#22 RadEo with Lauren Gamsu from Black Sheep Design

Radeo

In this episode of RadEO, Ross talks to Lauren Gamsu the founder of Black Sheep Design. They talk all about sabbaticals and how to prepare your team and your clients before the sabbatical. Lauren shares her experience with committing to a 3 month sabbatical from work. She gives her tips and tricks on doing it well so that you come back with a new excitement for your next venture. Subscribe on iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radeo/id1250841955) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/5FhWL8wjR13nuU1gI7dUkY) More about Lauren - Lauren Gamsu is the founder of Black Sheep Design, a turnkey office fit-out and building refurbishment company. After completing her architectural degree at UCT, and working in London and Dublin, she returned to her hometown Johannesburg, to combine her creative flair and entrepreneurial spirit. She founded Black Sheep in 2011, with negligible finances and a passion to build a business. She steadily gained a client base, helping SME’s with their office renovations. Over time, Black Sheep’s scope extended to include providing design solutions to underperforming buildings within the listed property sector. The company currently has a staff complement of 16 people, and clients that include Redefine, Arrowhead, Hertz, Growthpoint, Steinhoff and Media 24. Lauren is a past board member of Entrepreneurs Organization and a recipient of the EY Winning Women Award. In 2018, Lauren took the plunge and committed to a 3 month sabbatical from work. She handed over the reins and went travelling around Europe, and Australia. The business flourished, and she returned with more clarity, a renewed appreciation for Johannesburg weather and excitement for the next entrepreneurial adventure. Black Sheep - (https://www.blacksheepsa.com/) Show notes - 00:38 - Lauren’s elevator pitch 01:30 - KTV Market day 03:30 - Why Lauren took a sabbatical 07:18 - Delegating responsibility 10:15 - How did your clients react? 15:00 - Handing over the bank, monitoring and reporting 16:50 - How would you monitor client service while on a sabbatical? 17:45 - How do you tell the whole team you’re leaving for 3 months? 25:07 - How did Lauren do her sabbatical? 30:08 - How is it being back? 32:00 - Did you find new opportunities with your new open mindset? 34:40 - Would you go on another sabbatical? – RadEO is a podcast for Entrepreneurs by Entrepreneurs. It is hosted by Ross Drakes and Rich Mulholland and produced by the Entrepreneurs Organisation in South Africa. Tune in every 2 weeks to hear conversations with business owners who will share their experiences and stories of what they have learnt building their business and what drives them to keep going. If you have a business and want more information on EO, get in touch or visit our website eonetwork.org