16 Lessons in 16 Years

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:00)

Hi, and welcome to the Bright Minds of eCommerce Podcast. Today is a bit of a special day for me because it's Bright Red Marketing's 16th birthday. By the time you listen to this, it'll be a couple of weeks old, so don't rush off to wish us happy birthday. What I wanted to do was share the 16 lessons I've learnt after 16 years in business, which feels pretty wild to say.

Thank you for coming on this journey with me, and I'm excited to dive into the biggest lessons from my 16 years of business. I'm Dahna, founder of Bright Red Marketing, and I created this podcast because I wanted to bring you the best advice from Australian eCommerce experts and eCommerce store owners. If you're after relatable stories and actionable advice, as well as the latest Facebook advertising strategies, you're in the right place. So let's get into today's episode.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:00:49)

The first one, number one, you aren't for everyone, and that's okay. I'm a perpetual people pleaser, and this one's been a hard lesson for me. When I first started out in business, I was doing marketing for anyone who needed me. I'm here to help you! What we've learnt over time, thanks to some lovely education and wonderful peers, is that it's okay for your business to only be for certain people and not others. In the last week alone, we've had a couple of different businesses reach out wanting help with their ads, and I'm now in the privileged position of being able to say, "We're not for you, but I can recommend some people who are." Whether you're an eCommerce business, a service-based business, or whatever your business is, it's okay to not serve everyone. In fact, I think it's a good thing.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:01:41)

Number two, taking on the wrong clients will cost you more than turning them away. Again, I really like helping people. I didn't start this business as a money grab. I did really like marketing, but it was very much "I like helping people." So when I couldn't help people, I'd still try to help them anyway, and that's not always the best thing to do. If your product doesn't serve everyone, or you're a service business, it's okay to say no. It's okay to say, "Look, this isn't for us," and let that be.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:02:15)

The next big lesson is that you cannot do this alone. Business is lonely, business is hard, things change, and it's just so nice to have really good support and good people around you. Whether that's a team, a friend and family circle, or a bunch of colleagues, having people around you makes all the world of difference. I'd say this is a two-part thing. There's not doing it alone, and having that support network and people to bounce ideas off, and there's also having a really good team and service providers around you. I could not do this without my accountant. I could not do this without the amazing team I have. I could not do this without the guys at Sparo Studios, who redid our website and our branding and changed the way we thought about our business. Sixteen years in, business is hard. So have people in your corner, whether they're paid people or friends, and if you don't have friends, make friends. I was in masterminds for ages, some free and some paid, just to find connection and people who could really support me on the business journey. You can't do this alone. Go find some people and keep them close.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:03:34)

Sort of from a similar vein, you can't be the smartest person in the room. I don't mean this in an egotistical way, but if you're the furthest ahead in business, it's really hard to be successful and grow if you don't have other people and ideas around you. This was a hard one for me. I was in a mastermind for a while with a really great group of freelancers, and we could bounce ideas off each other constantly, it was fabulous. Then I started growing my team, and suddenly I was having experiences none of them had reference points for. Being in rooms with people who were managing and running teams was wild for me, because now I was very much the dumbest person in the room, and to be fair, that's my favourite place to be. You can learn so much from people. So if you're surrounded by people who are a bit less far ahead in business, I'd recommend getting into some different rooms occasionally, just to pick up those valuable little nuggets of information.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:04:50)

My fifth lesson, hire slowly. Someone told me this very early on, and it probably took me a really long time to make my first hire. I've always been nervous about hiring because it's such a massive part of growing a business. I'm so grateful for this advice, because the women on our team are incredible, and I'm so grateful for the team we've built, it's become a family. That's only because we hire so slowly and are so careful about who we bring on. The other part of that advice is to fire quickly. Thankfully I've never had to be that person, but I do think it's warranted, the people on your team are so valuable that having the right people is just so important.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:05:48)

Number six, your niche is wildly important. We touched on this earlier, but the day I decided we'd be Meta Ads and digital marketing for eCommerce was an absolutely pivotal point for our business. It's such a good position to be in, to say, "This is what we do, this is who we do it for, and we're really bloody good at it." We get businesses of all kinds reaching out wanting our help because they see the work we do, and it's nice to be able to say, "We could probably help you and get you a half-decent result, but we know we'll get a much better result for eCommerce businesses selling a physical product." There are eCommerce businesses selling digital products, we won't touch that. We have a really good system, structure and skill set in this one thing, and being able to focus and amplify that knowledge really makes a difference. Obviously that's us, in digital marketing, but the same goes if you're selling a beauty product or homewares. A lot of eCommerce businesses try to be everything to everyone. You might sell a really simple product, but if you're trying to sell it to too broad a range of people, it's really hard to narrow that down. Especially when you're starting out, being really clear about who your product is for makes selling it so much easier, it's so much easier to sell a niche product to a niche group of people than a broad product to everyone, because you're not going to get that emotional connection.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:07:21)

