Rachel Wright's Linkedin Analytics

The 3 biggest mistakes I made as a business owner Starting and scaling a business was a wild ride 🎢 I learned on the go, made some great moves… but also made many mistakes that cost me time, money, and energy 🙈 Looking back at growing Celbretti from €3.5K to €200K in annual revenue, here are three mistakes I’d go back and fix 👇 🚨 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 #1: 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐧 I built a luxury picnic service that was beautiful and high-demand - but completely unscalable. - Every setup had to be wheeled into a park. - Everything had to be stored offsite. - The whole thing relied too much on my personal time. When I pivoted to a B2B team events agency, revenue jumped 77% YoY. That’s because the business model was simpler and easier to scale. 💡 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝: Before launching, ask: Can this scale? If not, how could I make it scalable? You might be setting yourself up for a job - not a business 😬 🚨 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 #2: 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐇𝐲𝐩𝐞 Social media gives a pretty skewed image of entrepreneurship. Spend enough time on LinkedIn and Insta and you start to think the goal it - Raising VC funding  - Changing your status to CEO  - Posting selfies from conferences The truth is a lot less sexy - to build a business you need - To create value for a customer - And charge more for it than it cost to make. That’s it - and trust me, that’s hard enough 😅 💡 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝: Don’t believe the social media hype about entrepreneurship. Connect with folks who are out there doing it. 🚨 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 #3: 𝐃𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 Like many founders, I wore every hat—sales, marketing, logistics... By the time I started delegating, I was already stretched too thin. My growth stalled because I was the bottleneck. 💡 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝:  If you’re spending time on tasks someone else can do, you’re slowing your own business down. As they say, live and learn 🚀 #entrepreneurship

I was speaking with a Workplace Ex lead at a Berlin scale-up. They had a great idea to drive engagement and culture 💡 But there was one problem 👇 Management wasn’t greenlighting the budget 😭 Sound familiar? It’s a frustrating situation—one that many of us have probably faced! My suggestion? 👉 Run a pilot 👈 I love pilots! They’re like small experiments designed for learning, not just proving a point. They take the pressure off a full rollout while still showing impact. The Workplace Ex lead and I mapped out what their pilot could look like:  ✅ Start small – Run the idea with one team ✅ Set a time frame – Keep it limited to test feasibility ✅ Gather feedback – Validate (or challenge) the hypothesis with user insights And then? Use that data to support scaling the idea across the company— or refine it if needed. A well-run pilot changes the conversation. It’s no longer: ❌ “Can we get budget for this?” Instead, it becomes:   ✅ “Here’s what we learned, and here’s why this works.” Have you used pilots to test an idea? How did it go? #entrepreneurship

How to think like an entrepreneur - even if you never want to start a business 💡 When I started Celbretti Team Event Coordination, I had to become hyper-focused on action, problem-solving, and creating value. Now that I’m shifting back to in-house roles, I'm asking: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞? Here are 5 ways I’ll be thinking like an entrepreneur as an employee 👇 🚀 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 Founders don’t wait for someone to tell them what’s broken: They spot inefficiencies, identify gaps, and take action. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧-𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞:  🔹Noticing where processes stall or where the team struggles. Proposing solutions. 🚀 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 When I ran Celbretti, it was my own money that was at stake. Losing money hurts and makes you start paying attention to ROI quickly! I became much more focused on impact and asked: what was really necessary? 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧-𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞:  🔹Thinking about how my work impacts revenue and efficiency. 🔹Before requesting a new tool, researching the impact it will have. Is it really necessary? 🔹Communicating in numbers: “This initiative improved X by Y%, saving Z hours/costs.” 🚀 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭 (𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬) As a business owner, I learned that your network is your most valuable asset. All of my initial customers came from my network. Even later, sales came from folks who I'd gotten to know and cultivate a relationship with. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧-𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞:  🔹Building connections across departments, leadership, and industry peers. 🔹Trying to provide value to others on a regular basis by giving information/ support. 🔹Using team events/ in person meetings to connect with new people. 🚀 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭 & 𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 At Celbretti, I wasted time overthinking before realizing:  fast feedback > perfect execution. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧-𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞:  🔹 Instead of waiting for a “perfect plan,” test ideas with small experiments. 🔹 Get feedback, adjust, and scale what works. 🚀 𝐎𝐰𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 Entrepreneurs own the outcomes of their work. When you act like you own the outcomes, people notice. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧-𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞:  🔹 Push for impact—not just completion. 🔹 Take responsibility for results, both wins and lessons learned. What’s one way you bring an entrepreneurial mindset to your work? #entrepreneur

