Creating a wide range of content on your site that showcases your business as an industry leader gives customers the confidence to move forward with you.

Tigris Events is an award winning brand experience agency based in Toronto that specializes in dynamic personnel, promotions, marketing and events.

BusinessInterviews.com: Do you have any recent success stories that you’d like to share with our readers?

Serena Holmes: Yes, we have many but I suppose one of the best success stories we have is how effective our SEO efforts have been. We had a customer read a blog we wrote on event logistics and signed off on a $250,000 promotional tour without even meeting us. Creating a wide range of content on your site that showcases your business as an industry leader gives customers the confidence to move forward with you – in this case, even if they haven’t met you.

BusinessInterviews.com: What has been your biggest challenge as a business owner and how have you met that challenge?

Serena Holmes: The biggest challenge has been learning to hire, train and maintain a strong group of employees. They are the face of your brand. It’s important their values align with yours and that you instill in them the way you need them to work. We have met this challenge by being extremely clear about our expectations, creating manuals outlining policies and procedures and most importantly, developing strong relationships with our team. The latter of which often keeps people with the company for several years.

BusinessInterviews.com: What’s the most exciting thing on the horizon for you/your Company?

Serena Holmes: We are moving into a space that will give us room for 13-17 employees! We are really excited about this. We move in the middle of July.

BusinessInterviews.com: Have you had any mentors or role models that have influenced you? Describe the impact.

Serena Holmes: I have had a few – 1 coach, 2 mentors and am currently a member of TEC Canada, a peer to peer advisory board. Having mentorship has helped me develop the skills required to be a strong business leader. Sometimes, you just need a question answered and other times you need support. Either way, having this type of network has been invaluable. Everyone has different experience that can help expedite you to the answer you need. It’s really been amazing.

BusinessInterviews.com: What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs and business owners? What do you wish someone told you?

Serena Holmes: Two things – SEO and mentorship. Those two things have revolutionized our business. We started talking to someone about SEO in 2005 and had we done it then, our business could be in an entirely different place. We didn’t start doing it until 2012! Also, as a young entrepreneur, I wish I’d gotten help sooner. I also didn’t start coaching or working with mentors until 2012 – that’s 8 years after being in business for myself. Imagine what I could have known if I’d found someone sooner. The reality is, you don’t know what you don’t know – but working with people who do will make your life a whole lot easier.