Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in consultancy but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kim Scaravelli, Founder and CEO of Trust Communications Inc., located in Halifax, NS, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Trust Communications is a content strategy firm with 20+ years of experience helping organizations accomplish BIG things by harnessing the power of words. We work primarily with government agencies, nonprofits, and social enterprises. This is our niche. We've developed educational content for more than 200 projects, and our work appears on more than 300 websites across Canada, the United States, and Europe. I take tremendous pride in the longevity of our client relationships. 92% of clients work with us more than once, and of our current roster of clients, more than half have been using our services for 5+ years.

Tell us about yourself

I founded Trust Communications in 2001. Back then, it was called E-Curriculum, and the name says it all. I helped my clients adapt classroom training for online delivery. And the biggest worry those clients had was that the internet wouldn't catch on. Well... the internet caught on! The online world kept growing, and my little company grew with it. I'm not a one-woman show anymore. I've built a small team of brilliant, creative folks who share my passion for communicating with words. Together, we help organizations grow and prosper by thinking strategically about the content they share with the world.

Our client relationships run deep. Most often, we work with the same groups again and again, helping them push forward, try new things, and make the occasional tweak or pivot. I'm an insatiably curious person, and I love learning new things, so I'm a natural fit for the world of online content, where new platforms, formats, and technologies are popping up all the time. How we communicate and the language we use is constantly evolving. What worked today may not work tomorrow, so you can never rest on your laurels and just repeat what worked before. And I love that!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

In 2019, I won the Women Leaders in the Digital Economy Award through Digital Nova Scotia, which was very humbling. Since then, I have mentored several young female entrepreneurs, and I find that tremendously rewarding. Their brilliance and enthusiasm are inspiring. And this year, I finally managed to write my first book. "Making Words Work" is a practical guide to writing powerful content. I'm super proud of this accomplishment (because it is wildly difficult to squeeze book writing into an entrepreneurial lifestyle). And I'm truly surprised by how well it's doing in the marketplace. Thought it would be a niche book, but as it turns out, there are A LOT of folks out there who create content for themselves, for their companies, or for clients.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

It's very hard to turn your mind away from work when you're a business owner. It's not just a job - it's your passion. Your baby. You have unending ambitions and responsibilities, so it's challenging to stop thinking about work long enough to enjoy all the other glorious parts of being alive. I'm better at this now than I used to be, but I'm still a work in progress. If I'm not careful, I can fall down that slippery slope and let work thoughts occupy my mind for days (or even weeks) on end.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Bootstrap it if you can. Don't take the biggest loan you can get and/or bring in stakeholders early on just to get more cash flow. Stay as lean as possible in the beginning. This isn't just financial advice. I truly believe that scrambling a bit at first helps you develop an agile, resilient, innovative mindset. When you can't reach into a deep pocket to solve a problem, you have to find more creative solutions. Having to be thrifty keeps you thinking outside the box!
  2. As soon as you can afford it, outsource the things other people can do better than you. For example, hire a bookkeeper! Don't waste your time on activities you're not well-suited to. Focus your energy on key business activities instead.
  3. Don't obsess about social media. I'm not saying there's no value in it, but I see loads of startups (and more-established companies as well) who spend hours every day crafting their image on Instagram, but their website is a mess, and they're practically invisible in the real world (where their real clients exist). Imagine if that same amount of time was spent communicating more directly with people. It's all about balance. Beware the trap of feeling like you're "marketing" every day when you're really just online, sharing posts with folks who probably aren't your ideal clients.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://trustcommunications.ca/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimscaravelli/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KimScaravelli
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimscaravelli/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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