#awinewith Sara Parkinson
MEET SARA
Sara is the Founder of Freckle Digital.
Find Sara here:
Freckle Digital website or Instagram @freckle.digital
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:09):
I guess I'm Sarah Parkinson and I'm the owner of Freckle Digital and it's been going, I'm going to say I actually posted the other day that my first ever client is still with us and they've been there for four years. So even though Freckle Ginger is a lot different to what it was when it was just me and my laptop and a whole lot of stress and anxiety and two clients and no job. So it's come a long way since then and we've now got 16 members, 30, 40 clients, but we've still managed to retain those four or five that we started with, which fills my heart. That's incredible. That is absolutely incredible. We've actually grown with them as well, which has been fantastic. I think those partnerships are just so special, but it kind of just started out of, I was in, this is my first ever internship at Dish 10 years ago. Oh, cool. Yep. Social media coordinator when it was Facebook was the thing. I don't even think Instagram was a thing then, which was crazy. So I was posting, I need to think that it was it ever not a thing.
(01:28):
And then ended up in retail and mainly because it paid better at the time. And then I was able to make the jump from retail to a PR agency. And the only reason they actually, because actually my degree was in geography and political science has nothing at marketing at all. And the only reason they hired me was because as a junior was because I was a manager of a store and could show that I could manage my own time. That's literally all they cared about. They just didn't want to have to manage someone. So that's kind of when I got my first break in the industry. And then I worked for them for about two years and then another agency for another two years went in-house for a very fun hospitality brand. And then from there they were actually really supportive of me doing my own thing.
(02:29):
So they actually make me go part-time while starting Freckle. And then they actually are still kind of a client too, which is really nice as well. And then started freckle with two or three clients, mainly developed from contacts or friends that I knew that I'd picked up working in communications along the way. And then I guess, of course there's like winners and losers out of Covid, and as I was developing a team, COVID hit Digital exploded. And I think, not to discredit the effort I've put in at all, but I think a large part of what happened there helped freckle grow a lot quicker than what it normally would've and just because online exploded. Yeah.
Sara Parkinson (03:20):
And do you think the ability to land clients, if you will, over Zoom changed dramatically as well? You no longer had to be in Sydney or Melbourne or LA or New York. You don't have to be anywhere now. You can kind of have these conversations via Zoom or whatever and actually just get things done.
Danielle Lewis (03:44):
Yeah, I think that's helped dramatically. And I think not only from a time efficiency running an agency full stop because I remember going to all these lengthy, sorry, someones going to come in, but all these lengthy meetings all around the city and different locations, even goal hosts
(04:08):
And all that's now has been completely removed. And now you can have back to back meetings in a two or three hour period and then you've got the rest of the day to get your work done. So for me, it's been just a great efficiency overall. And I'd say probably the hardest thing with Covid and everyone getting online was setting expectations. And I think everybody wanted to jump online. They were panicking and then they expected it to run just as well as that physical retail store. And I think when you don't have a lot of education around digital and how it works, you think it's an immediate automatic thing like
Sara Parkinson (04:53):
A silver bullet, everything
Danielle Lewis (04:57):
Completely opposite. It's still building the foundations of a house. If you don't spend the time getting the right people in do the right bits, you don't get the finished product for the finished outcome. So I think over, I felt like I was constantly trying to set realistic expectations with people of what to expect, especially when people were struggling for cashflow and felt like that was the biggest challenge over that period. But we had a good set of great team that helped people pull Pilates studios from offline straight online by setting up an online studio so she could still keep her memberships going. So there was a lot of great things that came out of it, but it was a very up and down challenging
Sara Parkinson (05:49):
Environment. Well, I mean it sounds like, well there's kind of two things there. It sounds like you actually helped people go digital, but even just thinking about digital as a marketing strategy, it is completely different than if you've got a physical space. And I think that's the funny thing about, I think it's a funny thing about any marketing strategy, I kind of feel like people just go, well, I have a great product. If I just do this, millions of dollars will come in the door. But it really is, you've really got to take a step back and understand who your customers are, where they are online, and test, test, test, optimize different strategies. And I don't think people quite understand how much goes into a marketing strategy
Danielle Lewis (06:32):
And the volume of content that you need. And it's like quite often with our brands, what sells in store does not sell online and vice versa. And it's usually those products that look good online. It's like for instance, a it's Silver Shoe will not move in store, but online it will. It's got an effect on it and it just looks better. So it's super, I find it fascinating seeing what people are drawn to online versus in store and it's often very, very different. Yeah.
