A Young Business Owner Shares Her Entrepreneur's Story

More women are starting up their own business

According to a News Corp article of March 2016, “…. increasing numbers of women in Australia are choosing to opt out of corporate life and start their own business”. The article went on to say that in part, this rise was due to technology making it much easier for people to set up a viable business.

In the article, there is reference to surveys that indicate that women entering their thirties are more likely to leave the corporate space to start their own business.

Well this particular story is about a younger entrepreneur who was in her early twenties, when circumstances propelled her into setting up her own consulting business.

Ashleigh McInnes is the founder of PaperMill Media.  It is a business specialising in PR, event management and the design of targeted social media campaigns. 

She is quite a remarkable young woman who during the past six years has built a company that is respected as a leader in its particular niche market – servicing architectural and property development firms. As her business grows, she is having to learn about employing and managing staff – but her success so far suggests she is an astute learner. 

She shares some of her small business story with us …..

1.    Tell us a little about what initially motivated you to start-up your own business?

I was working for another PR agency and the owner decided to close the business. She actually suggested that I go freelance rather than finding another job, so Papermill was born from there.

So off I went, using my spare bedroom as my office with nothing but a laptop and buckets of enthusiasm.  

2.    What about selecting your business name – which I think is one of the most important early decisions a business owner makes in the start-up phase – how did you come up with Papermill Media?

I actually went through literally hundreds of iterations before I came up with Papermill. In the beginning, I had lots of great ideas but most of them were already taken.

Then I got desperate after a few months and started to pluck random words out of thin air. Then I stopped thinking about it because I was fatigued from the process. Then one day, a thought popped into my head – that communications was once reliant on the written word – travelling via horse and carriage, then carrier pigeon, then the post in more recent times. My thoughts then shifted to how communication is now invisible – it’s all around us and sent via wi-fi and social media.

Then ‘Papermill’ popped into my head as a name that was referential to the past, of a time when communication was solely a tool for paper, and reflected how far the industry has come. From that day on I knew that would be our name….. For me, it was really important to find a name that conveyed a deeper meaning.

3.     What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced, in establishing your business?

Starting the business at just 24 years of age and liaising with clients who were usually at least twice or three times my age was initially challenging and somewhat intimidating. I constantly second guessed myself and wondered if I was even qualified to be giving advice in the realms of PR and media. After about two years, though, I had a lightbulb moment, and realised that I had earnt my seat at the table, so to speak, and I knew what I was talking about and my opinion was valued. After that moment, everything changed and Papermill really took off.

I would say the other challenge was initially being in the business alone, without any employees, meant I couldn’t bounce ideas off anyone. That was particularly challenging at the beginning but I quickly learnt that Google was a girl’s best friend and I’d always had a knack for faking it until I made it, so I quickly self-taught myself any skills I felt I needed to improve upon. I learned how to rely less on others and instead trust my own judgement.

Fast forward to the present day and we have a team of ten in our office. I would say that we have succeeded in creating a collaborative and supportive environment - which is so important for any young professionals starting out. We try to create structures of support and encouragement while exposing the junior staff to lots of opportunities they might not have experienced elsewhere, and the feedback we receive from both staff and clients has been incredibly positive.

4.      What do you find most rewarding in running your own business?

A major reward is the sense of satisfaction gained from working with our clients to add real value to their business and brand. Feeling like the work that we are doing is contributing to a wider purpose is incredibly motivating.

Many business owners might say a benefit is having the flexibility of setting your own hours - but for me personally, I rarely take days off because I find there’s never a shortage of things to do. Instead I try to go on two holidays every year, in order to switch off and refresh – and to remind myself what life is all about.

5.     You’ve had projects that have focused on building large social media followings for some major brands. On a smaller scale, what advice would you offer to entrepreneurs as they seek to grow their business – how should they go about aiming to incorporate social media and content marketing in their marketing plans?

The first and fundamental thing to consider is whether social media is actually right for your business. An electrical engineering firm, for example, would likely not be best suited for Instagram or Facebook, as it’s mostly a corporate B2B audience. In that instance, LinkedIn would probably be better suited to their target audience.

However a public-facing company (B2C) with opportunities to generate a significant amount of visually appealing content would likely see a real value in Instagram. The important point I would emphasise is not just be on social media because you feel like everyone else is doing it - but instead because it provides a platform to create real conversation between your brand and your target audience. Despite popular belief, social media is not right for every business - and that’s OK! ….. So don’t let a myth compel you to invest time and money in a strategy that isn’t going to generate a sufficient return. 

6.      For those businesses that do sell direct to customer (B2C), can you offer some tips on how they might aim to build a social media following through content creation?

