EP 083 Shivanshi Sharma talks about Security Marketing, PR and Crisis Communications

Shivanshi is an entrepreneur and young, compassionate leader who brings significant business acumen and

marketing skills to the table. Having recognised a gap in the market, she founded Shivanshi Sharma Consultancy Ltd (SSC), a hyper-focussed marketing and branding consultancy that specialises in the securityindustry. With a growing clientele across UK and Europe and a team of specialists in India, Shivanshi set herself up for the challenging task of establishing SSC in two countries at the same time. This gave her the opportunity to understand and master the legal requirements, tax systems, bank processes, company registration and, most importantly, work cultures in two very different parts of the world. Her success in the quick and significant growth of SSC’s team and business revenue has been recognised by the Worshipful Company of Security Professional’s Young Entrepreneur Award at inaugural Safety and Security Entrepreneur Awards 2024.

Shivanshi is also a Board Member for the Women in Security Academy. In her role as an entrepreneurship mentor, she works with leading women who have been recognised for their professional brilliance by the WiS Awards, and supports them in pursuing their own business goals and aspirations.

She has also served as the Director of Marketing for the International Professional Security Association (IPSA), where she worked with government bodies, associations, regulators, media, and key industry stakeholders to get front-line professionals the recognition and resolution they deserve.

Her roles with IPSA and the WiS Academy come with the advancement of the industry at the forefront, which is in line with her goal of collective development for, and giving back to, the industry.

Shivanshi has also always been enthused by writing and public speaking. While she has won a few accolades for the latter, the former inspired her to write articles that have been published by the National Geographic Traveller India magazine, amongst other blogs and websites.

As she grows with her Consultancy, she hopes to add more feathers to her hat, and help many more individuals and businesses along the way.

Security Circle ⭕️  is an IFPOD production for IFPO the International Foundation of Protection Officers

Transcript

0:01

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Yoyo 0:44

Hi, this is Yolanda. Welcome. Welcome to the Security Circle podcast. Not another one. IFPO is the International Foundation for Protection Officers and we are dedicated to providing Meaningful education and certification for all levels of security personnel and make a positive difference, we hope, to our members mental health and well being. And our listeners are global here at the Security Circle. They are the decision makers of tomorrow. And we want to thank you wherever you are for being a part of the Security Circle journey. If you love the podcast, we're on all podcast platforms. Don't forget to subscribe or just like, comment and share the LinkedIn post. Now today I have with me a very special young lady. In fact, it was Frank Cannon. We have to blame for today because it was Frank that introduced me and said, you have to have this amazing entrepreneurial woman on your podcast. Yo Yo welcome founder and CEO Shivanshi Sharma to the security circle podcast.

Shivanshi 1:48

Hi Yo Yo, that was such a lovely introduction. Thank you so very much. I should get paid for it, shouldn't I? You absolutely should. I've heard so much from the podcast and about the podcast, so really excited to be here and having this chat with you. So thank you so much for having me.

Yoyo 2:05

Well, listen, it's not often that Frank is wrong. apart from when I'm right and he's wrong, of course. And he'll be laughing now, walking in the countryside, listening as he does. You've worked with Frank at the Security Institute and he's a great mentor to have for somebody, in, fairly new to the security industry, but I want to talk to you because you're quite special. You haven't joined the security industry as a security officer or through management or even through, the traditional kind of security degrees. Tell me how you got into security and we'll understand what is so special about you.

Shivanshi 2:39

I really like asking that question of everybody that I meet in the industry, because I think the way people enter this industry is always so unique. It just always happens by chance, doesn't it? And for me, the story really begins from, you know, six years ago now. I just finished my bachelor's in mass media. And I decided I wanted to pursue master's from the UK, but there was only one problem I had rarely traveled within India, let alone outside the country. So I had no passport, no experience of ever really living alone, traveling alone. So it was, it was really, um, you know, a bold decision really to make, but I decided to meet with some university representatives and I fell in love with the MSc in management course, uh, offered by Cranfield university. And then it was just one month before flying out of India that I got my passport. And I still remember it was just two days before flying out that I got my visa. So, because so much effort had gone into, you know, just materializing myself over here and this course, I wanted to make the most of it. So I threw myself in everything that I could find from all the studies, but then also all the extracurricular stuff, and, you know, putting myself in uncomfortable. Places like networking events and just, building those connections. And then Cranfield had an option of interning while writing your thesis. So it was not, no question for me, really, I really wanted to do that. But you just had to land an internship to do that. And I got really lucky to land one with the Security Institute. And that was my introduction to this industry. And so I joined them as a strategic marketing intern and, um, just like anybody else that comes from outside the industry, a few weeks before that, I had no idea what security industry means, how vast it is. Right. and I had no idea that it includes risk management consultancies, you know, and all of that. All I thought was, okay, it's physical security or cybersecurity. That's it. But, um, the Institute was a fantastic place to learn about different sectors because the members come from such a variety of areas. So that was my introduction within the industry really.

