About Steve Burke
It’s always nice to know a little about someone before you begin working with them. For those in the industry who know me, you may now be aware that I’m not quite as young as I was when I first joined the industry 40 years ago.
You may also now be aware that I have now retired from my time at Larson Juhl/Arqadia but, as I’m sure if you know me, you’d have guessed I couldn’t leave that suddenly. Therefore I’m still working with them on a consultancy basis.
When you’ve worked in an industry for 40 years and enjoyed everything that it’s thrown at you, it’s hard to just leave. Throughout my time at Larson Juhl, I’ve enjoyed helping businesses in the industry thrive, connecting people within the art industry to develop relationships and business opportunities has become a real passion.
Working with a global company like Larson Juhl has enabled me to travel the world, and while I’ve often spent the majority of my time in meetings, and in exhibition centres, I’ve also had the pleasure of exploring and meeting people who have incredible stories and backgrounds. Travel may have been part of my job, but it’s something I’m determined to continue into my retirement.
What Makes Me Tick
Businesses can be challenging, it can be a dog eat dog world, but what I really enjoy about business is being one step ahead of the competition. Thinking outside of the box to ensure I can help a business innovate, re-think what’s not working and re-enforce the things that are working.
2020 has been a challenging year for any size business; in 2021 there will be winners and losers but it’s my goal to work with companies to help them become the winners, rather than the losers. Whether you are snowed under keeping your business going and unable to make introductions and connections to new business opportunities or you require a little guidance on getting a business focus I can help.
When it comes to motivating a team, that’s where I thrive. There are different leadership philosophies, training courses and management styles. I’ve always believed in empowering your team and getting them to think for themselves. While some managers shy away from sharing this responsibility, I find it can help ensure your team pull their weight, offer reliability and have more job satisfaction.
Shared Goals
When working with someone on their business it’s important to establish your goals from the offset. What are you looking to achieve with my help?
Whether you’re looking to get your sales force working stronger together, communicating with the marketing team or running sales meetings with more efficiency and purpose we can work together to plan what this will achieve.
Networking can become a job in itself, building valuable networks of friends, colleagues and industry contacts can take time, but with the right introductions and mutual benefits, networking can become a lifeline to a business in challenging times.
If you need help but aren’t quite sure what area to focus on, get in touch, after a phone conversation it’s possibly easier to work out where your goals and focus should be.