Sara Parkinson (07:09):
So you mentioned the difference between when you first started laptop in hand, couple of clients, stress, stress, stress. How has that changed today? What role? And you've got a team now as well. So what kind of role do you play in the business?
Danielle Lewis (07:26):
Yeah. Well, it's still stress, stress, stress. I'm not going to lie.
(07:31):
Excellent. No, and that's like I mentioned before, that's what I'm working on this year is getting a little bit more balanced. But it's changed from controlling anything and everything that goes out and you having to almost upskill yourself very quick because when I felt like when I started out, the way you grew a business was word of mouth, especially in the service industry. And I guess that does translate to online with third party reviews and testimonials, going back to the influences, it is kind of a marketing tactic that works when you're starting out. And so I felt like you had to kind of overdeliver for clients to get those great recommendations that then grew onto other work down the line. And so I felt like at that time I was doing anything and everything. And then now what I've realized is, A, you've got to let go of things. You can't have control over everything, and B, you need people in your team that are better at things than you are. And you've got to really be honest with yourself about what you're not good at. And this pains me to say it as a marketing specialist, but my grammar is not the best thing in the world. So the first person I hired was copywriter. Amazing. Then she proves my work, I don't prove hers.
(09:02):
And then after that it's like graphic designer because that's a required skillset for content that I don't have after that paid ad specialist after that motion graphic. So what I find is my role is to understand from experience how to push a business forward when it comes to actually implementing that. I've got specialists in each area that I physically can't do to help me get results for that client. So I think it's kind still very much on the tools. I don't think you can say even four years in that you can totally sit back with a margarita.
Sara Parkinson (09:42):
I try, I really try just incorporate into my head,
Danielle Lewis (09:48):
But I think it just shifts and you've got to let go. And then you've also got to start looking out for your team and what they want, make sure their needs are met, and then basic functionalities of how to run a business, which nobody tells you when you get into these things because you're good at your skill and then it grows and then you're like, I have no idea how to run a business. And then you almost find yourself scrambling to try and build people around you that also know how to run a business. And so it's changed a lot. Yeah.
Sara Parkinson (10:29):
Wow. How do you stay motivated then and inspired to keep growing the business?
Danielle Lewis (10:37):
I think at the moment I'm so super proud of all the people at Freckle. I don't know, sometimes I don't know how or why they work at Freckle.
Sara Parkinson (10:51):
You're amazing.
Danielle Lewis (10:55):
They love what they do so much and they're such smart, intelligent people at what they do. They kind of motivate me to drive results for clients and make sure that they're progressing in their careers and they're in a positive supportive environment. We're pretty much a team of mostly females and I've been in environments where that hasn't always been the case. So I'm super passionate about making sure their needs are being met as well as the business needs probably put mine last, which is not always the best thing, but that's just what happens. And so they keep me motivated. And then the clients that we serve, they're very much, I think you attract what you put out when it comes to clients. And I think I've attracted a lot of businesses that I'm interested, but obviously I think that's just probably half the course. So probably the team I'd say. Yeah.
Sara Parkinson (12:00):
Yeah. Amazing. And you mentioned obviously them being majority female as well, and I think maybe in marketing it's a little bit different because marketing can be more female dominated, I think. But what have you found, I mean, being a female in business, have you found that that has been an advantage, a disadvantage or neutral? You don't think it has an impact? What vibe on women in B?
Danielle Lewis (12:27):
I think, and I actually think right now in this environment, it's never been a better time to be a woman in business. There is, yeah, okay. It's not perfect and not everything is equal and there's always improvements to make and I think they will happen incrementally over time. And I think from the men that I work with, from a colleague perspective, like other men, business owners, even my partner as men, they've never been more supportive of what I'm doing and the girls at Freckle. So from my perspective, I don't think it's ever been a better time to be a woman in business. And that's kind of really come from people before you that have chosen to pave the way for other people. So you've kind of got to look forward and then as you're looking forward, make sure that the team behind you and the women that work under you are also empowered to lead lives that they want. And we are making sure everyone has financial planning advice at Freckle and we give a percentage of profits to the staff foundation that educate other women. So I think it's a great time. Don't take advantage of it and make sure, you know, can pass it down the line, but also embrace it. If there's grants out there for you, go get them.
(13:57):
So yeah, I think it's a pretty great time, I reckon. Yeah.
Sara Parkinson (14:00):
Well, I mean I think I reflect on my own journey and starting out 10 years ago there was not a lot around, it just wasn't talked about as women in business. But now there's grants, there's dedicated programs, there's other female founders. Just to look up to reach out to the landscape I think has changed so much over the last, gosh, well even the last five years I think it's just gone crazy. Yeah.
Danielle Lewis (14:30):
Do you remember celebrating International Women's Day?