Yoyo 4:51

it's great to see this through your eyes because, you know, we've lived it, breathed it for some of us, many decades, um, through your fresh eyes. What sort of challenges did you see the security industry had when you first started interning at the Security Institute?

Shivanshi 5:10

That's a really interesting question. Um, well, the first area, of course, is, uh, the gender ratio, isn't it? It's, it's kind of elephant in the room, needs to be addressed. Um, I think the last time when I looked at the stats, it was about six to seven percent of, um, the professionals within the security industry are female. So, pfft. But I do want to point out that that ratio has gone up quite a bit in the last, few years. So it's important to also acknowledge that there is a lot of effort being put into it. Um, but of course, when I started, I met only with a few female professionals. Was very inspiring. I learned a lot about their experiences. and ever since I've had the opportunity to meet with people coming from different, you know, amounts of experiences. So people that are just starting out in industry to women that have been in the industry for 30, 40 years, I've been really lucky, but I've asked them about their experiences. And sadly, one thing that's common amongst all of them is. At some point in time, the lack of confidence that they felt in the industry, no matter how much knowledge they had, that is quite sad. It's, it's interesting to see how women feel when they are entering a networking event and how, welcomed they feel. So it's not just about giving them the opportunity to join the company, but then also helping them progress within that company and reach a board level role where they can make those decisions. So probably that's one of the challenges, but it is being addressed. And I would like to do my bit. And that's where, I have joined women in security academy as a board member to encourage other women to start their own businesses within the industry. And, many times I can be only person, my age, my gender, my color in the room. Can be intimidating, has been intimidating, but I've had to push through because if you're not the first one doing it, then there won't be a second or a third.

Yoyo 7:03

Oh, Preach lady preach, I think it's I think we've just got to own it. It's like people say to me Oh what on earth made you decide to do a podcast? Well, there wasn't really another woman with my security background and my crazy personality and the free time I had Clearly too much that was doing this. And so I saw a gap, you're in a gap, you have to just own it, Shiv, you have to be that part of the diversity quota.

Shivanshi 7:36

Absolutely. And actually speaking of gap, that's how I started SSC, in fact. I did my one year with the Security Institute. I helped them develop their five year, strategic marketing plan. and then that gave me a good opportunity to meet with really fantastic people. Rick Mountfield was my boss then, and I think will always be a great influence in my life really, got a chance to work with Daya Thomas, really, really fantastic people meet with the board of directors. That gave me an opportunity to network, connect, build those relationships. And then when my visa ran out, of course, I went back to India and I was recommended to a risk management consultancy operating there in Southeast Asia, so I joined them as a marketing assistant for a year. And it was at that time, having worked in both countries in the industry that I recognized a gap in the market. That there were not a lot of marketers or marketing agencies specializing in the security industry. And as an industry, it is so niche. It has such a huge appetite for marketing, but it's so specific because the businesses want to be promoted and marketed, but you can't reveal their clients. You can't reveal the projects that they're working on. Their own clients are usually government, you know, bodies or B2B, B2C. So it's really a mix. And unlike FMCG, unlike retail, unlike other industries, you can't use push marketing. You can't sell the products and services by just talking about it because it comes from such a trust based, relationship, such a trust based network that you have to be really clever and, think outside the box into building those relationships. So that's the gap that I, you know, I decided to fill. So In the middle of the pandemic,, I made this bold decision of quitting my job and starting Shivanshi Sharma Consultancy, SSC that now provides marketing and branding support to organizations with the niche sectors like security.

Yoyo 9:22

And guys and girls, if you want to hear an elevator pitch, that was an elevator pitch it's not easy for people to get their elevator pitch done. And as you were coming to trust, I realized I was also thinking trust. You're right. And to your point earlier about, there being a lack of confidence, I definitely think that that lack of confidence while present in women is also present to a degree in men. Because I think. Because of the diversity of skill set within the security industry, I don't think everybody feels 100 percent comfortable that they know what they need to know, because there's always somebody else who's a specialist in some area. and therefore I think everybody to a degree has a little imposter syndrome. To the point around trust, I think Going from knowing you don't know everything is a very good start. Building trust is important. So as a marketing professional in our security community, what ways would you suggest that our listeners start to think about using trust to win business? We have lots of aspiring security consultants listening as well as established stalwarty You know, security consultants lived it, dreamed it, got the t shirt, got the bedspread, you name it. how would you use trust when it comes down to winning business?

