Welcome to the interview series with Jesse Samberg, where we delve into the journeys of successful business owners. Today, we have Kirsti Jane from House Of Motorsport Agency joining us. Kirsti shares her unconventional path to entrepreneurship and opens up about her personal struggles with self-sabotage. She also reflects on a heartwarming client story that left a lasting impact. Join us as Kirsti discusses her plans for the future of her business and the challenges she has faced in sales and marketing. Let’s dive in and learn from Kirsti’s experiences in navigating the small business landscape.
Interviewee Name: Kirsti Jane
Company: House Of Motorsport Agency
Intervirew Host: Jesse Samberg
The Interview
Let’s get started. First, we’d like to know more about how you started your business journey
Kirsti Jane : I sort of fell into my business journey, I had left school before I turned 16 so I didn’t have any qualifications. I was fired from my first job lasting only 8 weeks, fell pregnant for the first time at 18 and generally just didn’t have any clue what I wanted to do with my life. I ended up falling into my first business by accident, it wasn’t something I planned but just something that happened really. It wasn’t until after I’d started that business that I really saw a career in business so to speak.
Reflecting on your business history, what stands out as the single greatest challenge you’ve successfully navigated, and how did you overcome it?
Kirsti Jane : I think the greatest challenge I’ve ever faced is the challenge with myself and if I’m honest I haven’t overcome it as such, I’ve just learnt to navigate it better. I’ve been diagnosed with a whole host of different conditions including PMDD and I suffer with really bad anxiety. Therefore my own self sabotage has often been the biggest challenges for me, it’s only in the last year that I’d say I’ve really got to grips with overcoming them. I have routines, therapy, great support surrounding me that help massively, something I didn’t have before.
But I’d also say the awareness has been one of the key things for me in beginning my journey to overcome it, the awareness of myself, why I do some sabotaging things, the awareness before the things happen vs previously when I’d not be aware until I was too far down the sabotage path as such.
Businesses often face ongoing challenges. What does your business consistently grapple with, and how do you tackle these challenges head-on?
Kirsti Jane : Aside from myself haha! One of the things we consistently grapple with in the brokerage is having to deal with the other parties. We tend to operate differently to those around us and so when we’re in a deal where the other side is being represented by a different broker we find things can get difficult. They’re often not great at communicating, don’t provide all the information and it just gets very messy when they’re often in a chain of several people.
Can you share with us the most unforgettable story involving a customer or client? What made it memorable, and what lessons did you draw from the experience?
Kirsti Jane : We had a client who at the last minute contacted to source 3 very special vehicles for their sons for Christmas. Normally we’d have turned the request down as it was so late in the hour and these vehicles were already difficult to source let alone 3 of them. But the story behind why he wanted to do it and why it was so important to him was incredibly touching. It was a reminder actually that no matter how successful someone may be, you never really know the back story or what happens behind the scenes in their life.
It was more than just 3 expensive rare cars as an extravagant xmas present. It meant so much more to him and would to his sons too. It wasn’t smooth sailing and we actually had one person try to sell us a car that didn’t even exist! But we got there in the end and in the dying hours were able to pull his request off.
Looking ahead, what are your current plans for your business when you retire?
Kirsti Jane : I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure I’m one of those retire type of people and anyone who knows me would say the same thing. Maybe in the future that would change but I don’t see it myself. That being said one of my daughters wishes to take over the helm one day and so my current plans include continuing to build and handing most of the reigns over one day so that she can continue on.
Navigating the small business landscape can be both challenging and rewarding. Can you share a bit about the specific hurdles you’ve encountered in areas like sales, marketing, and adapting to changing customer trends?
Kirsti Jane : Whilst what we do is different, there’s no doubt that there’s a lot of competitors out there and so one of the challenges we had was capturing clients who were already used to working with others. It wasn’t going to be enough to just say we do things better, we really had to let them experience it for themselves. I think one of the biggest challenges with sales is always being able to demonstrate why someone would want to work with or buy from you. We knew that experiencing something vs being told something was going to be the big difference for our target market and so that’s where we focused.
Leaders Perception magazine would like to thank Kirsti Jane and “House Of Motorsport Agency” for the time dedicated to completing this interview and sharing their valuable insights with our readers!
Interested in connecting with the host of this interview series? Feel free to reach out to Jesse Samberg on LinkedIn: Jesse Samberg’s LinkedIn Profile