Entrepreneur Q&A – Jocelyn Marshall
For those of you who know me, you will know how much I advocate in self-belief. It is the catalyst that allows for true change to take place in our lives.
Until you truly believe in yourself and whatever it is that you are doing you will never reach your full potential.
A lot of us struggle with self-doubt, imposter syndrome and fear.
It is normal to experience these emotions but it’s important to recognize them and to consciously work on bypassing them.
If you do not consistently work to eradicate these three emotions, you will constantly find yourself doubting your every move and this will create major friction and resistance within your life and business.
About 30% of the work required to build a successful business is about the business and the other 70% is personal development.
You have to grow along with your business, and you have to start believing in what you do and that you are capable of achieving it.
You might not have the confidence in the beginning and that’s okay!
The good news is that the harder you work and the more results you achieve the more your confidence in yourself and your business will grow.
The next incredible woman I had the privilege to interview advocates this principal because she has personally lived by it!
I thoroughly enjoyed Jocelyn’s answers because they are insightful and real. You can tell that she has poured blood, sweat and tears into her business and the results speak for themselves.
I hope that Jocelyn’s interview inspires you as much as it inspired me.
Jocelyn Marshall
Tell us about yourself and your business:
I studied at Rhodes for four years, qualifying with a BA in human kinetics and ergonomics and my PGCE. I then travelled and worked on the yachts until making my way home. We run a restaurant/ paint café/ creative emporium and have recently expanded with another store.
Why did you decide to start your own business?
I met my husband while working on the boats and together we tried from year to year to figure out what we could do in South Africa to get off the boats.
That’s when our business was born, we cleaned out some old studio space made available to us and opened The Pottery.
Inspired by our travels we wanted to share some of that inspiration.
Four of us together learnt how to make coffee, pizzas, smoothie bowls and everything else within the business, and basically poured our hearts and soul into it. We waited tables in between making meals and danced around enjoying every minute, sometimes without realizing just how we were growing together.
What are the secrets to your success?
Hard work, consistency and believing in what you are doing. It requires a special kind of confidence in yourself and your business.
Also, being in your business every day, being your business, learning every detail about your business and to never stop growing with your business.
What tips can you give for work/life balance?
Take care of whichever is more important at that time of your life and the rest will fall into place.
What has been your biggest challenge as an entrepreneur?
Biggest challenge would be having the patience to persist everyday even though the day before may not have given you the results you wanted. Seeing the gaps of opportunity and the silver lining to every encounter, good or bad.
How did you persevere through the tough times?
Running a business is a constant flow of problem solving, making the most of every opportunity and finding ways to innovate. A sink or swim mentality has gotten us through times when we weren’t sure what the future held.
What do you want to achieve next?
Right now, we are working on learning how to grow the business successfully, we are always striving to create new opportunities for the business and our staff to grow.
What do you do for encouragement and motivation?
There is nothing more motivating and encouraging than seeing people respond well to your business and seeing your business grow, so that is what keeps me motivated and keeps things evolving as organically as possible.
What advice can you give to women who are afraid to start their own business?
Have faith in what you are doing, believe with every fiber of your being that what you are doing has a place in the world and you are the one to bring it to being.
Know that things are not always going to be easy, and opportunity is often disguised as hard work so learn to recognize it.
Jocelyn and her husband Dillon have built a thriving business that is loved by many people in both George and Durban. They have created a space that allows people to relax, unwind and enjoy each other’s company whilst simultaneously creating jobs and providing an awesome working environment to those who are employed at the Pottery.
Jocelyn speaks a lot about growth in her answers. Its so important to never stop setting goals and to continue to reach new milestones within your business. It is very common for businesses to plateau in growth after they have become profitable.
This is because people become comfortable, and they feel as though it is safe to take a break. But the truth is that the market is incredibly competitive and if you want to stay successful and relevant you should always be innovating and pushing your business to reach new heights. Don’t be caught off guard and lose clients because you celebrated too early. Make it a habit to assess your company monthly and draw up new strategies to help you optimize and grow.
Lastly, I want to highlight Jocelyn’s comment on work life balance. A lot of people advocate against working too many hours and being too obsessed with your business. Whilst I agree that it’s not sustainable to operate like that in the long run, I do think that it can be invaluable in helping your business reach the next milestone, especially when you are just starting out.
So, like everything else in life, you have to continuously assess and optimize your business.
If you need to put in 16 hours a day for a period, then that is what you have to do. Take comfort in the fact that it won’t always be that way but be willing to put in that time and effort when necessary and I guarantee your business will be a success.
The key is knowing when its time to pull the breaks and when its time to accelerate. As Jocelyn said, identify what is most important at that point in your life and make it your number one priority, everything else will fall into place.
I have no doubt that Jocelyn and Dillon are only going to achieve greater success and happiness and I can’t think of two humans who deserve it more. I can’t wait to see where the pottery is in five years’ time as they continue to grow their business and their brands presence within South Africa.
– Caitlin Oelofsen
The Pottery Cafe
