Gina likes to celebrate the little wins. This positive mantra has travelled with her from her native California to the north coast of New Zealand where she runs a tourism marketing agency Tomahawk with her Kiwi husband, John.
The small successes or milestones make, in Gina’s opinion, a huge difference to the outlook and approach of a small business. Gina and John have instilled this celebratory approach into their team at Tomahawk, with ‘celebrating what’s right’ resonating with every challenge or decision.
John said, “I think we can become so focused on what we’re not doing or what’s wrong, instead of focusing on the journey you’ve been on to get this far. We always celebrate what’s right, instead of looking at what’s wrong and it changes your perspective.”
In their experience, this attitude has helped them focus their delivery and enhanced their passion for what they do best, and what they do best is provide marketing solutions for the tourism trade.
With a unique proposition in the market, Gina and John have waded through different systems, processes, products and services in the past eight years; pooling their resources and knowledge (John – tech, building websites and systems; Gina – marketing and tourism) to refine what Tomahawk offers.
Currently offering vast marketing solutions (websites, social media, branding) for clients including Fiji Airways, Solomon Islands and Explore Marlborough, not only have they merged their technical and career experience, but their love of travel and exploring.
Spanning 15 countries and a team of 25, the couple make it very clear that they’re an international company with an international mind-set - they simply choose to be based in New Zealand.
So how does this attitude and mind-set drive results? The couple talk us through what works for them.
- Back your decisions. Appreciate the value you have. Ultimately it’s about believing in what you do.
- You don’t always have to chase the dollar. When we stopped and looked at what we actually wanted to achieve, it became the turning point in the success of our business. Being driven by your passion and what you enjoy will deliver a much better outcome.
- We’ve said it before and we’ll continue to say it; celebrate success. Understand how far up the mountain you’ve come.
- Focus. It counts for a lot.
- Build relationships. We have drinks every Friday and when our clients are in town they come and join us. It’s a real family approach and it makes a huge difference to both you and your clients.
With all this advice in practice by the couple, what’s next?
“Our plans are pretty simple really; we want to sustain growth and continue to build our team and product,” John said.
The business has flourished in the past eight years, coming into maturity. The couple admit they’re getting what they call a ‘seven year itch’ to get past the comfort zone into a new innovation phase.
Gina explains: “With continued growth and expansion, we need to look at the systems we have in place and if they’re still as appropriate for us as they were years ago. As far as we see it, the opportunities are endless, but we need to be efficient and robust to continue on this path.”
Part of this growth includes their expert board guiding them through change. As a family company, every voice counts! With “honorary” board members including son Jarrod (Vice President of Miscellaneous Stuff), 18, and daughter Taylor, 15, their future is in safe hands.
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