#awinewith Hannah Jones
MEET Hannah Jones, Founder of Speech and Communication Tuition
You can find them here:
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:05):
Hannah, welcome to Spark tv.
Hannah Jones (00:07):
Hello, I'm excited to be here.
Danielle Lewis (00:10):
I'm so excited to have you here. We are recording late afternoon on Christmas Eve, so I kind of feel like this is a little special. It's a nice time of year to be connecting and chatting.
Hannah Jones (00:23):
Absolutely. It's always a bit of a sparkle in the air, so it's a good feeling.
Danielle Lewis (00:29):
So good. Let's kick off by telling everyone who you are and what you do.
Hannah Jones (00:33):
Yeah, of course. My name is Hannah Hannah Jones and I run a business called Speech and Communication. What we do is empower students from as young as prep all the way through to year 12 with learning how to use and support their voice through public speaking. It's been a passion of mine for a very long time, and here I am today. Oh my God,
Danielle Lewis (01:02):
I love this because public speaking is literally up there with people's fear of dying, isn't it? So learning that skill at a young age has got to be pretty incredible.
Hannah Jones (01:17):
Look, it's something that is, pardon me, so important, especially in the world of technology today. You really need to know how to communicate, know how to use your voice, but it shouldn't be something to be feared. And I think if we can empower our younger generation that it's okay to stand up and it's even okay to make a mistake and what to do when that happens, it does make a world of difference. So that's where I'm at and I love it.
Danielle Lewis (01:52):
That is so cool. I mean, I even just think about us as women in business. You've got to show up, right? You've got to show up, you've got to communicate, you've got to use your voice, whether that is in your marketing, on videos in reels, one-on-one conversations with potential customers speaking on panels, your voice is like it, right? Your voice is your marketing machine.
Hannah Jones (02:17):
Absolutely. And look, even if you're networking, being able to have the confidence to go up to someone and say, hi, this is me. This is what I do. This is what I'm passionate about. And I think it's a skill that has certainly been lost a little in translation with everything being online, but even, for example, showing up today, we are on an online platform, but it's a very similar thing, being able to have a conversation. So I think it's something that is very important. I think it's something that we need to adapt with this technical world, and it will help you to stand out. That's the big ticket item, being able to communicate.
Danielle Lewis (03:01):
I love it. Do you think there's any hope for people later in life that maybe haven't mastered the skills yet?
Hannah Jones (03:08):
Always. Always. There's always hope. No, and look, I personally do work with a couple of people that aren't of student age. I do really love working with kids, so that's my passion. But no, it's never too late. And I think it's always something that you can continue to work on and develop. And even myself, I go to workshops, I like to see what's happening and put myself in different situations wherever I can. So it's something that you can always learn and
Danielle Lewis (03:43):
Build on. That is so good. And I'm kind of vibing that if there are any parents listening, this is perfect, right? That they should be thinking about their kids and thinking about programs like this and opportunities like this where they can learn to become more confident and show up and use their voice.
Hannah Jones (04:04):
Absolutely. And the difference with, I guess what I do is we really help kids to think on their feet. So we incorporate a whole bunch of theater, sports activities, and we keep it fun for them. They do. The last term, we did a little showcase where the kids stood up and did some little fun skits and things on stage. So I think it's keeping it fun, but it's such an empowering thing for kids to do. And the last term, I was helping with school captain speeches and leadership speeches, and they had the big award ceremony, so making sure everyone was prepped and ready for that. So there's so many different components of what you can do. It's not just standing in front of an audience. I mean, obviously that's part of it, but even being able to put your hand up in class is a huge factor. Or if you don't know the answer to something, how can you work your way around that? Being able to think on your feet. So there's so many different elements to it.
Danielle Lewis (05:12):
That is so good. So how did you even get into this?