Still building People Products that don’t scale? The first time I came across Design Thinking, I was on a People Products team. Our entire team - about 50ish of us - went through the training. The goal? Building products that truly met the needs of employees in the business. It was a game-changer! We talked to employees, tested, iterated, and refined. We made sure what we built actually solved real problems. But there’s one thing that Design Thinking didn’t save us from: 🚨 Building products that didn’t scale. 🚨 And here’s the #1 sign your People Product isn’t scalable: The core team never hands over delivery 😬 If your team is constantly running and maintaining a program -  instead of handing it off to employees or externals to own - it’s not scaling. It’s just a highly manual, well-intentioned bottleneck. Why is this a problem? Because People Products are supposed to empower - not depend on a handful of experts to function. The goal isn’t to create something that only your team can deliver -  it’s to create something well-structured and sustainable that it can live on without you. Here’s the thing:  Scalable products in a company look a lot like scalable products in a startup. They: ✅ Are created for an employee segment (instead of tailored to an individual) ✅ Can be handed over to others for delivery ✅ Are improved iteratively (instead of completely rebuilt) What do you think - are your People Products scalable? #entrepreneurship

The one thing you're not to supposed to say as a founder: I quit Writing this post feels a bit surreal! After a lot of reflection, I’ve decided to dissolve Celbretti Team Event Coordination. A few weeks ago I pulled the trigger and am in the process of winding down It feels sacrilegious (founders don’t quit!) It feels freeing (starting a new chapter!) It feels right ✅ There’s a lot I could say here about - why I’m ending the company  - the business’s performance - the great customers - the personal development journey And I’m looking forward to sharing that later 💡 For now there’s just one thing to say - and that’s thank you! 🙏 Thanks to BeiXi(Amy), Madina, and Andreas for being there in year 1 🙏 Thanks to the customers who’ve trusted Celbretti with their celebrations 🙏 Thanks to Alison and Jacob especially for helping me navigate the lows 🙏 and thank you all for following here and helping me spread the word/ build the business! Before I get to what comes next, I want to celebrate with some of my fav Celbretti moments 1. The first Celbretti value proposition: A delivery service for celebration sweets, piloted after I cold-called a local bakery. 2. Value proposition #2 in all its glory: A ‘celebration in a box’ idea that got going after I made a post in a Berlin Family Facebook group. Sold the first boxes using screenshots and a Google slide deck. 3. The first ever Picnic in the Park 4 & 5 Later iterations of Picnic in the Park: making it nicer (and charging more!) 6: The epic celebrations at Holzmarkt for 300+ guests after transitioning to the agency model Also not pictured here: - Interviewing strangers on the streets of PBerg + Alexanderplatz about how they celebrate - Learning Liquid to create a Shopify site + how to create websites on Webflow  - Learning about financial modeling + business taxes - Learning wtf COCA, LTV, and TAM mean  - Officially founding the UG  - Figuring it all out What a ride! 🩵 #entrepreneur

