The Small Business Big Marketing Show | Insanely Effective Marketing Ideas

Can you believe the round beach towel wasn’t a thing until just six years ago?! Like, how did it not get invented decades ago?! Well, stop scratching your head because you’re about to meet Victoria Beattie, the creator who’s already sold 120,000 of them!   A little bit more about The Beach People’s Victoria Beattie (and her sister Emma) ... The Beach People was founded in the summer of 2013 by sisters Emma Henderson and Victoria Beattie in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia. Inspired by their family, friends and seaside lifestyle, with their passion for creating beautiful and iconic products, their first collection of round towels sold out in weeks. A few short years later, they are building a globally admired brand of seaside luxe essentials for everyone, everywhere to enhance one’s living spaces and life experiences from the beach to home.   So strap in as Victoria shares: Where the idea for a round beach towel came from How they got it to market The ups and downs of starting an ecommerc

Carl Hartmann knows how to grow and scale businesses … from scratch. In fact, he’s one of Australia’s leading serial entrepreneurs, having taken his first idea - Temando - to over 80,000 users, 3-billion transactions and over $55M in funding. And today, he shares his 5 tips for growing and scaling your business.   A little bit more about serial entrepreneur Carl Hartmann ... Carl Hartmann is a prominent, multi-award winning Australian entrepreneur best known from his work as Co-Founder & CEO of Temando which he took from an idea to one of Australia’s largest technology companies. Having exited Temando in 2017, Carl now spends his time looking for the next big thing, investing in companies that make him sit up and take notice. In fact, he’s the co-founder of Lyre’s non-alcoholic spirits - remember we interviewed founder Mark Livings a couple of weeks ago?   So strap in as Carl: Shares the ups and downs of his entrepreneurial journey Give us his top 5 tips on how to scale a business just like yours And

City Larder’s Robbie Bell has worked in some pretty famous kitchens around the world. Now he’s started his own business as a Charkuhturer. You know what that is, right?! And he treats his wholesales as if they were guests in a 5-star restaurant. A little bit more about City Larder’s Robbie Bell ... After completing his apprenticeship as a young chef in England, Robbie Bell spent the first years of his career working for a Michelin-starred chef, and has gone on to hone his skills at some pretty fancy establishments around the world. Then in 2015, seeing a gap in the market for high-end shar-ku-tuh-ree and wanting to put his core skills to good use, Robbie and his wife started the City Larder which now supplies over 180 stockists across Australia with high-end pates and terrines. Robbie also hosts his own podcast - Cooking the Books - which is in its third season. You’ll love Robbie. He’s larger than life and has some solid views on how to build a business you love, and even stronger views on buying local

Advertising on Facebook (and Instagram) can be a frustrating exercise, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. But what if there were 10 simple things you could do to increase your ROI by multiples. Well guess what? There’s ten simple things you could do to increase your ROI by multiples. And today's special guest, who’s spent $2M of his own money on marketing, and is a Facebook Certified Professional Planner, is about to take us through them. One by one.   A little bit more about Authentic’s Cham Tang... Cham Tang is Head Of Marketing and Co-Founder of Authentic Education, a multi-million dollar BRW Fast Starters 100 Company.   Cham has handled all the marketing in the company since day 1 and is a Facebook Certified Professional Planner. In fact, Cham was personally selected by Facebook to be privately mentored, and has spent over $600,000 in Facebook ads.   He has worked with speakers in the industry such as Anthony Robbins, Dr John Demartini and Chris Howard.   Cham is passionate about hel

I was emceeing a function the other night when this fellow suggested I have a couple of cheeky G&Ts before going on-stage. “Thanks, but no thanks” was my response, as I never drink when working. Refusing to take no for an answer, he tells me the Gin is completely alcohol-free and tastes exactly like Gin. And in fact, if I didn’t like Gin, there were 12 other flavours to choose from! “Show me the bar!” was my response. That guy was Mark Living’s and he’s cracked the code on a range of alcohol-free spirits called Lyer’s that’s taking the global beverage world by storm. A little bit more about Lyre’s co-founder Mark Livings ... Mark Living’s is the co-founder of a portfolio of businesses across marketing and advertising, logistics and fulfillment, print and merchandise production as well as brand incubation. He’s also an active and successful venture capitalist. His current project is Lyer’s - a non-alcoholic range of spirits that caught my attention at an event I was emceeing. Not only was the visual bra