Number seven, if you've listened to our episode with Jess, she talks about this a lot: spending time working on the business, not just in it. This is a lesson I'm still learning, we get very in the trenches, putting out fires, problem-solving, and getting stuck in the day-to-day. This applies to everyone in business, whether you're eCommerce or service-based. There has to be time you're actually working on the business, not just in it. So many times I'll think, "No, I am doing that," and then step back and do an exercise: what are the things I need to be doing to grow the business, versus what I need to be doing in the business? One of those lists is always bigger, and it's not the growing-the-business list. I'm working on it. But the more we can focus on actually growing the business rather than just being there, the better, and that's where getting help comes in. So make sure, even if it's just an hour or two, you spend some time working on the business. It really does help.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:08:23)

Number eight, know your numbers. We're data nerds, that's what we do. But I'm a data nerd who hates maths, so go figure. Knowing the numbers of your business is game-changing. The book Profit First was probably my real first awakening to how important the numbers side of things was. Before that, I was like, "I'm making money, that's great," but being able to really pull it apart and see where it was going is so important. For our eCommerce clients specifically, when we start digging into the numbers and doing that analysis, that's where they get really good results. One of our biggest clients at the moment came to us because they weren't growing new customers. We took one look at the data and said, "You're spending too much money here, here and here, and this is set up wrong." It's not that it's set up wrong generally, if that's what you want, fine, but the numbers weren't delivering what they needed. So being really clear on your margins, profit and expenses is really helpful. Also know your new-versus-returning customer rates, where your money's going, the breakdowns in Meta, there are so many numbers to keep an eye on. Really knowing your numbers is so important, and checking in regularly. You can't just look at these numbers once every six months or once a year and go, "Yep, cool." It has to be a regular thing, are we on track, are we managing this? There are a couple of big players in the industry telling people to check their numbers daily. I don't necessarily agree, it depends on how big your business is. If you're big enough, you probably can, but there's a lot of nuance, and a lot can get lost when you're that granular, it can become overwhelming, and you might not make the greatest decisions. Sometimes stepping back and looking at the bigger picture is far more valuable than getting nitpicky. So, word of caution, step back, look at the numbers, the goals, the strategies, the bottlenecks, the things you're focusing on, and how you can grow. Then look at the numbers so you're looking at the right things.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:10:35)

Talking about numbers, number nine, a good accountant is worth their weight in gold. I had a lovely accountant, he was fabulous, and he was my mum and dad's accountant too. He's a lovely man, growing his business very successfully, but he dealt with a different kind of business to mine. Funnily enough, I had the wonderful team from Bloom Money on my podcast not that long ago, well, it's probably been a year or two now, and they were just so lovely, I felt so understood and heard. Having a good accountant has changed everything. Finding someone who gets you, gets your way of doing business, has your risk tolerance and profile, and communicates the way you do, that means everything. Yesterday was the end of financial year, and I was able to call her up and say, "I'm freaking out here, please help," and she got on the phone and talked me through it. Having an accountant who gets you, and who's set up their business the way you want to work, means everything. It's a big decision to change accountants, but if you're not happy, it's worth looking elsewhere.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:11:34)

Number ten, a logo doesn't make a brand. I've been in marketing a long time, so this one was an embarrassing lesson to learn, but we have Sparo Studios to thank for it. I've had the Bright Red Marketing brand for a very long time. My first logo was designed by a family friend, my second by a really talented designer, and I still love that logo. But we were floundering on what the brand actually meant and looked like. Having a brand, and actually having a visual identity and something you stand for, is so exciting, I'm thrilled about what comes next for us. If you haven't been to our website yet, I highly recommend checking it out: brightredmarketing.com.au. The story our website and visual identity now tell is genuinely game-changing. We see so many eCommerce stores with beautiful websites that unfortunately aren't really telling a story, there's nothing for people to connect with. That was the same problem we had: a beautiful site that wasn't doing anything, wasn't talking to anyone. So I'm so grateful to Em and the team at Sparo Studios, it's been game-changing for us, and will continue to be. So if you think you just need a pretty logo on a pretty website, maybe go listen to Em's episode.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:12:40)

