Tag: entrepreneurship - Page 4

What makes our agency special? It's a question that I am asked frequently, and it always makes me think "what is it that is our secret sauce?". What makes us different from the marketing company down the road?

In not so many words, the other day I was told that I couldn't play with the big boys because they had more money and could get a software solution out faster than I could. It was devastating to hear, but it was the second time this person who I respect immensely has said this to me.

Did most of the tech companies that became billion dollar enterprises not start from garages? Did they have hundreds of millions to play with when they started? I don't think so. So, why would I not be able to self fund my startups that are disruptive and bring to the market products and solutions that will change the game?

"The new girl is always prettier than the girl that you took to the dance" as Jack Cowin, Canadian/Australian billionaire and owner of Hungry Jacks and major shareholder of Dominos continually reminds me - and with good reason.

I opened my email and received two emails that literally have me jumping for joy. As a serial entrepreneur I know only too well the highs and lows of business. Sometimes the challenges feel like they are insurmountable, then other times, you know that you've been there before.

When you decided to apply for your first job, you knew that there was a chance that your potential employer may not a) like you b) think you have the right skills c) consider you as a candidate d) work out what you bring to the table.

Most probably, you pondered one of these things or all of them before you went to your first interview. It may have created some nerves, or made you anxious. Perhaps, you did the opposite, and sounded overly confident and a tad cocky, when in fact  you were shaking in your boots.

When I think about women entrepreneurs today, I realise just how much entrepreneurship is changing and why women entrepreneurs of yesterday-year need to adapt.

There are 4 women entrepreneurs that stand out from the crowd and really are shaking up the way people view women entrepreneurs in Australia.

When you are a successful woman, you are expected to be a whole heap of things, even if some of them you are 'faking it until you make it'.

I know first hand how much I have to perform. I have to hold a room in a meeting, and ensure that I am articulate, on point and relevant. In the office, I have to look like a leader and inspire my team to be high performers. At lunch with clients, I am on a stage. I have to entertain, say things worthwhile, make them laugh and show them that there is a real person under this business persona. At a staff Christmas party, I have to show my team that I am one of them, but I can't drink too much (not that I want to), and I am completely responsible for every persons behaviour and safety.

I don't know about you, but if you have been a marketer in the same company or maybe only with one or two companies, for the past 5 years, you may just be thinking "what's next?"

Having a career in marketing is exciting. It is something that I have chosen for the past 25 years, and every day I love going to work. It's my passion. I am completely in love with the people who work for me. They are rockstars and every day they get better and better. Right now, we have a team of people who are winners. They have the right self-starting attitude and are competent. We are not second guessing anything they do, and their relationships with clients are second to none.

It is my belief that every business should have some sort of exit strategy. That may mean selling your business in the future, or it may mean handing it over to the next generation. The reality of business, is no-one lives forever and it's always good to go into business with a plan in mind, and that includes covering such things as ill health, death, a sale of the business, or passing it on to the next generation. Perhaps you want to list your company on the stock exchange or expand it overseas and sell off areas that don't make sense long term.

I'm a marketer. It's been my choice of career for almost 25 years. I am the first to put up my hand and say that I know very little about anything other than marketing - and even with that, it's a daily challenge to keep up to the many changes in dynamics, technology, and human behaviours that affect our ability as marketers to do a job well.

Over a year, I speak with hundreds of marketers and potentially, more than a thousand entrepreneurs. More recently, interviewing people for roles with our fast-growth company has meant that I have been having conversations with quite a few marketers, many of whom have tried their hand at being entrepreneurs. In fact, more than 30 percent of the marketers in the latest bunch have started a company, and during the job interviewing phase, have said that the company was successful, but either exists no more or is put to the wayside.

High expectations of themselves