There are some businesses I wished I’d created. Sendle is one of them. It’s disruptive, fun to use, and solves a painful problem us small business owners have. Today we meet founder James Chin-Moody who tells us how he’s done it.   A little bit more about Sendle co-founder James Chin-Moody ... For the past couple of decades, Sendle founder James Chin-Moody has had an impressive career in anything but small business, working for the United Nations, the CSIRO, even the Australian Bureau of Statistics. For eight years he was a judge on ABC TV’s The New Inventors show. Then finally, just a few short years ago, he saw the light and started a micro business that would soon become Sendle … an online-based parcel delivery service that is taking on the monopolistic Goliath that is Australia Post. Sendle has already been voted Australia’s Best Courier service 2-years in a row, and employs over 100 staff and has experienced 40 months straight of 15% growth. Now full disclosure … I love Sendle. I have no financial

I’m kind of surprised more business owners don’t podcast. I mean, bang for buck, podcasting delivers such amazing returns. Well today’s guest, Nigel Morris of small business Solar Analytics and the Solar Insiders podcast says podcasting is instrumental to his business’s success.   A little bit more about Nigel Morris ... Today’s special guest I met on a road show I’m currently speaking on for a business called Supply Partners. A big thanks to owner Lliam Rickets for introducing me to Nigel Morris who is the business manager at Solar Analytics, a software business that helps you monitor your solar panels’ efficiency. That, in itself, isn’t that exciting. Where it does get exciting is that Nigel is the co-host of a solar energy podcast called Solar Insiders that has been a major contributor to a 10X growth in the business. Now, if you’re a long time listener, you’ll know my thoughts around podcasting for small business. It’s a highly effective medium that, when done well, can build your business and person

If you think selling your product or service is hard, then try selling vintage watches worth thousands of dollars, sight unseen, online. Today’s guest does exactly that - in fact, last year he sold over $2.3M worth ...  and in this revealing chat, he shares his secret sauce on exactly how he does it. Hint: It’s all about how to create extremely personalised online marketing ;0)   A little bit more about Christian Zeron ... In 2014 whilst studying Law, 19 year-old Christian Zeron started selling pre-owned watches from his college dorm room. Fast forward to 2019 and he’s turning over 2.3 million a year through Theo and Harris his luxury watch shop, and his website generates 1.3 million monthly page views using free traffic strategies.   Which raises sooooo many questions, like: How do you sell high-priced watches sight unseen? What’s the biggest sale he’s made online? What marketing is he doing to generate that kind of traffic and revenue? Why aren’t I generating $2.3M a year??!! So strap in as Christian

In 1993, Ray Good AKA Sugeray was one of the world’s top DJs. He then had a breakdown, learnt to meditate and started a seafood empire. Now he’s on a mission to teach mindfulness and meditation to business owners everywhere. Ommmmmmmmmmm ….   A little bit more about Ray Good ... The year was 1993. The Prodigy had just gone platinum, crop tops were cool and Ray Good was living the good life as one of the world’s top 100 DJs, spinning decks at sold out rave in London, Tokyo and Berlin … organising large scale music events … he even owned a Australia’s most respected import record store and his own record label. But then the good life came to an end. Ray was burning out and so were most of his mates. Eventually someone tapped him on the shoulder and suggested he try meditation. And from that point on he’s never looked back. He launched a hugely successful sustainable seafood restaurant empire which he subsequently sold in order to focus 100% on his real passion … helping entrepreneurs and business owners f

Imagine cracking the marketing code to the point where your brand became a household name. That’s exactly what Ben Goodfellow, the founder of the now iconic Tradie underwear brand has done. And in this revealing chat, he shares exactly how he’s done it.   A little bit more about Ben Goodfellow ... I’ve admired from afar the way Ben Goodfellow so quickly made the Tradie underwear brand a household name in Australia. Ben loves brands. In fact, from a very early age, when other kids were swapping footy cards, Ben would sit at the kitchen table with his old man and talk branding! Well, it’s paid off as he’s now responsible for the iconic Tradie underwear brand that next year will be turning over in excess of $100M! So grab a pen and paper as Ben reveals exactly how’s he’s gone about creating a household name from scratch.   In this wide-ranging interview Tradie founder Ben Goodfellow shares: Why he loves brand-building How to build a strong brand How to turn a brand into a household name What marketing he us