Sara Parkinson (14:33):
No, I don't
Danielle Lewis (14:34):
Feel like, no. I was like, when did
Sara Parkinson (14:37):
We start doing that? Yeah, I
Danielle Lewis (14:40):
Quite,
Sara Parkinson (14:41):
I was in corporate for a decade before I started scrunch, and I don't remember ever going to an international event. And that's what you typically see now, you see corporate sponsor the tables and pieces, but I don't remember ever doing anything like that. No.
Danielle Lewis (15:00):
And it's kind of exploded now a little bit.
Sara Parkinson (15:03):
Oh yeah. See how many International Women's Day events were there you
Danielle Lewis (15:08):
Go to, I think we ended up just doing our own,
Sara Parkinson (15:13):
Just
Danielle Lewis (15:13):
Overwhelmed by the events. We were like, let's just go do yoga and get breakfast.
Sara Parkinson (15:19):
Perfect. Well, there was a lot of controversy this year. There's lots of women who were actually International Women's Day I'm taking off because every day should be International Women's Day. It's my data just
Danielle Lewis (15:29):
Fill look after
Sara Parkinson (15:30):
Me.
Danielle Lewis (15:32):
Yeah. But no, I think overall I think it's the best time it's ever been. That's what I'm saying.
Sara Parkinson (15:40):
I agree. And that with just the best time to start a business, no matter what gender you are from a technology point of view. Yeah. I think you can literally, oh, absolutely. You can literally have an idea and start and build your own website in an afternoon and start selling something. I think that, and it is interesting, people always say that, how do I get started? And I'm always, the thing is there is no barrier. You can just literally make something up and try and sell it to somebody in a day and start testing whether people would be interested in what you have to offer. Yeah,
Danielle Lewis (16:18):
Yeah, I agree. Technology awareness all comes together and yeah, if you're going to get started, get started now because think it's only going to get better.
Sara Parkinson (16:28):
Yeah, absolutely
Danielle Lewis (16:29):
Supportive.
Sara Parkinson (16:30):
Well, I was going to save this one till the end, but then since we're on the topic, what if somebody is hesitating who's watching this video in terms of starting their own business or maybe even they've got their own business kind of early in the journey and they're kind of struggling a bit, what would be your tip for a woman that's in the throes of deciding whether they should start a business or keep going with a business?
Danielle Lewis (16:56):
I think the first thing that helped me jump was I want to start a business, but I also need a little bit of steady cashflow. So whether you need to get a part-time job to supplement that, even if it's working in a retail store, I don't think there is any kind of job that is not good enough for anyone. So I know when I started I was working just part-time to cover the other clients before you can take that leap. So I think that's a good strategy to make a jump and then feel like you still financially can cover all your bills. And then the other tip would be just to be flexible, understand that you might have this idea or you might have this product or this service, but you actually find out that is actually what people need. So just understanding you might need to upskill in a certain area very quickly and learn on the go and in order to make it work quite often you start and you kind of know what people want. You are not really sure to you go out there and get it. I mean, especially in marketing, change is so quick. I think being flexible is just a standard for even anyone in marketing, but just being flexible. Most businesses that we help from the ground up, they do have to of roll with a few punches and be flexible with the course that they take. Yeah.
Sara Parkinson (18:33):
And I mean I think that's just actually great business advice. It is funny when Covid hit, everyone was kind of like, oh my god, this is great. And look, yes, it was absolutely earth shattering for some people, but I'm also like, you know what? Since I've been in business, there's been some kind of something every few months that you are like, oh my God, what is this thing that I need to deal with? So it was like I kind of just went, oh well, it's just one more challenge that we need to figure out. Yeah, no, I
Danielle Lewis (19:04):
Agree. And it's like your challenges just change over time, almost getting used to being a little bit uncomfortable. I want to say 99%, but that's really negative. So I'm just going to go No, I would agree
Sara Parkinson (19:17):
With you. No, I would absolutely agree with you. You should just feel uncomfortable all the time.
Danielle Lewis (19:23):
Yeah, no, it's not quite like that. And then as you grow and you get people on board, then you are trying to learn how to manage people. Again, no one taught me how to manage people really, or no one taught me how to do my taxes and my best or my accountant, thank God he's good. I don't know actually know what he does, but you know what? I haven't missed any deadlines and I pay my bills on time. So maybe also letting go a bit is a big one.
Sara Parkinson (19:56):
Well, I just love what you said earlier around understanding what you are good at and not so good at and letting go. And I think that you are right. You don't want to know what an accountant does. I mean, yes, you absolutely want to be financially literate and you want to be able to read your own business financial statements. And yes, in the very beginning you're probably doing your own bookkeeping to save a little bit, but getting the experts in as soon think we can make or break businesses.
