I invested time and effort in discerning her preferences, making it one of the initial instances where I endeavored to understand a colleague better.   15 years later, she has joined us as our Human resources head at Symbio. Her recent arrival at Symbio reignites reflections on the positive aspects of this annual gifting tradition. In the earlier years, Secret Santa gifting was simpler in our small organization, where familiarity with each other's likes and dislikes was the norm. However, with the growth of our start-up, I once again find myself tasked with selecting a thoughtful gift for a relatively new colleague in the expanding office. I believe that this entire ritual serves as a prime example of team bonding within organizations. With my teams, I've consistently observed that people genuinely enjoy being thoughtful. They go out of their way to make others feel good, especially during a week dedicated to the art of giving. Consider this: if we can infuse this spirit of thoughtful giving into our workplace once a year, creating moments that make people feel wonderful, these gestures could potentially extend throughout the year. Imagine a workplace where such camaraderie, consideration, and positive connections become a consistent part of our organizational culture. #secretsanta #corporateculture

We are looking forward to our 9th Unconference later this month, and over the years, we have had many teams from companies attend the Unconference together. Teams love our Unconferences because… 💚 Sharing collective knowledge: the Unconference taps into the collective knowledge and experience of a wide range of participants from across Aotearoa. 💡 Relevant topics: your team can plan for each team member participates in a variety of topics that is relevant to your company’s current challenges and interests, maximising the learning potential across your whole team. 🌏 Diverse perspectives: your team can hear diverse views from those outside of your company with different backgrounds and experiences. 💲 Cost effectiveness: at such an affordable registration fee, bringing your team to the Unconference is the most efficient use of your professional development budget. We have a limited number of early bird tickets still remaining, so don’t delay - get your team on board today! Tickets available here: https://lnkd.in/gEKDvZMR

Life Lessons Learnt from 15 years at Oyster Last week, we celebrated a remarkable milestone — our Director of People and Operations, Hannah Clarke, reached her 15 year anniversary with us! During this time, Hannah has gained valuable insights, both personally and professionally. Here are 15 lessons she's learnt from her incredible journey with us. Read the full blog via the link in our comments. __________________________________________________ #Recruitment #WorkAnniversary #LifeLessons

6 years since we formally started this journey of construction and real estate.

Happy 2nd Work Anniversary to our fellow team member Kate Muckle! Kate’s creativity and personal touch has been a huge asset in Veery’s marketing strategy. Her continued focus on Veery’s long term goals keep us connected both with our clients and as a team. Click the link below to read more. https://lnkd.in/eWNFsuQy #VeeryCapital #FinancialServices #FinancialPlanning #WealthManagement #RetirementPlanning #RetirementPlans

Celebrating 5 years at Blue Arrow and what a 5 years it been! Between the Pandemic and the Menopause its been a rollercoaster for sure!!! Everyday is a school day and I always like to reflect and think about what new things I've learnt and what personal growth I have experienced this last year and "being kind to yourself", "being even braver", "ask even more questions" and taking more time to reflect are a few! And of course thank goodness HRT and a fabulous team keeping me motivated to be the best version of myself on a daily basis! Self-reflection helps you consider your thoughts and ideas. It can influence the inner dialogue that shapes your interaction with the world around you. It isn't always easy, but learning how to reflect is a crucial way to grow, both in your personal life and at work. Some of the benefits of taking time to reflect include: developing more awareness of yourself and the people you work with, solidifying your ambitions and considering what you hope to do with your life, reducing negative thoughts, emphasising your strengths and correcting your weaknesses, deciding your professional goals and working out opportunities to realise them, improving your creative thinking abilities engaging with work processes and discovering how to work smarter and developing greater confidence. Don't wait for an anniversary, get REFLECTING today 😍