You know how much the marketing world has changed in the past few years, right? That’s why you listen to this show … to stay on top of the latest trends. Well, today’s episode takes your trendwatching to a whole new level as Australia’s leading Consumer Futurist Amanda Stevens and I have a solid conversation about exactly what you should be doing to super-charge the marketing of that beautiful business of yours.   A little bit more about consumer futurist Amanda Stevens ... In changing times, the customer experience is emerging as the most exciting opportunity to grow market share. Amanda Stevens is a speaker, author, TV Host, and business improvement consultant who is passionate, excited and curious about marketing, consumer psychology, business, and building businesses. Her unique ability to ability to articulate what consumers want, and how brands can connect with them in unique and meaningful ways, has seen her address over 700 conferences in 14 countries. She's currently one of the most in-demand sp

Love them or loathe them, having The Kardashians endorse your product or service would most likely be good for your business. Well, today’s guests did exactly that, getting millions of dollars of publicity along the way.  And guess how much it cost her?   $50,000? $500,000? $5,000,000?   Nope. It cost her absolutely nothing!   A little bit more about Sophie Lovejoy Adelaide-born, LA-based Sophie Lovejoy is the founder of the sophisticated sleepwear brand Sant and Abel. And as an ex-TV producer, Soph is one of those go-getting business owners who makes things happen. Her biggest marketing claim to fame is she arranged to have every single Kardashian wear her pyjamas multiple times on their hit TV show, on their socials, apps and blogs. The exposure she got is worth millions, and she didn’t pay a cent!   In this candid interview Sant and Abel’s Sophie shares: How and why share started an online pyjama brand Why she loves the Beverly Hills Hotel so much! How she managed to get the world’s most famous r

Elton John is a client of Steve Sims’ business The Bluefish, which is kind of interesting in itself. What’s even more interesting is how Steve came to get Elton as a client in the first place. In this revealing chat Steve shares: How he got Elton John as a client How to get past the Dobermans in order to get to the final decision makers Why relationships take time Why you need to be super self-aware of how others perceive you And plenty more …   “Your imperfections are your perfections.” - Steve Sims, The Bluefish   A little bit about Steve Sims Steve Sims’s day job is to make the impossible possible. With his help and expertise, his clients’ fantasies and wildest dreams come true. Getting married by the Pope in the Vatican, being serenaded by Elton John, and connecting with powerful business moguls like Elon Musk are just a few of the many projects he has worked on. He rarely reveals how he accomplishes the feats that make his clients so happy. But every now and then (like on this show), Steve shares hi

As you may know, one of my favourite types of guests to have on this show is a long-time listener. A business owner who has a huge amount of respect for marketing, and someone who’s actively implementing the ideas they pick up from listening in. Well, that sums up today’s guest beautifully. Here’s what she said to me in an email a few weeks ago: “Hey Timbo, let me know if you’d like to interview a long-time listener, and an awesome Mumpreneur who’s been in business for 5 years, has cracked the $1 million mark per year, mainly from a little battery-powered snot sucker!!  Hint hint – me!!” And the email was signed Laura Klein, SnottyNoses.com.au … Gadgets for good health and good sleep. Well, she had my attention, so I called her up for a chat only to find that she was running a very serious little business … one not to be sneezed at ;0)  (I promise that’s the first and last Dad joke for this episode). SnottyNoses.com.au is an online store, with 25 SKUs, six staff, it’s had some serious media coverage and

If you’re like most small business owners, you’re hugely concerned about your competition. Well imagine this … you open a shop in a street with not one, not two, not three, but 30 competitors all with shops selling similar things to you … and not just in the same town, but in the same street!!! How would you feel? Worried? Would you constantly check what they’re up to? What products they are selling? Would you always have one eye on their prices? Or would you just get on with it like Stuart Stanley does? His shop, RING Jewellers, is based in an area called ‘The Lanes’ in Brighton, on the South Coast of England. It is a jewellery hotspot and the description above is exactly what the area is like.   In this candid chat Stuart talks about how he deals with competitors in business plus: What makes him different from all his competitors Why he loves the helpful marketing concept so much How he manages his precious window displays How he avoids competing on price How to avoid competitor fear And plenty more …  