Use the 60/40 rule. Talk about yourself maybe 60 percent of the time - then the other 40 percent of the time, use your content to let your audience know what inspires you or what your values are. This could be quotes, beautiful imagery or sharing examples of other businesses that you admire.  The key here is to recognise that part of your content becomes an avenue for you to represent what your brand stands for.

Another tip is this – quality over quantity. It’s all about the quality of your images. If you post a fuzzy, dark, out of context image, it’s hard for your audience to engage. Focus on posting less often as you start out, but ensuring each image is of the best quality.

However for the majority of small businesses, without the benefit of paid amplification, it is unlikely that you will see your following skyrocket. When you are starting out, it’s all about building a slow and steady growth in your following.

7.      You were a finalist last year in the Telstra Young Business Woman’s Awards – what final words of advice would you share with budding entrepreneurs, be they young or old?

My main take-away from that experience is to back yourself and give it a go! Never in a million years did I expect to be in the situation I am today when I started Papermill six years ago.

Our successes are directly correlated to our philosophy of working hard and not expecting anything in return. All our growth has been organic and being open to exploring new things as we go along. My experience is that you don’t necessarily need a comprehensive business plan or a clearly defined, specific goal of what you want to achieve ….. Sometimes it’s just about being willing to explore and to keep on putting one foot in front of the other until things start to click. And the rest can end up falling into place.

I’m not saying that approach will necessarily hold true for everyone, but that’s simply how it has been for us. My experience is that some people can “over-think” and “over-plan” their ideas for a new business and can neglect to recognise when it is time to take some action and get on with it.  

Thanks to Ashleigh for sharing her story. It is a nice reminder that anything is possible when you have self-belief and apply yourself. .....If you are thinking of starting up your own small business, then you might be interested in another post "How To Be An Entrepreneur" that explores both the qualities and mindset that are necessary to succeed. 

About the author

Brian Carroll is a qualified psychologist and the founder of a Melbourne based corporate training business, Performance Development.

Social Media Marketing Tips for Small Business



If you’re running your own small business, then you’ve probably given some thought to social media and how to incorporate it in your broader marketing plans. If you are one of those small business owners who find themselves a little confused by the hype associated with social media, then read on. 

Gaynor Parke is a passionate social media specialist and digital marketing strategist who runs a business based in Sydney, NSW called Social Media Mamma.

 

Gaynor believes that less stress equals more success. She says that stress is the killer of creativity and productivity and she helps clients create Social Media strategies that can meet both personal and professional needs. With over 25 years of sales and business experience, Gaynor is in her element teaching business owners how to develop their business using the relationship marketing techniques that Social Media provides.

I recently invited Gaynor to share a few social media marketing tips with us - as well as to share some of her business experience:

1. What motivated you to start your own business Gaynor?

 I started playing with Facebook as a means of communication with my married children back in early 2009. I quickly discovered how powerful it could be for business so I created my wedding directory FIND IT For Weddings. As the business took off I realized I could teach other business owners how to successfully use Facebook to market their own businesses.

It might sound corny but Social Media Marketing led me to the fulfilment of a childhood dream, to become a teacher. Thus my Social Media Mamma business was born. Here I can combine business and personal development. You see you really can’t separate the two. Who we are shapes our business and our business impacts our lives. When you understand more about how a person ticks you are much more proficient at helping them grow their business.

 2. What were the biggest “start-up” challenges and difficulties you had to overcome in your own business during the first 1 - 2 years?

 I don’t think I am all that different from other people when I admit that self doubt was one of the biggest challenges I needed to overcome.

 As there were no courses back when I started using Facebook for business, I had to learn by trial and error. The upside of that is that everything I teach I have found to be successful first hand. No theory from a book - but real success from real efforts.

 Plus when you are on the leading edge of something new sometimes it’s tricky for businesses to see the value in your expertise. Most Australian businesses still don’t fully grasp the power of effective Social Media marketing, but at least there is increased awareness now and it is beginning to be taken much more seriously. It was an uphill battle in the early days, and sometimes still is, to explain how business can benefit from these new relationship marketing precepts.

3. Gaynor, you’ve advised many small business owners on how they can leverage social media – what are some of the common mistakes that small business makes with social media?

 i)  Immediacy. We all want to see immediate monetary results from our efforts. The biggest mistake that all newcomers to Social Media make is that they think they will just create an account and sales will roll in magically overnight. The reality is that Social Media is a long term investment.

