From staffing and stock to managing brick and mortar plus online selling, there's a long list of things to juggle when you own a toy store. Pamela has owned Monkey Puzzle Toys for 16 years, starting when her kids were young and she couldn't find the toys she wanted for her family. She has taught herself online marketing by Googling, keeping an eye on what others are doing, and listening to what her customers want. This episode is another great story from a small business owner, who loves the community she serves and has a great passion for the toys she sells. Plus - if you are looking for gorgeous, unique toys for Christmas - check out her online store
Julie from Send a Basket, started her first business when she was 19. A florist by trade, she has owned Send-a-Basket for the last 10 years. The satisfaction she gets from making people happy motivates her when her days are long and the work is really busy. She knows she is not only delivering flowers and gift baskets, but sending Thoughts, Feelings and Emotions in every delivery. A lot has changed over the years Julie has been in business. Going from newspaper and the Yellow Pages advertising to social media, websites and Google, like a lot of business owners she is impressed with how much she has learnt about this new digital world. I enjoyed her honesty about what she does and doesn’t like about marketing!
Shibly Mustapha, a vet from Brisbane, has set himself a BIG goal to positively impact one billion beings. Knowing this wasn’t something he could achieve by himself, his approach is to build a sustainable, profitable business, so he can buy back time and broaden his impact by giving back to the community, especially other vets. When it comes to marketing his 3 (soon to be 4) vet clinics, he has tested a variety of ways to engage with clients - from Signage, PR, Paid Ads, Social Media, Email and SMS. As someone who works with life and death every day, he finds marketing a way to be creative and take some risks he can’t necessarily take with the pets he looks after. I really enjoyed hearing about his approach to business, growth and marketing.
Sam is the owner of Cocolina, a lifestyle store in Beecroft in North West Sydney. The inspiration for her store came when she was studying shoe design in Italy. She wanted a store that showcased a variety of gorgeous things, from clothes and jewellery to homewares and gifts - and as one of her regular customers, I can confirm she has certainly achieved that. She is the first person to say she is "not a computer person", but like so many business owners, loves the creative side of marketing. Over the 10 years she has been in business, she has taught herself a lot about marketing and how to use the various systems she uses to promote her business. I loved hearing about how she is willing to try new things and teach herself the latest marketing techniques to grow her business.
Physios, Kathleen and Lauren are the owners of Carlingford Active Health, in North West Sydney. Since taking on the business, they have learnt a lot about running a small business, in particular marketing. From YouTube videos to Instagram and email, they use many channels to stay connected to their clients. Hear how Kathleen discovered the design skills she never knew she had and Lauren has become a content and video expert - on top of being great physios. It was a pleasure talking to these ladies about their business and their plans to stay leaders in their field.
Rosie from Rosie's Beauty has been in business for 22 years. In that time she has taught herself everything about how to run a successful business, including marketing and promotion. Her beauty salon in Carlingford, north-west Sydney has loyal clients who love how passionate she is about making them feel great about themselves. In this episode, we talk about how Rosie loves the creative side of marketing, from videos and Insta stories to the visual merchandising of her salon.
Alison is the co-Founder of Chainsmith in Sydney’s Surry Hills. Specialising in custom-made, Italian road bikes, they have created a dedicated, passionate community of loyal customers and friends of the shop. Over the past six years, Alison has trained herself in all aspects of marketing for her business - from Facebook and Instagram to email marketing and managing her website. With a PHD in Fine Arts, she loves the creative side of marketing, while challenging herself to keep up to date with all the systems she uses in her business.
Jaythene is the fourth generation from her family to work in Sparks Shoes and a lot has changed in the 20 years since she started working with her Mum. From no website, or social media, just a list of customers they sent letters to, to an email list of over 5000, a growing social following and online sales, they continue to embrace online advertising and promotion. Hear Jaythene’s story of trial and error with Facebook ads, gaining the confidence to put herself out there on social media, and the business benefits they have seen.