Yiota might be new to the Business Owner scene but is making big waves already. She is everyone’s Insta Gal Gang / Bestie and she’s here to help with all things Digital (& make your website look oh sa amazing, we’d know, we’ve shared clients together!). Her fun personality makes her oh so loveable and her expertise and knowledgeable tips and tricks on how to make your marketing efforts stand out amongst the masses makes her someone you need to follow. Keep reading for her little gems on biz owner life & advice that’ll make you love her even more!
Question 1. So tell us, how long have you been in your biz? Had you always been entrepreneurial? |
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| Little Miss Ola Digital is 191 days old today! For normal humans, that means 6 months and one week old, but man, that time literally flew by. POOF!
I have always been surrounded by a super supportive family that ran their own businesses. My dad owned take away shops as I was growing up, my grandfather’s moved to the property business and my aunties started their own men’s clothing store that I actually worked in when I was in university. So I guess you could say I have been in and around entrepreneurial people my whole life, but never really saw myself as one of them. Until now!
I have always been super creative and haven’t loved the ‘corporate, follow my rules or else’ mentality. That lead me to Ola Digital so yep, I’m owning it. I’m an entrepreneur, what up! |
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Question 2. What are you enjoying the most about owning a biz? What are some things that make you want to pull your hair out? |
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| I absolutely adore making people happy, relieved, less stressed and informed. Being able to work one-on-one with people, and for me to take as much time as I want to make sure I achieve the perfect result for my clients is priceless. The churn and burn thing is SO not my style, so I get so much satisfaction out of really listening to my clients and delivering the very best that I can for them. Oh and you know, the sleeping in whenever I want to thing – that will never get old!
There are quite a few things that make me want to pull my hair out (and are turning me grey, no joke the grey is taking over!). The main one is people not valuing your work just because you are an individual and don’t have a well-known company name behind you. My time is just as valuable as any other humans, and even more so than other large agencies that just want your $$$ (the shade of it all!). I guess the bottom line is that if you don’t see value in what I do, and you want to screw me down on price and suck the soul out of my work, then sorry, you are not worth me tearing my hair out.
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Question 3. If you could give yourself some advice you wish you knew before you started on your biz journey, what would it be? |
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| I like to be real and honest, so although I would like to say something motivational, the reality is… Girl, this shiznickle is HARD! There is nothing easy about running a successful business, especially not in the beginning. The hours are long, the decisions are stressful – but the satisfaction is literally priceless (there’s the motivator!). I have never felt so fulfilled in my whole life, so I know this business journey was meant to be. No matter how many greys I get out of it!
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Question 4. What would you say stands out about your brand that makes it the brand we all know and love? |
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| There isn’t any fluff over here – just real and honest Yiota. Sweaty Yiota, sweary Yiota, angry Yiota, excited Yiota, loud Yiota, obnoxious Yiota, tea spilling Yiota and most of all – digital lover Yiota. The feedback I get most often is ‘ I just love how real and honest you are’ and let me tell you, every time I hear that it gives me the warm and fuzzies. There is enough fakery in business and on social media – and Ola Digital ain’t about that life. Real advice, tips and projects for real kick-ass business owners. That’s Ola Digital in a nutshell (preferably pistachio shell cause I luuuuurve those things).
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Question 5. Now we specifically LOVE the way that you nail Instagram video stories with so much enthusiasm, honesty and gems of knowledge almost daily. What are some tips you can give those of us who suck at video, or might be a little shy? |
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Well firstly, THANK YOU because that means the world and more to me! My biggest tip is that you are your own worst critic. The way your mouth moves, your eyebrows look, your words are pronounced – I promise that no one else notices all those ‘flaws’ that you may see in yourself more than you. The way I see it, there’s a hierarchy of scariness when it comes to Insta Stories so I would start off with the easiest and move up to the ‘most difficult’ when the time is right. Here’s how I break it down:
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Question 6. Holla to some Instagram accounts that you admire and why? We love to look for new inspo! |
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Oh man, there are So MANY QUEENS I love to follow! Here are a few of my faves:
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Question 7. You’re a Digital Marketing Queen, what’s something about the industry that you wish you could change? |
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| This whole secrecy around what we do. Yeah, we can refer to ourselves as digital ninjas or wizards or magicians or whatever terminology you prefer, but at the end of the day, it is always so much more beneficial to be informed than have your head in the sand. Again, this comes back to the ‘traditional agency’ model of holding your cards super tight to your chest so your client is stuck with you for life. No people! Choose to be informed, digital is so much less scary than you think.
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Question 8. What’s one copywriting rule that you think was made to be broken? |
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| Not being able to start a sentence with an “And”!
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Question 9. What’s the biggest misconception about what you do and how do you address it? |
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| Hmm where to start… I guess it’s mainly with websites, a lot of people think that a web designer is also a copywriter/branding expert/photographer – all the things. Maybe there are some superhumans out there that can handle that all on their own, but I am all about collaboration.
If you want the very best out of your brand new website, you need experts to accompany you on the journey, and a web designer is certainly key – but without shmick copy, killer photos and a clear brand identity we will never get anywhere near the potential of your online presence.
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Question 10. What’s the craziest request (good or bad) you’ve ever had from a client? |
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| Well, I don’t think I’ve had any bad crazy requests as of yet (phew) BUT there was a moment where I stopped and thought wow, I can’t believe how far I’ve come. And that’s the moment when my wedding dress designer said he wanted to work with me on his brand new website. It was one of those moments that stopped me in my tracks, to have such an incredible craftsman recognise my own digital work and want me to create his online brand representation. It was the best type of crazy feeling the world.
PS. Website coming soon! I’ll reveal more details on the ‘gram 😉
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Thank you for your time and letting that amazing personality shine through as always gorgeous Gal!