Shivanshi 10:48

I think it's like in any area in order to, you know, have win trust from somebody, you need to show them, what you've got, what you can offer. So one of the first things that we advise, any of the businesses is offer something for free. That could be knowledge that could be as good as tips that could be your experience. That's one way of showcasing what you've got instead of selling your product directly, because the clients want to see what you're capable of and not really what you provide. Because once they trust you, then obviously they will then be interested in your services. The first thing is, instead of talking about your products and services, talk about. What your experience has been, what your values are, talk about case studies, but basically just share information that you know, end user will be able to apply to their own businesses. And don't think about converting the leads just then the first step is about building relationship. the second wave would be to leverage your own brand into building your businesses brand. So when we, onboard a client, we definitely take a look at. Who are the people working within the business and the security industry does have really great kind of influence network. Well, you know, wink, wink, yo, yo, you are one of them. Definitely We look at how can we get that person on, you know, the MDs, the top management team to appear in front of podcasts like yours, or to get articles published. And, that's another way of building trust is showing the expertise you've got within your team. So think more. client and what they want rather than business, what you're selling. If that makes sense.

Yoyo 12:23

Yeah, it really does. I can't help but think if that's why influencership for the security industry has been so relevant, simply because that trust element is really critical. And in fact, I was only talking, yesterday. to a podcast guest who will be featuring and he said, it was only when he was delivering a certain type of service that his clients would say to him, Oh, do you also do this? And can you do a bit of this for me? And so his services diversified because they trusted him. I think that's so critical, and it comes down to as well, doesn't it? Having a good LinkedIn profile, making sure that you're posting really good, informative, factual, relevant content. Tell me about that.

Shivanshi 13:06

Absolutely. I mean, especially in the post pandemic world, your website is kind of like your website. CV, isn't it? Your business's CV. So, if you are really a well known, brand in front of certain clients, still, when you do go to another client or prospective client, the first place that they're going to go look for you is on online. So if your website doesn't match what your, what the recommendations have been given to them about you, they're really going to not be sure. They're not going to trust you because. even you, when you are actually looking for to, hire somebody yourself, you're going to go and look at their LinkedIn profile. So it's really important that all of that comes through, as a standardized, communication. So when we onboard a client, for example, we do a really thorough competitor analysis and we see how our other competitors, first of all, showing themselves because half of the work. Half of the battle is won there when you know what's going on in the market. We don't just look at direct competitors. We also do indirect competitors. And that's a suggestion really to anybody listening to the podcast. If you want to increase your, expand your business areas, then definitely take a look at your indirect competitors. And that gives you a list of areas that maybe you didn't think of targeting because they provide similar services, not same. So don't think that you. Only have two competitors don't, everybody's unique. I understand that, but there's a lot to learn from other companies that are in the industry. So then we do this really thorough analysis, develop this really, really, great brand maps that then help the clients decide where their business would be in next three years. How do they get there from today's point of view? And then that supports not just their marketing and branding, but also overall business growth.

Yoyo 14:53

I remember when I first started getting paid for doing podcasts. I mean this like working doing this, this is pro bono, but when I got paid for hosting podcasts, I designed a presentation and I literally did a lot of research and looked at The reasons why people should consider podcasts. And I think I came up with like 14 different reasons. So when I was pitching potential clients, I was saying things like, okay, are you launching a new product? Are you launching a new service? Are you designing your company brand? Is anything like this, there's three reasons there. And does anybody, do you think anybody would like to know what a day in the life of your CEO is like, what are you communicating to your employees? A lot of businesses, have one strategy to communicate externally and another strategy to communicate internally, but they wouldn't think to do a podcast for their internal community. So why not get the CEO and then get one of your top performers to go and interview him for fun and I'll mediate, all of these crazy ideas, but all to sort of bring about the sense of community within the workplace. That's just what I think four or five, there are so many more reasons aren't there. Podcasting is a new phenomenon. Why do you think it works?

