3 Entrepreneurs and What You Can Learn From Them

3 Entrepreneurs and What You Can Learn From Them

Starting a new business is never an easy task. The journey has its ups and downs, and oftentimes you're faced with difficult situations that require critical thinking and tough decisions. The question all new business owners are asking is how do I become successful?

Being successful often means learning from those who have already reached their goals. Hearing the advice and understanding the decisions made by fellow entrepreneurs provides a valuable insight into the steep learning curve to success.

With this in mind, we’ve listed 3 successful Australian entrepreneurs, and the key lessons they have learnt and would like to share with people looking to start up their own business.

1.     Alec Lynch - DesignCrowd

Lesson learned: Start today.

In 2007, the logo for the London Olympics was released at a cost of over £400,000, and took one year to develop. The logo received a terrible response from the media and public on a global scale. Entrepreneur Alec Lynch recognised immediately the need for a global platform for creative individuals to work transparently on design. “I could see a number of challenges and opportunities within the traditional design industry,” says Lynch.

Immediately, Lynch went to work on DesignCrowd - a global platform for businesses and designers to seek and create design work across various categories. Today, DesignCrowd is worth over $20million.

His advice for entrepreneurs? “Ask yourself this question: how would you feel if tomorrow, you read an article about someone else who launched your business idea and raised $1 million in funding? If the answer is “terrible,” then you need to start today.”

 

2.     Lorna Jane Clarkson - Lorna Jane

Lesson learned: Remain true to your personal beliefs.

As one of the largest and most successful female entrepreneurs in Australia, Lorna Jane Clarkson started from humble beginnings, working out of her garage creating t-shirts and active wear for women. In a highly competitive industry, Lorna Jane Clarkson established a reputation for creativity, honesty and integrity, creating a successful brand based around her personal philosophy of “Move. Nourish. Believe”.

Attributing her success to staying true to herself and not sacrificing her authenticity to get ahead, she reminds us, “If you are yourself and you are authentic and you listen to your dreams, you are going to have the life you want. I always remind myself, to be myself.”

With this lesson in mind, women have continued to be inspired and motivated by Lorna Jane, and the brand has now reached international markets, seeing a 20-30% increase in profits from 2013.

 

3.     Hamish Petrie - Ingogo

Lesson learned: Persistency is key.

After constant frustration with the inconsistent and unreliable taxi services in Sydney, Hamish Petrie launched Ingogo, a multi-million dollar company dealing directly with drivers, cutting out taxi companies and operators and focusing on a one-on-one service between driver and customer.

Petrie emphasises the need for persistency in a market with strong competitors, such as Uber. Focusing his efforts towards his passion for turning ideas into reality, Petrie advises us to “Make sure the market is big enough and the rest you will work out if you are stubborn, persistent and surround yourself with the right people.” “Have passion for what you are doing and never, ever, ever give up”.

While having a strong idea and a willingness to be successful is important for entrepreneurs, there are other factors which come into play when starting up your own business and enduring the good and the bad that comes with it. Thanks to these entrepreneurs, the secret is out:

Start today. Stay true to your beliefs. Be persistent.

5 Must Have Tools for Your PR Toolbox

5 Must Have Tools for Your PR Toolbox

One of the most important strategies a creative entrepreneur should have in place is the right PR. While promoting yourself and your project might seem a little vain, PR is key to helping you stand out in a crowded marketplace. Here are 5 tools which can help you do just that, and kick-start your journey to success.

1. A good bio: Not only is a great bio crucial for showcasing your career experience and expertise, but it also paves the way for possible media opportunities by telling people who you are and what you’re about. A winning bio includes information such as your background, qualifications and experience, area of expertise and examples of your work. Creating multiple versions of your bio provides flexibility across different situations. For example, a micro bio of 1-2 sentences is perfect for social media or adding to the bottom of articles, a 100-word bio is great for media opportunities, whereas a longer bio can be used for websites and conferences.

2. A plan of action: As the old adage goes, he who fails to plan is planning to fail. As such, it is important to have a PR strategy in place to guide your actions. Take the time to understand your business, what value you can offer to a journalist and the external environment around you. Reading publications daily and listening to the types of questions your clients and customers ask are great ways to help you develop compelling story angles worthy of the media’s interest.

3. Networks: Having conversations and connecting with people is one of the best ways to get your name out there. The more people know you and know what you can offer, the greater chance they’ll want to promote you and your work or recommend you to people in their own networks. It’s important to remember networking isn’t about selling yourself to others, or even talking about yourself. Rather, it’s about listening to other people and building relationships with them by investing the time and effort to find out about their own endeavours.  