Danielle Lewis (20:28):
And I think there was always a big misconception and around driving more revenue, getting more clients growing, getting more people, getting more staff. It doesn't actually make more profit. So it's actually figuring out what money or what finances do you to sustain your life and what is the best way to get there so that you've got that net profit and you're not focusing on more and more turnover. It sometimes can just be more stress.
Sara Parkinson (20:59):
And then I love that you're saying this because I feel like the thing that's been glorified is more staff and big offices and all this stuff, and I think that people are posting about this in different places. Like, oh my God, look how much we've grown. But there's a lot of businesses that aren't that profitable and it's kind of like that is just a recipe, not people.
Danielle Lewis (21:24):
So some of the most profitable businesses are actually quite small and it's kind of just understanding and there's getting a little bit out of the rat race and the hype of being like, what do I actually want and why am I doing this? What do I need to bring in to make a living a lifestyle that I want? And then that means just two people, you and six high paying clients, then just keep doing that. There's no need to get 20 staff and a big premises in the middle of the city with a river view. And unless those are things that value value, then if those are things you value, then you go after that kind of thing.
Sara Parkinson (22:11):
And is that a process that you went through? Did you sit down and kind of go right, what do I want my life and my business to look like?
Danielle Lewis (22:20):
And I think I wouldn't recommend this to people. I think I kind of hit ceiling. I was heading for burnout and I think it was about October, November last year, black Friday, sales pressure for this is when most e-commerce es make 50, 60% of their annual revenue pressure is an all time high, all these new clients onboarding. And I was just like, why am I doing this?
Sara Parkinson (22:48):
What have I
Danielle Lewis (22:49):
Done?
(22:52):
I think after that I did seek some advice from financial planners and friends and other business owners. And I think getting as much advice as you can from people that have been there and done it and listening to it and taking bits that you want, you don't have to take it all situation is different. And then just kind of taking that in and reflecting. I think that nine weeks I took off, going back home to the UK obviously was still working most days, but I think sometimes taking yourself out of the business for a couple of weeks and just sitting down and thinking what is the purpose of this and why am I doing this? It helps you reset and think, okay, well where am I trying to get to? And is this helping me or is this actually hindering me? I think if I kept going, I was going, freckle could have just fallen over because I probably would've been in a heap on the floor. So I think it's just being honest about those things and being like, this isn't quite right. And then just seeking advice to try and figure out how to fix that.
Sara Parkinson (24:00):
And I think it's like it's okay if it's different if it changes. I think sometimes we get started and we have this grand plan or this vision for how we want things to be and it doesn't always work out like that. And also I think sometimes we go, oh my god, I want the hundred person team, I want that amazing office. That's what I'm wearing to us. And then you get in it and you're like, oh, that's not really what I want. So I think it's okay to give yourself permission to actually step back and permission to say it's okay if I don't want the same thing that everybody else wants.
Danielle Lewis (24:38):
And it's like life though. I was catching up with a girlfriend once and we've got a totally different lifestyle. She's got two kids and a husband owns business, she's stay at home, mom loves it. And she looks at my life and she's like, I want my career back. She's out there, she's building a team team. I just want to be independent. And I look at her and I'm like, you've got a husband, you've got two kids, you've got a house sorted. And I'm like, I kind of want what you've got.
Sara Parkinson (25:13):
The grass is always grown up.
Danielle Lewis (25:15):
That's what I mean. And I think it's the same in business. You could be a freelancer, I want a big company, but you might get there and find out you were a lot less stressed and more profitable when you were a freelancer, you had zero overhead. So I think before you go and do that and go down that path, just make sure it's what you want, not what everybody else is telling you to do.
Sara Parkinson (25:36):
Yeah. Oh my god, I could not agree more. Literally could not agree more. So tell us then, so there's a lot of business owners obviously who'll be watching this video and obviously being in marketing and in digital and also the Spark programs all around sales and marketing. So it's all around how to grow. And we kind of touched on the fact that digital isn't the silver bullet. And I think before we started recording, you were like, influencers aren't the silver bullet. So what advice would you have for a small business startup business who is kind of like, okay, I have a great product, I have a couple of customers, but it is really time for me to start taking growth a little bit more seriously? Would you have a suggestion on what a good place to start is for a business?