Shivanshi 16:10

I think people like to relate to people. Now, marketing doesn't really work. As I said, push marketing doesn't work. They want to see who's behind the brand. They want to understand you. Today, values matter so much. So, one of the things that we do focus with people. The businesses that we work with is not just what they sell, but also what do they do for charity? What are they doing for EDI initiatives? You know, what are the CSR projects? Because all of that really does matter to your end user today. So podcast just gives that chance, I think, for people to understand the person behind the brand. And again, that ties in beautifully with the trust factor. You know, if you can't trust the person, you most likely will not work with the brand. So I think that's the reason why podcast, um, is important. Does tend to work and in terms of, you know, you mentioning that there is external communication, external marketing, but then also internal communication and your people marketing. That's really important because the first set of people that you need to convince that your brand is doing well. You know, standing for something really great or offer something really amazing. It's the people that are actually going to sell it or do that job. So as part of marketing, I do agree that it's not just about the end user, but it's about your team. It's about the rest of the market. It's about how, the other players in industry are looking at you. It's about how maybe the people that are never going to be your clients, but are going to support your brand in different ways are going to view you. It has to be so many, you know, nuanced approaches that you need to bring together as opposed to just doing social media marketing about just the business.

Yoyo 17:46

And you almost touched on brand ambassadorship then, didn't you? I mean, we've seen that going on when we see, the superstar celebrities wearing jewelry that belongs to a certain brand, for example, wearing clothing. And there's a huge difference, isn't there, to going online, saying something's great, and then wearing it yourself. Let's talk about how companies with very little marketing budget use LinkedIn as much as they can to exploit their services and products, but let's look at some of the ways people aren't getting it right without giving away all your trade secrets.

Shivanshi 18:21

we can give away all our trade secrets, but they'll still need us to do it. one thing is posting fine. That's fantastic. of course, be consistent with it, you know, just don't just post and then vanish away. That's definitely one aspect, but the other aspect is engaging with people. Are you also the one who is actually going on other people's posts, engaging with them, participating in discussions, reading some articles, sharing your opinions on articles written by other people, because if you're not Being part of that conversation that nobody is going to join your conversation either. So, and that's, sort of free marketing really is you're just jumping on another campaign, piggybacking it's, it's a really great way of just increasing your own reach. Yeah,

Yoyo 19:08

I agree. And I think that's a very common. I think it's in the top five of LinkedIn. Best practices is to not just like other people's posts, but like you said, comment, find some way. So, for example, we know that pride in London took place last weekend, a classic opportunity for, um, People who couldn't attend maybe to comment on people's posts and remark about what a great event it was, how great the photographs are. And look, sometimes, like I know, for example, the next time I bump into Satya, they'll be like, Hey, your pride photos were great because we're sharing in a community, aren't we? And it helps us to keep in touch. With what others are doing. We know that there are a lot of people in the security industry that would like to improve the way they market, including setting up a business. You've done this in two countries simultaneously, and I could say you're a bit of a master at it. Tell me how scary is that?

Shivanshi 20:03

I wouldn't call myself a master, but I will say this. I've done it all from being, just like any other entrepreneur from being the IT person to being your own legal advisor to, you know, doing everything. So, I've been running this company for about three and a half years now. And, when I started, it was a one woman band, the company was first registered in India. Now, after three and a half years, we are a team of six people. Fantastic team, really, really proud of them. Just going on to being a team of eight, we are continuously hiring. And now UK as well as in India. Teams in India, clients over here in UK and Europe. And as for me, I'm somewhere in the middle floating around, spending half of my year in India, half in the UK. Quite taxing, but I can't complain because I do enjoy it so much. In terms of challenges and what was most, problematic really to deal with while setting up a business, One aspect of that is definitely the rules and regulations. When I started the company on, you know, in two continents, you have to learn the tax systems, you have to learn the rules and regulations, even how to, you know, do accounting. Um, so that's one aspect definitely, which I had to, to, to learn. by experimentation and just learning. But the other aspect that I don't know if many people talk about or consider is the people aspect. So I've had to do a lot of cross cultural management, which I have actually, you know, come to really enjoy. I think the most trickiest part As an entrepreneur is definitely hiring. And I have spoken with a lot of really established entrepreneurs who have way more experience than I do. And they agree with me, you know, finding the right people. And it's really important to me as well, because they are the people that are ultimately, you know, providing the services that they're representing your own values, in front of your clients. That's what takes the most amount of time. Hopefully, you know, one day we'll, or soon actually, we'll also have a team over here in the UK and we would have ultimately completely mastered that cross cultural management.

Yoyo 22:05

Not one person have I ever met. wants to give up a salaried career and set up their own business and say, Hey, you know, I'm just gonna not get any money at the end of the month out of choice. And it's, it's really brave to do that. And some people find themselves in the situation where, for example, facing redundancy, they're like, okay, I'm at this crossroads in my life. Oh, you know, I'm going to try stuff. In fact, that's pretty much what happened to me. And in between jobs and whilst job hunting, I thought, I think I might just take some time out and just enjoy the pace of life being a little bit different. I'll focus on getting great guests, on the podcast, and I can spend all day chatting to people, having coffee. And then. As it started to get more successful, I then started to attract, commercial clients. And I knew I needed to set up a company because I needed to put the money through the business for the podcasting. Right. And that's how it happened. But to be honest with you, people have been saying to me for years, why don't you, you know, set up on your own, you can carry it, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. But I never felt confident enough. And I should imagine. There are a lot of people thinking, like I did, that they weren't confident enough to almost bet on themselves. and you do need to bet on yourself when you're an entrepreneur, don't you?