Yes you may be able to create a fabulously viral marketing campaign and that may or may not result in an immediate upswing in sales. Mostly though, Social Media marketing is a race for the tortoise, not the hare. Continued consistency and great content, will definitely win the race.

ii)  Many people think that it’s all so easy and they don’t need help. After all, their children can help them create a Facebook page for business right? Wrong! There is always a right and wrong way of doing things that’s why there are professionals in any field. Just because you build it doesn’t mean they will come!

The right strategies and marketing plan along with a strong knowledge of the program you are using is vital to success. It’s all too easy to waste precious time and money floundering around and “playing” at Social Media rather than getting the right advice from the beginning.

iii)  Some small business owners think it’s all too hard. In fact Social Media is actually dialling back the clock to the old days of talking to the customer one-on-one over the counter. Business owners just need to see Social Media as real life communication only you just can’t seethe other person.

Social Media has actually turned marketing on it’s head. Passive marketing just doesn’t cut it now-days. People want to know who is behind the business. They want to communicate and they want to be engaged. If you don’t communicate with them in their chosen digital space – then the likelihood is that they will simply go off and connect with one of your competitors.

To build trust and actually communicate first hand with customers is the “gold” that most business owners miss. Knowing your customer is priceless. The more you can get to know them via Social Media the more you can offer them products they really want to buy. Small business owners don’t need to be overwhelmed by it all – there are people around who can help you make sense of it.

4.  Do you have any tips on which social media platforms are best suited to different types of businesses ?

Business owners need to become very familiar with the profile of their customer and be clear about what they want to achieve. A simple place to start when you run a business is with a regular blog, producing fresh content that will interest your audience. This has many benefits including SEO and should be the hub of how you leverage your business via Social Media networks.

This demographic analysis of your customer will help decide where to place your Social Media marketing efforts. If you’re selling to women between the ages of 20 – 40 for example, I’d say Pinterest is a must. Users spend much more on Pinterest than on any other Network, have an income close to that of LinkedIn users and they spend more often.

Determining what resources are available to be allocated to your Social Media strategy will also determine what Network to use. Pinterest uses much less time and effort and generates more traffic to websites than LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube combined. However all platforms have their purpose and can be extremely effective when fully understood and the right strategies developed.

5. Some small business owners have complained to me they don’t receive an adequate ROI for the time they allocate to social media marketing – what are your thoughts Gaynor? 

It all depends on what you mean by ROI. Social Media is for the business owner who is in the long distance race and not the sprint. How do you measure the good will of a business? How do you measure the impact of not being seen as a professional business? I’m old enough to remember when people would ask “do I really need a website” and now everyone sees the benefits of a website.

Social Media gives the business owner access to so much priceless information. You can actually do your own market research and save thousands of dollars on otherwise failed products. You can communicate like never before with your potential customer. Newspaper advertising is declining because everyone is online. Magazines are going the same way. Even television must be feeling the pinch as it’s so easy to watch movies and shows online.

The question today is not whether you need to do Social Media, but how well are you doing it? If you’re not up to speed with the new marketing concepts you can be sure your competition is.

I believe that those businesses who feel that the ROI on Social Media isn’t sufficient don’t really understand how to use it effectively. Without fail, every client that I see, leaves me with the same comment, “ I had no idea it could do so much for my business”

6. In addition to social media of course, what other marketing strategies have you found most effective in growing and developing your own business?

Social Media ISmy marketing tool. I have been approached to speak at networking events, to write articles, enjoyed large consulting roles, teaching positions and generate online sales - all via my Social Media marketing efforts.

7. Any final words of advice you would offer small business owners about how to grow their business?

Invest in advice from a professional from the start. I have seen too many small business owners lose money and put the reputation of their business in jeopardy due to acting upon poor advice from non-professionals. A Social Media professional can help you choose the right platform and help you create a Social Media marketing plan. The technicalities can be learned, but the golden success is found in knowing what strategies to apply and when.

The landscape of Social Media is changing so quickly and it can be a bit overwhelming. But almost anything can be easy when someone clearly shows you how - just don’t try and master everything at once.

If you don’t want to do Social Media marketing, what type of marketing are you going to do? Whatever you do in your small business, make sure you are directing your message to your target audience, speaking in their language, being consistent and  regularly measuring your impact. Marketing is crucial for your success; you just have to choose your communication medium and let the world know about your wonderful products and how it will help them.

Gaynor concludes by advising “I’ve found that when you focus on service, then the sales will take care of themselves!”.

 

Thanks Gaynor for taking the time to offer some great tips. Another related article that might be of interest is Marketing for Small Business

About the author
 Brian Carroll is the founder of a leadership training company Performance Development, based in Melbourne, Australia.  He is a qualified psychologist, experienced leadership coach and an engaging presenter, with a passion for helping people develop their full capabilities