Hannah Jones (05:19):
I've always done speech and drama all through school. I dabbled, obviously after school, working with a fantastic teacher, and then I actually went into corporate. So my background is in marketing and public relations. I was a national PR manager for a children's charity for many years, and I think working in the real world, and I was always teaching throughout that time. I'd have students after school before school, but just a couple of one-on-one clients here and there. It was never anything. It was just a passion project. And a few things in life happened and I decided to take my passion project and turn it into something that is more full-time. So that's my background. I've kind of lived and breathed being on radio and doing big presentations and board pictures and that kind of thing. So I have seen what happens in the real world, and I wanted to really, I guess, take that to a real world level and support students. And here I
Danielle Lewis (06:33):
Am. I love it. That is absolutely incredible. How did you find the transition from big corporate to running your own business? Look,
Hannah Jones (06:47):
It has its challenges, I think, because I've always done it to a certain extent. But when it grew, the biggest challenge I think I faced was making sure that you had systems in place to help keep everything running. And I have a wonderful team now that work with me. And look, it is hard. You get your payslip once a fortnight or whatever, managing everything and going into your own business. However, it is just so worthwhile. And I think my journey, I started when I was quite young, my own business, and I've had to learn so much along the way. And I think for anyone wanting to start out, just start. That's kind of my advice.
Danielle Lewis (07:43):
Yeah, I love that. I always say that to people. So I was in corporate for 10 years and then started my own business, and I was like, sure, running a business is very challenging, but I never would've learned the things that I have learned sitting behind desk doing the same. No,
Hannah Jones (08:01):
Absolutely. So many different elements. No, I agree. And I think there's a lot you don't know about. I mean, I've made many, many mistakes along the way, and I've learned so much, but there is a lot that you just learn along the way and use your network and ask questions and not be afraid to ask questions and ask for people to help put your hand up. But it is worthwhile. Definitely.
Danielle Lewis (08:28):
I love that. Would you be open to sharing one of your mistakes so our lovely listeners don't make the same mistake?
Hannah Jones (08:37):
One of my early on, so when I just started teaching, I was also, I crazily decided to do some PR work as well. And oh, one thing that I forgot to do was check IP and domain name and all of those types of things for, and this is not my current business now, it was another little one I sort of dabbled in and I registered the business, everything was fine. I got the domain name. Oh, I didn't actually check the registrations properly. And then boom, there's another business, same name, cease and desist. You have to change your name, all the rest of it. And at the time, I had done all my branding and my logos, and it's a lesson that I've certainly learned. I tend to be quite gung-ho, but some things you do need to do a little bit of background research into. And again, it's not my current business, it's another one. But yeah, a couple of mistakes along the way. I live and learn and look, it ended up being even better than what I could have imagined. I adapted, the branding, changed the name, and it was so much better. So a big mistake turned out to be a blessing.
Danielle Lewis (10:05):
I love that. I think you have to look at those things as blessings in disguise as well. That's such a great attitude to have to anything in business really. But it's so interesting that you mention that because I've got plenty of founder friends who have run into the exact same issue. And again, I think we're all excitable. We're all just like, I've got this great idea. Let's go, go, go. Let's do it. Let's make it happen. And I think there is that messaging in the market to just start fail fast, try things, break things. That's the entrepreneur mentality, but hilarious. Because also last month we hosted a free masterclass with IP Australia, and that was the same thing. They're like, a lot of people think when you register your business name, it's a trademark. And I was like, it would be so easy to go, well, why would you give me that business name if I'm not allowed to use it? Right? It seems like a weird thing, but it's such a good lesson. Such a good lesson. Check, trade marks, people, you check your trade marks.
Hannah Jones (11:08):
Yeah, check trade marks. That is for sure. That is for sure. And things do happen, and you just have to take a breath, work through it, and so many things work out in the end. So
Danielle Lewis (11:24):
It's so true, because the thing is, that's not going to be the first challenge you come up against in business. I think businesses are just like challenge after challenge after challenge. It's just your willingness to keep solving problems. That is all the time you can do that, the more successful you'll be.
Hannah Jones (11:43):
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
Danielle Lewis (11:45):
Oh, incredible. Now, because we're recording this on Christmas Eve, it will be published in January. So I'm asking all of our January guests, what are you taking from 2024 that's worked well or good vibes that you're bringing into 2025?
Hannah Jones (12:05):
Look, I think for me personally, I have, I'm a single mom, two beautiful little boys. I have always had that thrive, thrive work hard mentality. And I'm just, I mean, that will never go. I love that, but I'm actually just going to take a breather and I dunno, this year was crazy and it was busy and it was hectic. And I actually think that I'm just going to go a little bit slower this next year, and that's what I want to take into it. Not decrease anything or change anything, but just maybe not work up until 11 o'clock every single night. Just take it a little bit slower, I think
Danielle Lewis (13:04):
Maybe a little bit more kindness to oneself, a little
Hannah Jones (13:07):
Bit kind. Yes. Be kind to myself.