Shivanshi 23:28

You absolutely do. What I've come to realize is that there's never a perfect time or a good time to quit a job or to, commit to something like this,, a lifetime project is what I'd call it because I will be doing this for life. but when I did. quit the job. It was obviously I had thought a lot about it. So I did create a rudimentary business plan, which, just thinking about who the clients will be, what the finances look like, what will happen if I don't get a client for one year, for example, can I afford to do that? So I had to create that business plan, but really, I had to decide that this was the right time because had I spent a few more months pursuing that job and not started my own company, I would have lost on all the connections that I had built in the UK. And those were the companies that were interested in working with me. So, at some point you just have to be courageous. You just have to take that leap of faith. And, if you're confident in what you do, if you're confident in your skills. Then you will definitely, definitely succeed. My, my only advice would be to keep your business plan as agile, as flexible as possible, because no business looks exactly like it's a business plan at the very beginning. So if you're okay, if you're happy to just, Turn as the roads turn, and if you're happy to, adopt and add new services, if a client asks, and if that means more sleepless nights, that means, you Then you have, you're bound to be successful.

Yoyo 25:01

And I think networking is really important, isn't it? And this is where I think maybe even if people don't feel confident networking, they should do a course on networking, do a course on presenting, do a course on speaking in public. You know, there's so many free courses around. Do it, do a course on mastering your elevator pitch. You know, this is those simple refinements so that when you go out into the big world, all of a sudden, actually, this is a space I need to be in because I want to win some business here. I want to build some relationships here. The people I'm going to meet today are going to be in my future in one way or another. So everything is an opportunity in a networking event, isn't it?

Shivanshi 25:42

Absolutely. I think in terms of networking, because obviously just, just like most people, I think I've been quite nervous when I started. Um, and you know, uh, you, you don't get that choice. If you start a company, you've got to network no matter how much you're really dying inside. but the things that, you know, tips, so to say, if somebody's looking for them is that maybe think of. four or five questions that you could ask the other person, right? you have to be first interested in the other person before you can make them interested in you. So ask them for advice, ask them why they chose this career,, ask them what's the most challenging, incident that they faced within their career. You know, people like talking, and sharing their experiences. So do that. and then just. Um, as you said, you have your elevator pitch because you do only sometimes get that 15, 20, 30 seconds max, to sell yourself. And it's, you have to make an impression then. So the more you practice it, the quicker you'll be, but then also be genuinely interested in the other person before they can ask you for your elevator pitch is what my advice would be.

Yoyo 26:53

So I had a dilemma, about a year and a half ago. Where I had, I was wearing so many hats, but I didn't know what I had to gauge which elevator pitch I was going to use. So number one, I was hosting security circle podcast. Number two, I was a paid, a freelance podcaster. number three, I was also conducting cybersecurity audits and I had to gauge very quickly, the person that I was with to think, okay, which of these hats Am I going to be with this person? And it's tough, right? Because you don't want to get it wrong. and then I, I mastered this kind of elevator pitch that included all of it in a very short succinct way. People be like, wow, you do all that, but they'd always say, Oh, you're a podcast host. Yeah. That happened really a little bit by accident because I never came through the security industry in all of its different trenches and thought, Hey, one day. Put it together and I'm going to have a podcast.

Shivanshi 27:52

Well, you've always been very busy, Yoyo, from what, you know, what it sounds. So, how do you, you know, then pitch yourself? What, what does, how do you fit in all the three areas really in your elevator pitch? Because, of course, I do understand that everybody just has, as, as I said, 30 seconds usually. So how do you fit it all in?