Today I'm sharing something you never see on LinkedIn: real numbers 🤓 Yesterday I shared about my decision to formally dissolve Celbretti Team Event Coordination. Today I want to give you a look at the business case 👀 Celbretti was a bootstrapped company. I started with €6K of my own money and drove growth without outside investments by:  - testing different ideas - pivoting when needed - and scaling what worked. Five years later, I evolved it into a B2B boutique events agency, generating nearly €200K in annual revenue. Here's how this looked at the numbers 👇 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐈: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 From 2020-2022, Celbretti operated as a luxury picnic service in Berlin’s parks. Customers loved it because it was:  ✅ 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭: Customers just showed up, and everything was set up for them. ✅ 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦-𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐲: A beautifully designed picnic setup. ✅ 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: Great food + products from brands like Aesop and B&O 💰 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐄𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 The picnic service had a modular pricing model. Customers paid for the base setup and then could select add-ons. Here’s how pricing developed: 2020: €220 per 12-person picnic 2021: €504 per 12-person picnic 2022: €550 per 12-person picnic 🚧 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐈 𝐏𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝 In 2022, I decided to pivot away from the seasonal picnic service. Here’s why: 🚫 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: No clear way to get official park permits. 🚫 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭𝐲: The setup + storage made it hard to scale. 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐈𝐈: 𝐏𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐁2𝐁 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 By 2023, I pivoted Celbretti into a B2B agency for corporate team events. The focus was on Berlin’s tech sector. 💡 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 ✅ In house teams had the budget but lacked time & creative ideas. ✅ B2B clients were easier to serve and had repeat business potential. ✅ Larger events meant higher revenue per project. 💰 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 Initially I incorporated a flat 15% margin into the prices. This is generally what agencies do. The model didn’t sit right with me - I wanted to give folks more transparency. In 2023 I moved to a flat fee for coordination based on the size of the event: 150 guests: €1,500 coordination fee 250 guests: €2,500 coordination fee 350 guests: €3,500 coordination fee 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲  Here’s what the growth trajectory of Celbretti looked like: 2020: €3,520 revenue | 0% profit margin 2021: €8,410 revenue | 47% profit margin 2022: €24,895 revenue | 69% profit margin 2023: €48,044 revenue | 35% profit margin 2024: €195,740 revenue | 10% profit margin A couple takeaways here 👇 ✅ If you're bootstrapping, the first years may be bumpy. Have a plan. ✅ Pivots can unlock growth. Don't be afraid to change! ✅ Operational complexity is a killer. Seek simple. What do you think? #entrepreneurship

🚨 Attention People & Culture and Workplace Experience folks: you don't want to miss these upcoming Berlin events 👇 𝐇𝐑 𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒: 𝐃𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐙𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍, 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 & 𝐒𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘 Date/ Time: March 6, from 18:00-21:30 TL;DR: How can HR leverage digitalization and automation to create a smoother, more efficient workplace? This event from HRFull explores the latest innovations that simplify HR processes while enhancing employee experience. 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍 - 𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒, 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐇, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 Date/ Time: March 8, 11:00-15:00 TL;DR: A celebration of empowerment, well-being, and financial growth for Black and Brown women. Connect, share, and be inspired in a space dedicated to community, success, and self-care. 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 & 𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐓 - 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 Date/ Time: 12 March, from 8:30-10:00 TL;DR: Start your morning with insightful conversations and like-minded professionals! This casual breakfast meetup from HelloCircle is the perfect place to connect and explore fresh perspectives on People & Culture topics. 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 & 𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 - 𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐒 𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐁: 𝐁𝐔𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐒 Date/ Time: 12 March, from 17:00-19:00 TL;DR: Let’s talk culture! Join this interactive discussion on how to build more inclusive, engaging, and thriving workplace cultures through shared experiences and new ideas. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐘: 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐃𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐑 Date/ Time: 13 March, 18:30- 22:00 TL;DR: Sensitivity is a strength! This session from Berlin Boss Babes explores how highly sensitive people can thrive in leadership and the workplace, turning deep emotions into powerful assets. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐋𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐇 𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐁 Date/ Time: 14 March, from 12:00-14:00 TL;DR: Grab lunch and great conversations! This casual meetup brings together Workplace Experience enthusiasts to share insights and spark new ideas with a tour of the beautiful GetYourGuide office. 𝐋𝐄𝐓'𝐒 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐇𝐑 & 𝐒𝐍𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒 Date/ Time: 27 March, from 18:00-20:00 TL;DR: HR discussions are better with snacks! Join this laid-back networking session to connect with fellow HR professionals, exchange ideas, and tackle today’s workplace challenges. 𝐌𝐄𝐇𝐑 𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆: 𝐊Ü𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐙 𝐈𝐌 𝐇𝐑 Date/ Time: 27 March, from 8:00-10:00 TL;DR: AI is transforming HR far beyond simple prompts. Explore with Julia Tammeveski how artificial intelligence is reshaping recruitment, employee experience, and strategic decision-making in the workplace. Check the comments for the links to sign up! #berlin #peopleculture #workplaceexperience