So on that note, invest in your website and your brand photos. That all came from the same realisation, we quickly realised our website and photography just didn't do us justice. So as part of that brand refresh: new photo shoot, new website. They look very schmick now, and we're very excited.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:12:57)

Number twelve, chasing the algorithm makes you a worse advertiser. I've been doing this for a long time, not the first person on Facebook ads, but definitely in that early-adopter run when ads first came out. We have so many conversations with people now saying, "The algorithm's doing this, the trend is this, we need to change." But the strategy hasn't really changed. Yes, the algorithm has changed, and there are things we do slightly differently, and there are new trends and techniques and gurus with new ideas every other day, but the strategy doesn't really change. We're talking to people; humans are buying. The structure and setup change, the way we run ads now is wildly different to how we did it two years ago, so I'm not saying nothing changes. But you can't be in a constant cycle of chasing the next thing. At the end of the day, what works is testing, knowing your market, and having a really good marketing strategy, and I'll forever stand on that hill, because every marketing guru tries to package and trademark some fancy technique to make you think it's the thing that's working. At the end of the day, what works in all marketing is testing, good strategy, and knowing your audience. Yes, you have to know how the platform works, and the intricacies of the mediums you're using, but if you're constantly chasing the next big trend or update, I think you'll miss the boat on what's actually working for your business. Consistency, and knowing your brand and your marketing, wins every time.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:14:33)

Number thirteen, you can hold your ground and still be kind. The saying "the customer is always right", we've forgotten that the full quote is "in matters of taste." Unfortunately, I'm sorry customers, you are not always right. We have so many wonderful eCommerce store owners as clients who feel like they have to do everything for their customers, and yes, it's lovely when you can go above and beyond, but at the end of the day, you can still hold your ground. We have returns policies. Your product does what it does, and doesn't do what it doesn't do. You're allowed to hold your ground and still be kind. Again, perpetual people pleaser here, it's okay to be kind but stand your ground. This is a boundaries thing. You're allowed to stand by what you stand for and still be nice about it, and if the other person isn't okay with that, that's more their problem than yours. With eCommerce it's really hard, because a business like The Iconic has the greatest returns policy of all time, a small business can't match that, and you shouldn't be expected to. So it's okay to have your policies, as long as they're reasonable, and just go about your business. We don't have to refund every single person who has a tantrum because they didn't read what they were buying. Have a good returns policy, stand by it, and move on. People are okay.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:15:54)

Number fourteen, done is better than perfect. This isn't really a lesson I've learnt so much as one I'll forever be learning, but it's true. If you can launch something, get it off your to-do list, get it out into the world, you're so much better off than leaving it sitting on the "I'll get to that someday" page. We need to be getting more things out there. And with the rise of AI, I think a little imperfection is going to be more appreciated going forward.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:16:24)

Number fifteen, and I'll forever stand by this one, have fun and take the risk. Business is scary and hard, and everyone treats it as this big, serious thing. It's okay to have fun. It's okay to have a laugh. It's okay to be a bit weird and quirky, to do things differently, to have fun in your marketing and be a bit silly. People like seeing real personality, they like seeing the people behind it. I don't think we need to be perfect, polished, and buttoned-up all the time. Having a bit of fun, being honest and a bit more authentic, is really powerful, especially from a marketing perspective. If you can have fun with your marketing, you're ahead of a million people, because everything is so serious that a bit of a laugh and a little joy makes everything so much better.

Dahna Borg – Bright Red Marketing (00:17:22)

And number sixteen, which I'm very grateful is a lesson I learnt many years ago, rest is not optional. Please take the holiday. We didn't get into business to work more than is legally mandated in this country. Employees get a minimum of four weeks' annual leave, as business owners, that should be the bare minimum. It's okay to take a break, take the holiday, close the phone, and not answer that call or reply to that email at eight o'clock at night. A break is a good thing.

So today I'm just feeling so incredibly grateful for the journey I've been on, the people I've connected with, and the businesses we've gotten to help. I'm so grateful for everything we've achieved, and so excited to see what happens next. Thank you for coming along for the ride, and we'll chat soon.

Thank you for listening to the Bright Minds of eCommerce podcast. As always, you can find the show notes on our website at brightredmarketing.com.au, just look for the podcast page. Thanks for listening.