Danielle Lewis (13:11):
That is so good. And I mean, it's a challenge, right? Because oftentimes we do wear lots of hats, but oftentimes we are go-getters. So half the time we love the working extra hours. We're excited about what it is that we do and what customers we support.
Hannah Jones (13:30):
Well, that's it. And look, I'd work 24 hours a day if I could, because I absolutely do love what I do. But what I've noticed is I need to make sure that my cup is full before I can give the best to my students and my clients. I need to take some time for me as well. And that's something that I have really just started to embrace and look at the importance of. And also my incredible team. I think a lot of business owners find it quite hard to delegate. I know I do, but I've just been blown away by the incredible people around me. And just the last year with everything going on in my life, I've had to delegate and trust my team to keep moving forward with things. And they've been incredible. And that's, look, another thing I'd like to take into next year is delegating and making sure that the people around you, they're there to support you and taking a bit of a step back if you let them. Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (14:45):
It's such an important point because I think we really, as business owners, we do have difficulty letting go, but people do rise to the level that you let them rise to. Absolutely.
Hannah Jones (14:57):
Absolutely. No, they do. And I think, look, it is hard, especially when it's your own business. It is hard to delegate. But I think it's an important lesson that people need to learn because you can't do everything and you can't be amazing at everything. So yeah, have an awesome team around you and trust them.
Danielle Lewis (15:20):
Yeah. Do you have any advice for people who are, okay, I know I need to delegate. I know I need to get some help in my life. Anything that helped you start outsourcing or bringing on team members, or how did that work for you, and what sort of lessons do you have for us around that?
Hannah Jones (15:40):
Look, it's something that I'm always struggling with because from a teaching side of things, I actually, I've been very, very lucky in the fact that a lot of my past students who have graduated from school, they end up coming on board and supporting me in the classroom. So from that perspective, it's kind of covered. And they know the principals, they understand what we've been doing, and they're passionate, they're engaged. So I've been very, very grateful to be able to have that. But then the whole kind of admin side of things is, that's a completely other kettle of fish. And to be honest, this year I have been looking and working with some virtual assistants, which I think have been fantastic because it's not something that I essentially have someone full-time working on things, but I do need an extra set of hands. And I find that that works quite well.
(16:42):
But I've worked with some people before and sometimes it hasn't worked out. And I just think, yeah, you just have to kind of go with your gut and have a chat to them first. And yeah, I've got an amazing mom helping me at the moment virtually, and I just, yeah, it works really well. And even giving people, I've also got another fantastic content creator working with me too, and that's not my area of expertise. So I think actually delegating those tasks to someone who understands it and who's good at it, just in the end, it saves you so much time, money, and heartache
Danielle Lewis (17:28):
To
Hannah Jones (17:28):
Definitely worth investing in.
Danielle Lewis (17:30):
I could not agree with you more. And I mean, to your point, sometimes people don't work out, and that's totally okay. You do have to test people, and they're not the right fit. They're not the right fit. They'll be the right fit for somebody else, but you do have to find your people and let them support you. Yeah, that's amazing. Amazing. I love it. Oh, this is so good. Now, I always love to wrap up our podcast with one last piece of advice. So reflecting on your time in business, what would be one piece of advice that you would give to another woman on her business journey?
Hannah Jones (18:07):
I think just take a deep breath, pop your shoulders back, and just be confident in what you're doing, what you're delivering. Sometimes we have this inner voice that, oh, you're not good enough, or you can't do it, or you're your own worst critic. And I think just start and just embrace being confident around what you're doing is probably my, yeah, that's probably the advice that I would leave.
Danielle Lewis (18:39):
I love it. I mean, we all need a bit more back yourself energy in 2025. You're so spot on. Let's be confident. Let's believe in ourselves and just get in and do it. Incredible. Absolutely. Hannah, you are absolutely amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your story. Yeah, thanks for having and your wisdom. So good to have you on the show.
✨ Thank you to IP Australia for supporting the SPARK podcast and women in business ✨
