47 People Measures

People Measures provides business psychology services to organisations, including pro-bono consulting for charities and not-for-profits, with a focus on scientific evidence.

The business has seen 59% growth over the past financial year, bringing in revenues of more than $5.7 million and landing the 47th spot on the Smart50 list.

Now, founders Nick Carter and Frances Feenstra are now opening a new office in Canberra. People Measures has a lot of clients in the capital, Carter says, so “it makes sense to have a local office”.

However, the road hasn’t always been easy.

The company has always been clear about the kind of work it accepts, and makes a point of only taking on work that “aligns with our values, and which we genuinely believe will assist our clients,” he says.

This means People Measures turns down a lot of work, or advises clients on an alternative way to achieve their objectives — a way they did not necessarily ask for.

However, Carter has also learnt the value of having a spread of clients on board. He recalls a time when the company had “too much work, with too few clients”.

One of those clients “changed course dramatically” and stopped using the service, he explains.

“This was a difficult lesson to learn,” he adds.

“We needed to do something quickly. We had a difficult year as we needed to diversity and build relationships with new lots of new clients.”

Typical spend per client was getting lower, so the business needed more of them.

“In hindsight, it was the best thing that could have happened to us, as we developed relationships with about 30 new clients that year and we haven’t looked back since,” Carter says.

Carter’s advice for other entrepreneurs is to power through these rough patches.

“Keep going and when it gets quiet, make sure you invest time to plan ahead,” he says.