4. A pitch: Reaching out to the media via email and letting them know you’re available to comment on topics of interest is a great way to build your reputation and position yourself as an expert or media friendly personality. However, you need to be strategic in how you structure the email, or else you’ll find your message in the bin in a matter of seconds. When you sit down and write your introductory pitch, you need to keep in mind the type of journalist you’ll be sending it to. It pays to know their beat (the types of stories and topics they cover), their background and any other stories they have covered on the topic in the past.

5. A media list: Sending your pitch out to every single journalist in the country is not only impossible, but it is also incredibly ineffective. A media list is the ultimate arsenal for media outreach, including journalists, producers, editors, and even bloggers, who write stories on the key issues in your industry. To help you narrow down your options, think about the types of publications you would want to be featured in, and then identify the reporters who cover your topic of interest. A simple search online can often help you pinpoint key contacts in these publications, otherwise you can use a paid AAP service to gather the contact details for you. Another alternative is to subscribe to Source Bottle. This is a subscription service that connects Aussie reporters in need of sources to individuals actively looking for coverage and who have relevant stories and expertise to share. With more hundreds of journalists using the service, Source Bottle is a great way to establish a connection with journalists in your field of expertise.

 

How To Nail Your Startup Marketing on a Tight Budget

How To Nail Your Startup Marketing on a Tight Budget

Effective strategic marketing is vital to building a brand, gaining customers, and ultimately, growing your profile. However, marketing can be expensive, with a 15 second advertising spot on TV easily costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Very few creatives have big marketing budgets, and they need to be careful not to burn through what cash resources may be available. For this reason, it’s important to know how to effectively market your project on a budget. Here’s how you can set about marketing to launch your creative baby, without breaking the bank.

Online communities. From forums and message boards to blogs, there are countless online communities that you can tap into to market your project. It’s important to take care in how you approach marketing and promotion in these spaces. Overt marketing may not be appreciated, and could even attract negative attention that harms your brand. To win over communities, you need to identify and leverage appropriate ‘key moments’ for promotion. You want to ensure that people appreciate the information and learn about your brand. 

Content creation. We all know that content is king and as such, plays an important part in most marketing plans. One easy way to maximise your marketing through content is to set up a blog on your website. Your blog should include information that allows people to get to know you, and understand and appreciate your work. For example, an author launching a new book could write a blog about one of the key characters. Whenever you post a new blog, be sure to maximise reach and readership by sharing it on your social media platforms.

Media releases. The tried and tested way to gain coverage in media is through sending media releases to journalists. This begins with building a media database. Make a list of all the media outlets you need to send media releases to in order to reach your target customers. For instance, an author should target national media as well as niche literary and arts media. Ensure your releases include all the key information - the who, what, when, where, why and how, as well as your phone number and email, so journalists can easily get in touch.  

Email newsletters. Email newsletters are a great way to build your following. However, not all email newsletters are equal in marketing power. Dull, long-winded emails, or those with spelling and grammatical errors, will see you lose subscribers and potentially business. Aside from vigilant proofing for errors, you want to make your newsletter unique and, most importantly, valued amongst your target market. Be imaginative, inject your personality, and add personal touches where appropriate.

6 Rules to Get Media Coverage for Your Startups Achievements

6 Rules to Get Media Coverage for Your Startups Achievements

Awards recognise outstanding professionals and individuals, providing a great boost for personal brands. Fortunately, the recognition that comes with winning doesn’t need to stop at the conclusion of the award ceremony. With a little bit of planning and communication, you can leverage an award to capture lasting benefits.

The Value of Earned Media

The Value of Earned Media

Want to get your brand out there but don’t have a big budget to spend on expensive paid media advertising? Say hello to earned media.

How AI Will Disrupt Marketing

How AI Will Disrupt Marketing

AI promises to accelerate marketing, enabling marketing software that is autonomous and self-driving. Most importantly, it’s expected to make all your marketing tasks significantly more effective. Here are four ways AI is set to disrupt marketing as we know it.

5 Steps to Successful Influencer Marketing

5 Steps to Successful Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is economical, highly targeted and effective, so it’s little wonder entrepeneurs are scrambling to work with influencers to market their brand. We've listed 5 tips to help you kick start your influencer marketing campaign.

Why Influencer Marketing Works

Why Influencer Marketing Works

The typical customer views around 5,000 ads every day, so there’s little chance of these businesses getting through all the noise. How can they survive in this hyper competitive environment? The secret lies in influencer marketing.

How to Make Your Emails Stand Out in a Crowded Inbox

How to Make Your Emails Stand Out in a Crowded Inbox

Journalists receive hundreds of messages a day. Have you ever sent an email pitch to a journalist and received no response? Chances are they didn’t even open in the first place. Maximise your chances of standing out with these quick and easy steps.

How to Start a Blog from Scratch

How to Start a Blog from Scratch

So you’ve read our post on the benefits of blogging, and you want to set up your own blog, but you have no idea where or how to start. Luckily for you, we do. We’ll tell you exactly what you need to do to get started.