Before Pinpoint, I had built, restructured, and sold four businesses over a ten-year period. In between each venture, I tried to start an agency, but I never quite had the clout, support, or knowledge to make it work.
The desire to build an agency and be immersed in business never left me.
In 2021, after selling my last trade business, New Zealand Treatments and Spraying (NZTS), I finally had the trust of a few tradies and contractors who became our first Pinpoint clients. I hired a team of marketers and designers who were doing things I barely understood at the time.
On the surface, things felt promising. In reality, it was a house of cards.
When the Auckland lockdowns hit from August to December 2021, our pipeline collapsed. Website projects disappeared overnight. Cash flow dried up. I was scrambling to pay staff. Around the same time, we misquoted a job that cost us around $50,000. Looking back, I simply didn’t know what I was doing yet.
2022 was a hard reset.
I went from trying to lead a team to working on my own, nearly broke, and finally realising how green I was. We had about four regular ads management clients, which I knew very little about at the time. A couple were getting poor results and were close to leaving. I offered them a few months free while I figured it out.
Determined to make it work, I found a digital marketing coach in the UK (shout out to JB). For three months, I was up at 4am most mornings on Zoom calls, learning how ads actually worked. I came prepared with questions every day and slowly started to understand how to get better results.
Those four clients stuck with us.
Not long after, I met Lalit, who is still Pinpoint’s right-hand man today. Together, we focused on building systems, improving delivery, and scaling in a way that made sense. We built a team who shared the same work ethic and aligned with how I wanted to run the business.
Today, Pinpoint has an eclectic team that embodies a tradie work ethic: up early, practical, hands-on, solutions-focused, no fluff. Everyone brings their own strengths, but we share the same mindset: communicate well, do the work, solve the problem, deliver the result.
We’ve now come through another tough period emerging from recession, and we’re helping skilled business owners project their success and grow again.
What I love most about Pinpoint?
It’s the variety. The different industries. The different challenges. Getting the wins after putting in the work. Helping people out.
What’s been hardest?
Being a marketer in tough market conditions. Paying idiot tax along the way. Making mistakes when it’s your first time in an industry and learning some brutal lessons.
My proudest moments?
Supporting my team to do things like purchase their own homes, immigrate to new countries and grow in their lives and own pursuits.
What does the future hold?
More learning. More growth. Hopefully better market conditions. And more success stories for our clients.
If you’ve been part of the journey in any way, client, team member, supporter, friend, THANK YOU!
Looking forward to many more great years in and around business.
