EPISODE ONE OF THE MARKETING SOLUTIONS PODCAST: HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Welcome to the fast ever episode of the Marketing Solutions Podcast. Let's get to know each other a little better, shall we? So, I guess let's start with how the heck did I get to this point today where I feel like I'm qualified to be sitting in front of a microphone and talking? Let's rewind back to 2015 when I'd finish university, was working full time and having a major quarter life crisis. And this was not my first one. The first one happened years prior to that when I was actually two years into a commerce degree and majoring in finance and economics.

Yeah, you heard that right? Not marketing. You see, I'd always done the right thing. I studied my butt off in school. I was a total nerd and proud of it. When I was 14 I saw a documentary on Melbourne University and the history of it and how it was ranked the top uni in Australia. Immediately I knew I had to go there. In my head I was always going to do a commerce degree and go and get a job in the finance sector, buy an apartment in the city, work crazy long hours and work my way up the corporate ladder.

Maybe you can relate. The trouble is I didn't love maths, don't get me wrong, I was never bad at it. It just never came easily to me like a lot of other subjects did. During my second year of uni, we had to choose between a marketing subject and an accounting subject. The idea being that you needed other subjects in the mix outside of your majors to have a fully rounded degree. Because I'd already spent a considerable amount of time crying over my finance textbooks I decided I'd take the marketing subjects thinking it would be a walk in the park.

In my mind, marketing was a fluffy specialty that didn't really have much of an impact on business. If the product or service was good enough, then marketing wasn't needed. Seriously, that's what I thought. For this marketing subject, we actually had a guest lecturer for the term which ended up being some high level exec from Coca-Cola and he was absolutely incredible. Unlike every other lecturer and tutor I'd ever had during my two years at uni, he was actually passionate and excited about his subject.

And that's hard to ignore. For the first time I was completely engaged in the lectures rather than scrolling through Facebook on my iPad pretending to look like I was taking notes. But still I wrestled with the feeling that marketing was fluffy and not data driven instead, being driven on a creative hunch. How wrong I was. As the subject went on, I realised that actually marketing decisions need to be made using data and facts. It combines the logical and the creative.

It didn't take long for me to realise where my passions lie. At the end of that semester, I got the highest market I'd ever received at uni and it came the most easily. But by crying over textbooks, I'd find something I loved and was good at. Fast forward again, back to 2015. I'd been working full time, had packed up and traveled overseas and was having a bit of a blur moment. I was lost. I was coasting. I had no idea what I actually wanted.

I worked in a number of different industries and during my last position, which I actually dreaded getting up and going to work there every single day. It was a not for profit. A family friend asked me to design a website. Sorry, they actually asked me to quote on a web build. To be honest with you, I had never done this before, but I thought, "Hey, it can't be that hard." How young and naive I was. I threw a number at them, which to me sounded like a scary high amount back then.

Within three minutes they came back to me and asked when I could start the build. From there, they referred me to another business owner who referred me to another until I was at the point where I was getting up at 4:00 AM every day working until 7:30 AM on my clients and then jumping in the car and commuting and errand traffic. Mind you, I was only about seven kilometers from where I lived too, but Melbourne traffic.

Doing the same commute home, working until midnight on clients again and then doing it all over again until I hit the weekend where I could work without interruption. Honestly, was I ever planning on starting my own business? No. It was some cash in the side and it was doing something I really loved. I wasn't feeling pushed at work or challenged in any way, and the opportunities internally were really limited, so I had to find another way to grow. It got to the point where my dad was the one that actually pulled me aside and said, "Hey, this can't go on. Something has got to give. You need to quit your job and have a crack at this for real."

You see, he'd always been in business and had been successful. So for him it was a natural step for me to take. I, on the other hand, was not convinced. I went back to my employer and requested to draw back to three days a week thinking I could use the other two days to build up more of a client base before I took the leap. In the end, the decision was made for me and my employer declined to reduce my role to part-time. And in a moment of courage or insanity, I resigned on the spot. Yeah. WTF. Turns out it was the best thing I've ever done.

Don't get me wrong, it has not been all sunshine and rainbows. The self doubt, the long hours, the prioritisation of your business above everything else to survive has been bloody tough. But I love it. I love my clients. I love the businesses I get to work with everyday and the way we help their businesses grow. And to be frank, I was a pretty crummy employee. So why a podcast? Well, someone asked me about a month ago how I stay up to date with everything marketing related when it all seems to change so rapidly, especially in the digital world.

The answer is my network. I've developed relationships with incredible marketing specialists in every field since starting my business, and I learned from them daily. I often get incredibly frustrated with business podcasts because it always seems to be the same people who have built this big public persona without actually having any real results behind them. What a lot of people don't realise is that there are experts behind the scenes making shit happen. I want to bring these people to the forefront.

I want to ask the hard questions like how much did you spend, how much it cost you per lead and how much money did that equate to in sales and customers? Because at the end of the day, what we all really want is more customers. Not only that, but I will be sharing with you what I have learned along the way. Since starting my agency, I've seen inside of hundreds of businesses across Australia, New Zealand, the US and UK, which has given me the ability to draw connections between what works and what doesn't.

Not to mention I'm a total course and book junkie. Luckily for me, and now for you, I have the ability to actually test out what these gurus are preaching and see if they actually generate real results for businesses. I will say this, when it comes to marketing, I've learned that you better either have the time or have the money to acquire new customers and clients. But more on that in coming episodes. Now let's get a little cozier, shall we?

Some random but not super fun facts about me. I live in Melbourne currently, but would love to be up North on the Gold Coast somewhere. Bring on the beach and that warm weather baby, Melbourne winter, you're killing me. I have a sausage dog who is actually really my baby, and his name is Chipolata. That's the type of small sausage by the way. He's beyond spoiled and I wouldn't have it any other way. He's actually sitting in the room with me at the moment on my lap because he's so needy and while I record this episode.

I'm a country girl originally from Albury Wodonga, actually Albury to be specific. If you know, you know. I'll take my coffee and an almond latte, thanks. And if it's after 5:00, better make that a Prosecco. Thanks for taking the time to listen to me yammer on in a microphone in a room with just Chipolata for company. It's been really weird. I can't wait to share with you the marketing strategies and interviews that we have lined up. Until next time, see you.