Retiring in 2016, AFL legend Matthew Pavlich went on to complete his MBA then get involved in his first serious business venture called PickStar, which is now Australia’s largest marketplace to book sporting stars for any event, marketing campaign or fan experience.   In this candid chat Matthew talks about: Life after football Why he loves business so much The similarities between achieving success in business and football Why he’s backing PickStar to disrupt an antiquated marketplace And plenty more …   “PickStar was always going to be a technology company that aimed to disrupt an industry that has never really embraced technology.” -Matthew Pavlich, PickStar   Here’s what caught my attention from my chat with Matthew Pavlich: I love how PickStar’s disrupting a very antiquated marketplace. I love Roger Federer's quote about “Loving the grind”. Exercise is so psychologically beneficial.   Resources mentioned: PickStar’s official website Matthew Pavlich’s Wikipedia page Part 2 of interview on SEO with

Digital nomads Nat Thomas and Niv Nobacht run serious businesses from wherever they are in the world. As long as they have their computer and a solid Internet connection then life is good. In this candid conversation, you’ll discover the pros and cons of running a location independent business and how it may be able to be applied to the way you run your business. It’s time for a little lateral thinking! In this episode of your favourite marketing podcast you’ll also discover: - Why Nat chose to leave a well-paid job at 20th Century Fox - Why Niv left a secure corporate job in Germany - What you need to survive running a business from anywhere - The highs and lows of running a location independent business - And plenty more … “My digital nomad lifestyle came about when an opportunity presented itself to move to Santiago (crazy, I know!) and I knew in my heart it was “now or never” to step out of my comfort zone and embark on some soul-searching adventure.” - Nat Thomas, The Now With Nat   Here’s what ca

Australian Janet DeNeefe met a Balinese man in 1984, and with very little thought, moved to the charming Balinese hillside town of Ubud and threw herself into a new life. She had no plan (she never does as you're about to find out!) … she just knew she was in love. Back then, ducks and cows wandered down the main road and telephones were a luxury. That was 35 years ago. Since then, she’s given birth to four children and numerous businesses … all of which have blossomed. This is a story of a highly creative business woman who doesn’t care for planning, isn’t scared to have an idea and quickly get it to market … and whose Midas touch seems to turn everything to gold. Janet also shares: How she launched her first business in Bali What role her creativity plays in launching and running each business Why she started the Ubud Reader’s & Writer’s Festival and the Ubud Food Festival What role marketing plays in each of her businesses How she manages the family dynamics of working with her husband and now sons And

2016 went down as a banner year for gun real estate agent Bernard “Bernie” Uechtritz. First, there was the historic and record-breaking sale of the Waggoner Ranch for $994M plus he won a slew of industry awards. Immediately when I read about this property for sale I needed to speak with the agent responsible for the sale. How did he get the listing and how is he going to market a property worth close to one billion Australian dollars!? Join me as I get those questions and many more answered by Texas real estate agent Bernard Uechtritz. Not only is he selling the Waggoner Ranch, but is also responsible for selling some quite stigmatised homes in LA including ones in which murders have taken place! This is a masterclass in how to market expensive real estate. Enjoy!   Bernie also shares: How he got the listing What it takes to go above and beyond when servicing a client The importance of networking Why it’s the simple things in marketing and sales that make the biggest difference And plenty more …   “I’m r

Sam Priestley makes a living by dressing up as a fireman then taking his clothes off in front of women. Yes, he’s a stripper! Hannah Priestley, Sam’s wife, runs the business. And it’s a very successful business at that. So much so that Sam works just one day per week, and they both earn far more than they ever did in their previous full time jobs. Oh … and Sam’s character name? Fireman Sam, of course!!   Sam & Hannah also share: Where’s the idea for men On Fire come from? How Hannah feels about her husband being a male stripper How they managed to replace their full-time employment income in just 6-months How they make prospects feel comfortable about enquiring for their services How Google Adwords sky-rocketed their business And plenty more …   “We found our competition to not be very helpful. Just the simple things like getting back to emails or phone calls a week later. That’s just too late for someone trying to book such an important event. So Sam suggested we start as a small side business and do it