Danielle Lewis (26:25):
Yeah, it's a challenging one because I think it's different for every business. Unfortunately in digital, I think what works for one won't necessarily work for the other. If we talk about e-commerce at the moment and selling a product online and you can't put all your eggs in one basket anymore. You could used to be able to say Facebook ads is the cheapest way and most efficient way to drive online sales and find new people. And then algorithmic platform changes come in, ISO 14 updates happen and then now you can't attribute any sales to Facebook practically anymore. It's completely dropped off. So if you were using Facebook as your primary source of revenue, you've been stung by that right now. And in the same way in 2023, Google's going to do the same update. So if you are just doing Google ads, then also that's going to affect you.
(27:25):
So I think the businesses that have grown sustainably over time and not shut up and shut back down have been the ones that have done a bit of everything, which is not what everybody wants to hear, but it's called omnichannel marketing. So you kind of need to get to people with seven to 10 touch points across multiple platforms. So it's probably starting with your content. I think everything starts with content, making it engaging and good. And then from there, just deciding two or three platforms you're going to focus on to put that content out there on and then testing and trialing those before then going into the other platforms. But depending on the product and how you've landed to where you are, I think your path will largely be very different to someone. And for instance, we get a lot of businesses that come to, they've got a really strong wholesale backdrop, so they sell wholesale to a lot of people and they now want to get online and sell it themselves.
(28:38):
They will have a quicker return on investment than someone who hasn't got any wholesale backdrop, no retail store, and they just want to sell it online to a cold audience. So that going to be a lot harder with a lot more investment than someone who's already got some present somewhere else. And so I think it is really hard to give general advice on exactly where to start because digital is so diverse and can get quite expensive that you want to make sure you're doing the right thing for your product or brand. Some lifestyle brands, we tell 'em to start with influencer marketing because it quite often is the cheapest form to reach a lot of people and get good content. So if you've not got much budget and you're selling a lifestyle product online, I would say start with influencer marketing and with micro influencers and then grow from there. But if you are a service-based in the service industry and you want to get more clients, maybe you're going to start with Google Ads because that's where you're going to find your most high intent audience and that's where your money is going to be better spent. So I think it's very different depending on what I guess you are trying to sell.
Sara Parkinson (29:59):
And I love the thought too to make sure that if anything, you're focusing your time on your own content as well. It's really interesting. A lot of people would come to Scrunch and be like, I want a big influencer campaign. And we'd look at their website and we're like, no, because it's like what's the point in landing traffic on your website when your website is not going to convert? Because then you'll blame the marketing strategy. So I feel like people do also have to look inside first and make sure they do have resources and blogs and social media and everything in order and kept up to date so that they are the trusted authority on whatever it is that they do. So that way when you do start investing in a marketing strategy, people are coming back to something that's really solid.
Danielle Lewis (30:54):
Yeah, I completely agree. And you just reminded me now that most inquiries we get, they actually come to us too early and they've not even sorted out the price point. They've not done any market research, they don't even know what their unique selling proposition is. And I think if you haven't got those three things packed down, so who's going to buy this? What is the price point and where does that sit in the market and how are you different from everyone else? If those three aren't tight and solid? It's very difficult online space to get people to understand why they should buy from you. So I think that coupled with your content needs to be first and foremost, and then from there, decide which avenues you want to target first. Yeah,
Sara Parkinson (31:50):
Amazing. I love it. Well, you are awesome. So thank you so much for spending some time with us today. I know that the business owners that will be watching this video or watching the replays or whatever would've gotten so much value out of that. I love the idea of, yeah, I really love the idea of self-reflection in terms of not only what you want out of business, but also I love just how you ended there with what is your unique selling proposition, how are you different? I think the theme of today was like, take a bit of time to self-reflect and what you want and who you serve and move forward to growing your business from there. I think that's awesome.
Danielle Lewis (32:35):
Don't rush. Don't rush anything. It doesn't to be a race to the top just because it's online. I think some of the biggest, the most successful brands we've worked for have just done things incrementally over time. It's not been a message pushed to reach x target 30 days. It's like, alright, how can we make this sustainable for everybody involved? Yeah,
Sara Parkinson (33:02):
And that's a really good point in terms of content and marketing. It has to be consistent. So you can't just go, oh my God, I'm just going to flood the market for a week and my life will be changed and I'll be a billionaire. It is. It's slow, it's consistent, and it's sustained growth that are the best companies.
Danielle Lewis (33:21):
Yeah, yeah, for sure. On the same page there. Yeah.
Sara Parkinson (33:25):
Amazing. Alright, well you're fabulous. Thank you so much for joining us on the Spark Channel. I appreciate your time and I'm sure we'll be hearing much more from you soon.
Danielle Lewis (33:37):
All right. Thanks so much, Danielle.
Sara Parkinson (33:39):
Thanks.