Yoyo 28:12

Yeah. So we're going back a year and a half and I would say, look, I got made redundant from my job, which is a shame. I was heartbroken and I was kicking around a bit. And genuinely, I think the best end of beta pitches are true stories. I said, I was a bit depressed. I was hiding under a rock. And then when Mike Hearst came to me, we all know Mike and said, Hey, why don't you do a podcast instead of saying, Bugger off, you foolish man. I kind of went, what a good idea. Because I realized, podcast aside, this gave me a legitimate reason to reach out to my network, which was fairly small at the time, I think about two and a half thousand. I wasn't very active. I was consistently low active on LinkedIn. I thought this gives me a reason to go and interact with everybody. And I don't have to start off by saying, I am looking for my next career opportunity. And it brought me out, literally, from under a rock, where I was just wallowing a little bit. Because I told everybody how much I love my job, so when I didn't have that job anymore, I was like, too ashamed to tell anybody that job of my dreams was no longer in existence.,So that's what happened. And I said, so basically I was out of work and someone said, why don't you do this? I thought gets me out of a rock. And here I am producing this amazing pro bono podcast. And then people started offering me money to do it. so I thought, Oh, okay, maybe I won't. at work so hard to go back into work as quickly as possible. Maybe I'm just going to have some fun, take a year out. And then all of a sudden people were like, Oh, I'd love to take a year out. So if you took a year out, what would you do then? and that's how the conversation started.

Shivanshi 29:50

That's a fantastic pitch. I'm sold. That's really good. Yeah. I think that's what that's what people need to do is just think how they're going to, even if you're not running your own business at the end of the day, elevator pitches for you as a person as well. So how do you convey your own values? in a very succinct manner, but in an engaging manner is something, if you have that ready, then you're going to ace any networking event because all you have to do is, get the conversation started for the first 30 seconds. Then everything does flow is what I've learned. So just put yourself in that uncomfortable situation and go for it and just shake a hand and say what your name is and it will have to flow from there on.

Yoyo 30:28

Yeah. And do you know, the other thing I find the more I know that, For example, I'll start this off by saying, I saw somebody on LinkedIn yesterday, they put a post and they said, don't ask me for 15 minutes of my time. My time is valuable. If you want 15 minutes of my time, I can't give it to you free anymore. And there was a part of me that understands where that comes from. It's entrepreneurial. But the other part of me realized that actually I am where I am right now because I did a lot of pro bono work. I did a lot of volunteering. And I also, in addition to that, made sure that I was visible at every relevant security event. I think the only ones I've not really touched Really got very close with the BSIA and the Security Institute, ironically, because we would have surely met before now, and so I was kind of in across every circle. I was across every circle ASIS, obviously, I'm on the advisory board for IFPO, internationally with the International Physical Steering Committee that really did broaden my, my networking opportunity when you get on an international board. And I think I can't underestimate enough. I think the more pro bono work you do, the more great things happen to you.

Shivanshi 31:40

Absolutely. And you know, that goes for networking as well. It's not just about you getting something out of the other person. You have to go in thinking, what can I offer? And always that always works. So with regards to the 15 minutes, I feel like the, Again, I've been very, very fortunate to meet with some really fantastic people within the industry who are really busy running really successful businesses, doing 10 things at a time. The most successful people and are the ones that are busy, but somehow managed to find the time to speak to everyone and give back. They are all, they always have time for somebody that's willing to learn. So, running a small company. I'm always busy. I work 12 hours, 15 hours sometimes. it doesn't feel like work because I enjoy it. So again, not complaining at all. Absolutely love it. But then comes the time when my university reached out to me to do a guest lecture. And I said, absolutely. Yes. And I remember I was flying from India to UK then, and I already had a really jam packed schedule for those two weeks. And I worked on the presentation on the flight. And then I just was, there to talk to the students then. And, they had such interesting questions, such interesting insights. I learned as much from them as much as, I was able to share my experiences and I thought I really love doing this. So I honestly try to take as much pro bono stuff myself, even though we are a small company, if a charity needs us, we will definitely support them in whatever way we can, whatever time, whatever resources we've got. And for me as a person, the reason why I do like spending half of my year over here in the UK, besides the fact that I, That gives me an opportunity to meet with the existing clients and obviously find prospective new clients is to be able to do more women in security stuff, to go more, to go to more events and connect with upcoming entrepreneurs and give something back to them, and support them.

Yoyo 33:28

I think also when you're splitting your time, you're almost forced as an entrepreneur to think, okay, I have this block of time. I'm going to achieve this and you set yourself goals and then you do that in either country. I can see why that makes an awful lot of sense. But look, I think we've touched on something really important. I've been to a number of networking events. And apart from the odd occasion where I might bum into someone super interesting, like Frank, of course, as well as many, many others, it's worth now focusing listener on who is offering you something when you're meeting them. At a networking event, let's look at what's being offered, not what is being gleaned from you as an opportunity. Let's look at how somebody is building the relationship with you and maintaining that relationship with you, not just, identifying whether you're a quick hit and moving on. I think this is where the focus needs to be. And it certainly made me think, cause I'm certainly, I certainly know that if there's anything I can do, like my LinkedIn. messenger gets really congested sometimes. I find myself often saying, look, Just because of the, get me, just because of the amount of messages, I find it really hard to stay on top of it. And then I'll get to a Saturday morning and I'll be like, I just need a day where I'm not on LinkedIn all the time. And I just need to have a break from my phone. And then it's sort of Sunday evening and I'm like, yo, yo, you need to respond to some of those messages. And it's pretty, you've got to be focused. You've got to give yourself a break, but there is maintenance to do when it comes to making connections and having relationships, isn't there?

