Bradshaw applies his inherently creative nature to business. Constantly thinking of new ideas, he estimates he has 100 functioning websites and the rights to 1100 domain names.
When it comes to running SponsoredLinX, Bradshaw says the systems in place effectively allow it to run itself.
“SponsoredLinX is self-perpetuating now and it runs without me to a point. The main growth we’re seeing now is in mobile and social media. I’ve created two companies around these growth areas, Social Edge and Cloud Downunder (a mobile app development company).
“It’s good to put the lines out there and see what works,” he says.
He attributes the success of his businesses to internalising the company goals throughout his employees and regularly setting and evaluating goals and metrics in relation to three main areas.
“Ultimately, what we figured out was that every person in the business needs to be motivated by the key performance indicators which grow the business. Things that grow our business are good quality service and relationship building and we measure those things religiously. I measure everything we possibly can.
“We focus on three main areas, so we have to continually evolve – acquisitions, cancellations and customer relationships,” he says.
Bradshaw says acquisition focuses on the number of customers he acquires, cancellations on the number of people who leave the business (SponsoredLinX doesn’t have lock-in contracts) and he believes good customer relationships are fundamental to any successful business.
“We recruit people who are exceptional at customer service and then teach them how to be digital marketers. This is a totally different approach to most businesses in the field. We don’t want an SEO specialist who can’t talk to people on the phone.
“We want exceptional communicators: that’s where it’s at, relationships,” he says.
Bradshaw has always aimed high. From the outset, he planned for SponsoredLinX to be one of the largest search engine marketing companies in Australia, a goal which he has now achieved. In order to maintain this position as an industry leader, he sets and continually reviews a “massive action plan”.
“I have a big set of goals which I reflect on weekly using mind mapping software and I have journals and things too. I also have digital to-do lists which I link to the purpose of what I’m trying to achieve. My goals tend to be focused around the customers, such as the longevity of client relationships and improving managers’ lifestyles,” he says.
Bradshaw says it’s important for a business to be profitable, but he’s never been driven by money.
“I’ve always been fortunate enough to build an enterprise around what I love doing. I certainly don’t do it for money, money is just a bi-product, but you’ve got to be profitable to have a good economy,” he says.
Being in charge of multiple companies means time management is crucial for Bradshaw.
“I see time as my most valuable commodity. I’m very strict with where I spend my time. If between 2pm and 3pm in the afternoon I can’t see myself doing anything of value, I’ll just go home.”
Despite being driven, Bradshaw says it’s important “not to take it too seriously”, or risk limiting your ability and developing tunnel vision.
“A few years ago I was working around the clock and never finished up. There was no home time or personal time. Now, I’ve realised balance is critical because I’m in this for the long run.
“Whenever there is an opportunity, I try and maximise my time. Instead of having a meeting at work in the mornings, I’ll have a meeting on the phone while I drive to work. I do little things like that to better leverage my time.”
Bradshaw says personal happiness is critical in order to achieve business success.
“You’ve got to be happy to then be creative, to then get the pot of gold. Learning that made me change the way I approach business. It’s critical that you maintain a personal balance so you don’t burn out, I’m now acutely aware of this,” he says.
In between running multiple businesses, he still has time to make a little magic.
“I still do magic shows. I was MC for a Commonwealth Bank awards night the other day. It’s something I enjoy doing and it breaks everything up.”
Bradshaw also endeavours to spend time with his family and has recently taken up go-karting.
“I like go-karting now, so I’ve gotten into professional karting with my son Brendan. I also network with other big business owners and go around the track with them. It’s a good outlet – it’s hard to think about business stresses when you’re flying into a corner,” he says.
In the future, Bradshaw intends to expand the business into a range of sectors and internationalise his services.
“Our system is basically copy-paste now, within days we can start up a company. In 10 years we’ll be in the Asia Pacific (hopefully within a year), so we’ll be an international company and also have an office in Melbourne and a few others around Australia. I have no plans to exit or sell.
“It would be a good accolade for me to say I’d internationalised the company and going public would be a possibility, but I don’t really like the idea. The value of the company is currently in the $15 million mark, but we think along with the Facebook management service we can tack on another $3 million quite quickly,” he says.
Bradshaw says SponsoredLinX “copy-paste” system allows him to enter different markets quickly, which helps him to respond to one of the major challenges of the industry – the need to be agile.
“Unless you embrace change and can adapt, the industry will have evolved before you’ve even started. That’s why we like to have different brands out there, it keeps us versatile.”
