Emma. As a new mum I have learnt how to balance the main plates I have to spin. I am very fortunate to have been able to maintain my love for sport with the help of my Mother in Law. I have reignited my love for cycling which allows me to reconnect with the Kent countryside and also the hills that surround me! I did a charity cycle ride with the @BDC from Newcastle to Angel, London in 2014, so I am pleased to have got back on the saddle. I am a keen long distance runner but since my son I have managed only shorter distances, but I thoroughly enjoy these and it fits nicely into my day unlike when I was training for the London Marathon. In June 2020, I have embarked on a new educational route so I can gain a property qualification and my Mother In Law allows me study time once a week, and I hope to achieve this qualification in 12 moths.
Steven. Beyond Tungsten MG I have a podcast, the Steven Sulley Study which is my take on life, business, health and nutrition. It allows me to meet with some extraordinary people from a wide cross section of society and dig deep in their why's and how's. I also love to travel and explore new places with my family plus i am extremely into my fitness. I enjoy boxing, running, circuits and walking as i feel a healthy body is a healthy mind.
How did you find your power team?
Steve. We found most of our power team through recommendations and word of mouth. A power team is a term used to describe those who you rely upon in business such as builders, accountants, architect, mortgage brokers, website hosting team and letting agents. We do not have the same people that are part of the Tungsten MG power team now that we started with in March 2017 as our needs have changed and therefore the team has too. We have a new accountant, Perrys Accountant as they are property specialists and given we are a property company this seemed like a good fit!
Emma. We did meet with all the teams before we decided to work with them and I remember the first time we met Ricard from RJ Kent which I am not to share now! We have made some judgements on our gut feeling and these decisions have not let us down.
Would you consider creating HMO's beyond Gillingham?
Steven. Yes we are looking to take our HMO model to the South coast of England so that we are not totally reliant on Medway. We have started to view properties via the standard channels such as Rightmove, but also moving into the new territory of auctions. We need to grasps what a 3 bed house is normally purchased at and what the resale value would be after we create a 5/6 bed HMO.
Emma. I also want to get confidence in the demand for HMOs in these new areas or consider flat conversions. We know in Medway that our HMOs are filled with NHS workers and therefore need to ensure there is constant room rental demand in these new areas.
What are the big lessons you have learnt since Tungsten MG was created in March 2017?
Emma. My biggest lesson has been to concentrate on one task before moving on to the next. As I wear a number of hats it is easy to focus on the easy tasks that I enjoy rather than do those that are high revenue generating tasks. As I do work from home and have my son here most days I getting better on having time as the business women and time as mum. If you try to mix the two roles you tend to not focus 100% on either and if frustrates me. I have set days when he is looked after by my Mother in Law so I focus on tasks needing my full attention such as my studies and then I can do lower time consuming tasks when he naps. So when he is awake I can concentrate on he's development and well being.
Steven. The biggest lesson learnt for the company is finding the right tenants and the importance of thorough referencing. I will not name the agent but one of my single lets was given to a couple who did not have a clean referencing report and this was not shown to us. The tenants were not nice characters and they did not pay any of their rent to keep the story brief. The made up some great stories and some believably to drag out the payment date. We were very lucky that they left the house in a great condition and we were not badly left out of pocket but lesson learnt.
Tell us about how you juggle your life and work balance?
Steven. I do not believe in a work and life balance as I amalgamate to two together. I take work calls at the weekend when walking with the family and can also take time out of the working week to do activities with my son. I believe that my way of life is working and I would find it impossible to divide the two, plus business allows me to have the lifestyle I want. I also mix my social life with business and those I aspire to be like.
Emma. As a new mum I have to balance two key roles which is bring up my son and being the Director of Tungsten MG. Allowing my son to spend time with he's Nan has been key to allow Tungsten MG to grow at the rate it has. I am fortunate to have his Nan local so he can spend 1.5 days a week with her (before Covid-19). This time alone gives me a set amount of hours to get key tasks complete, and it is surprising how productive you can be when you need to be.Having childcare is good for my son, myself and Tungsten MG.
Having allotted time for each of my roles allows me to be more productive rather than just busy. There is no rule for everyone on what technique you can follow to achieve your maximum output. I prefer to get my tasks done in the morning to allow time for my family in the afternoon. Check out my January 2019 on how to achieve small milestones that help you achieve that large goal in 12 weeks and the bullet diary - the link is below. As I only have childcare for 1.5 days of the week, I use this time for the most important tasks which need my full attention. In these time periods I know the length of time I have so can dedicated a set amount of time to each task. However, the rest of the week I have adhoc working hours depending on my sons nap which are at random times and length. I usually do Tungsten MG admin tasks, jobs that require small time periods or household activities like making meals when he naps as the task can be stopped as soon as he wakes.
I am however getting stricter on when I am a business owner and a mother. At the start I tried to be both all the time and it did start to wear me down. Now I try to be a mother/wife to be/home owner whilst he is awake so I play with him, help him with speech and learning and see friends but when he is napping, asleep or with he's Dad or Nan I am a business owner. This allows me to dedicated 100% of myself, my mind and energy to whoever or whatever is in front of me, so I feel I have natured that thing to the best of my ability.