Shivanshi 35:11

Absolutely. And that's what really strategic marketing is about, you know, it's not just about speaking your bid and then going away. But when we're doing social media, fine. That's one aspect of it. In that comes thought leadership marketing strategy. How are we leveraging the person's knowledge, to building this brand's knowledge, what free information we are sharing, but then also comes the email marketing and CRM management, which is so infamous, right, because people misunderstand it as spamming. Well, that's why you need strategic marketing to understand how can you communicate with your people, with your. Clients or prospective clients via email, just by keeping in touch with them. What's the right frequency? What's the conversation that you're having? That's really important. Are you just selling your products or services, or are you actually offering something really interesting? That could be a new legislation in the country, you know, and we keep it, we keep a tab on what are the new laws and legislations that are being passed. And then we try to connect that with some of the brands we work with and how can they jump on that Dig that thought leadership bit, spread that awareness about that new law, and that becomes an indirect way of selling themselves. So yeah, definitely very important is, to kind of offer something, and stay in touch with people and communicate with them.

Yoyo 36:27

at the moment, you'll probably know, as will the listener, that every time you connect with somebody new on LinkedIn, there's an opportunity to follow their newsletter or subscribe to their newsletter. And there is an inundation right now, and I find myself all thinking, I can't, subscribe to everybody's. So it's important, isn't it? To stand out now, I want to go specifically to Julian Talbot, who has been a guest on the Security Circle podcast. Clever, clever man. I've never seen a man write security stuff so beautifully. He's also got a newsletter. And it's called SRM BOK. SRM BOK. And I think that, in my opinion, epitomizes what a newsletter should do, as an example. Because it's all about giving. It's giving information, it's giving knowledge, it's giving direction, it's giving signposts to where to go. Why is newslettering on LinkedIn now so popular and where are people making mistakes?

Shivanshi 37:34

Well, LinkedIn has a lot of trial and error, doesn't it? They do come up with really interesting features, some take off, some don't. Um, I think The newsletter aspect just gives you a short glimpse into what the company's doing. And as you said, it's about what's in the newsletter that's really working. So there while there are some that are really standing out, I know that a lot of companies are trying to, do it, but it's not taking off because of the type of content. So what they're adding in it, what they're giving tips and advice really, but then also comes the sneak peek aspect of it. You know, if you give them something behind the scenes, they are immediately gripped, even if that's not directly giving them what they're looking for, but they like to know about your business. I think that's one of the reasons why it's working. and then there are other aspects of LinkedIn that you should also try, like definitely publish an article, and then try to collaborate with people on that article as well. Those are the bits that work, but I think. To make any platform work, you need a holistic strategy. So look at it from a much more bigger angle. LinkedIn should be one part of your overall marketing strategy. How are you tying in that LinkedIn newsletter with your other platforms? did you have Facebook? Do you communicate in some other way? Have you got any other collateral, any other flyers, brochures, et cetera? So tying it in with the Everything is how you'll boost your, newsletter, if you appear in fantastic podcasts and promote it, that's going to help. So don't just write and publish and finish, definitely push more and reach out to people with it.

Yoyo 39:07

you're right there. It is about giving, I think. And I get people, I get agents contact me on the security circle side and they, I have a client, they say, they're looking to promote their business and I'm thinking, well, then we should be talking about sponsorship. And you would include the podcast as maybe part of your marketing mix, which is what you alluded to Shivanshi. but the podcast isn't for promoting people's commercial agendas. That's not giving. Giving is giving thought leadership. Look at all of the suggestions that we've discussed today. How to network brilliantly. How to build business relationships. How to start conversations. Good elevator pitches. Get out there. Start your business. Don't wait. Be brave. Look at the marketing mix. Come out with a cracking newsletter. Put loads of tips on it. So look, that's just 10 points. So I've only got so many fingers. we've made a really good start. If you could go back, change anything around your business and what you did, what would you do differently?

