Pamela, The Monkey Puzzle Toy Store

Pamela, The Monkey Puzzle Toy Store

From staffing and stock to managing brick and mortar plus online selling, there's a long list of things to juggle when you own a toy store. Pamela has owned Monkey Puzzle Toys for 16 years, starting when her kids were young and she couldn't find the toys she wanted for her family. She has taught herself online marketing by Googling, keeping an eye on what others are doing, and listening to what her customers want. This episode is another great story from a small business owner, who loves the community she serves and has a great passion for the toys she sells. Plus - if you are looking for gorgeous, unique toys for Christmas - check out her online store

Julie, Send a Basket

Julie from Send a Basket, started her first business when she was 19. A florist by trade, she has owned Send-a-Basket for the last 10 years. The satisfaction she gets from making people happy motivates her when her days are long and the work is really busy. She knows she is not only delivering flowers and gift baskets, but sending Thoughts, Feelings and Emotions in every delivery. A lot has changed over the years Julie has been in business. Going from newspaper and the Yellow Pages advertising to social media, websites and Google, like a lot of business owners she is impressed with how much she has learnt about this new digital world. I enjoyed her honesty about what she does and doesn’t like about marketing!

Shibly, Vet, Queensland

Shibly Mustapha, a vet from Brisbane, has set himself a BIG goal to positively impact one billion beings. Knowing this wasn’t something he could achieve by himself, his approach is to build a sustainable, profitable business, so he can buy back time and broaden his impact by giving back to the community, especially other vets. When it comes to marketing his 3 (soon to be 4) vet clinics, he has tested a variety of ways to engage with clients - from Signage, PR, Paid Ads, Social Media, Email and SMS. As someone who works with life and death every day, he finds marketing a way to be creative and take some risks he can’t necessarily take with the pets he looks after. I really enjoyed hearing about his approach to business, growth and marketing.

Sam, Cocolina Lifestyle Store Beecroft

Sam is the owner of Cocolina, a lifestyle store in Beecroft in North West Sydney. The inspiration for her store came when she was studying shoe design in Italy. She wanted a store that showcased a variety of gorgeous things, from clothes and jewellery to homewares and gifts - and as one of her regular customers, I can confirm she has certainly achieved that. She is the first person to say she is "not a computer person", but like so many business owners, loves the creative side of marketing. Over the 10 years she has been in business, she has taught herself a lot about marketing and how to use the various systems she uses to promote her business. I loved hearing about how she is willing to try new things and teach herself the latest marketing techniques to grow her business.

Rosie, Rosie's Beauty Carlingford

Rosie from Rosie's Beauty has been in business for 22 years. In that time she has taught herself everything about how to run a successful business, including marketing and promotion. Her beauty salon in Carlingford, north-west Sydney has loyal clients who love how passionate she is about making them feel great about themselves.  In this episode, we talk about how Rosie loves the creative side of marketing, from videos and Insta stories to the visual merchandising of her salon.