Shivanshi 40:06

Wow. That's a really interesting question. I have many, um, I think I would be more confident with expanding to new areas. So when I had just begun and was just one year into, you know, the SSC, and we had a few clients, we knew what we were doing in terms of marketing. One of our clients, reached out to us and said, Oh, could you do this press release and reach out to publications? I had never done public relations in my life. I had no idea what this means. So I was really, really nervous. And usually, we take things up., we do say, yeah, we can, you know, we'll find the right person, but sometimes, you have to be honest and you have to say, look, we can't so that we don't waste other people's time. So I did go back to this client. I said, look, I've never done this. I don't think I'll be able to do this. These clients were fantastic. They said, well, look, we've had really bad experience with the past PR person. You take this up, whatever you need, we'll support you. You know, we're ready to kind of just jump into this. I was so nervous. I remember I spent one month kind of learning all types of courses, speaking to my colleagues, my friends who are in PR. But then after a few months, and now, in fact, that's a different service area that the SSE offers is public relations, because we've landed up building really strong relationships with journalists and publications in the UK, some in the Middle East. We now do not just press releases, but, thought leadership articles, getting them interviews. So now we've kind of developed that as an arm. I'd be more confident in just pushing the limits more if I could. And interestingly, actually, I have a very interesting story. Is that this new service area helped us address a really, really challenging situation. so one of our clients reached out to us, one of the businesses we were working with is, Somebody very, very high up in their organization, was involved in sort of a messy situation at an industry event that got caught up, by a couple of publications. Okay. I caught quite controversial and they reached out to us and said, look, what can we do? I had never thought that crisis communication management would be something that we'd pick up, you know, so we, we brainstormed and we created this whole strategy of how can we build this brand. sorry, strengthen the brand of this person because right now, it wasn't just the person's image that was, going to be tarnished, but also the brand's image. So then we caught them the right publications, we got them the right articles, we made sure the right words were floating around, we were focusing, shining light on their positives because there were many, and then, you know, trying to not shine as much light on the not so positives. And the fact that that story never came out. Is, you know, shows that we were successful in it. So, that's definitely a new arm. So, when people think about marketing, all they think is social media. But the reason why we call ourselves marketing and branding consultancy is because we are building the brand's holistic image, not just in front of the clients, but in front of so many areas, really, you can't imagine.

Yoyo 43:12

You're like the Olivia Pope of the security industry. I love it. Ah, what a compliment. Thank you, Yo Yo. Oh, some people will get that and some won't. But, yes, well, it's great to have you. I think crisis communications is very underestimated. And I think, in my expertise, as we see AI being used to de thieve, through, video technology, I think every single CEO and managing director in the security industry needs to have a crisis management plan for somebody faking their identity and I think they call it now, executive digital protection. But it needs a communications plan. It needs an internal kind of red top table exercise. What do you do when your face, your video turns up on social media, and you need to get that off and de circulated straight away because it's affecting how people see your business and you. And having an answer of, well, usually we get posts taken down on Twitter. If we challenge them, within 24 hours, like, no, that's not good enough. you need to have a plan. And that means having better relationships with social media businesses.

Shivanshi 44:32

Yeah, a lot can happen in 24 hours. I mean, you could lose really, really a lot of business, you know. And once something is on the internet, unfortunately, it's kind of always on the internet. So the way, if crisis management begins is that it doesn't matter. begins kind of now when there's no crisis, it begins, how are you setting the foundations of your brand? Are you already honest? Are you already communicating with your clients so that they can trust you when something happens where you're not necessarily involved, but you're the victim. So, it begins from the, from very now. and. A lot of our businesses now, a lot of our clients do trust us with a lot of information that never really is required to go out in the market, but because they share that information, it allows us to be prepared and also advise them back on not just marketing, but also overall business growth. So yeah, definitely, definitely be prepared, be smart and engage with people that know how to present your brand the way you would like it to be presented.

Yoyo 45:29

Well, Shivanshu Sharma, it's been an absolute pleasure. I can see why Frank recommended you. You are a shining light in this industry, which isn't always great at celebrating the good things. You're an amazing entrepreneur. I can tell that you're going to be incredibly successful in your career. And I'm just glad that I've come across you at this stage. so much for joining us on the Security Circle podcast.

Shivanshi 45:55

Thank you so much, Yo Yo, and I must say thank you to Frank as well. and a huge shout out, for him because he's so good. Just like you, both of you, encouraging other people and empowering them, talking about them. That really helps. And it means a lot to me, to my team. And I'm sure to other people listening, who are looking to start their own journeys, but are a bit nervous, people like you really help. So thank you so much, Yo Yo.

Yoyo 46:19

It's a pleasure. We'll get you back next year.

Shivanshi 46:21

All right. See you then.