Winging It To The Top – Can You Make It In Business As You Go?
- Oct 20, 2023
- 3 min read
Written by: Annette Densham, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Marketing is a profession that so many people want to get into, but they’re always a bit nervous whether they have what it takes. This is particularly true if you don’t have the marketing background and qualifications that many leverage to get a start in the industry.
The good news is that you can succeed in this business without a network and bundle of certificates, as long as you’re prepared to learn as you work hard. That’s what Ads Haus’ Tenai Seymour did.
“I started my career at a marketing agency, and was instantly made into a “Jill of all trades”. I was doing a little bit of every job that the agency did,” Tenai said. “Then, I was thrown into the deep end with Facebook ads. I ought to note this was in the “glory days” for agencies, where you threw money at something online and it brought in a fortune, because most agencies weren’t operating in that space – so there was much less competition.”
For Tenai, it was easy work, until the dreaded iOS 14 update completely overturned the way digital advertising had functioned.
“I had to sink or swim and do it fast,” she said. “I was fortunate, I found the formula fast. I swam, as it were. This was brilliant for the agency, as it brought in many referrals and the agency grew.”
So, did their retainer prices.
As much as Tenai enjoyed working there before, she found that while the prices were going up, the attention paid to clients was going down.
“That wasn’t what I had signed up for,” she said. “I wanted my clients to succeed, and the agency’s model didn’t seem realistic in the long run. It particularly didn’t seem to serve small and medium sized companies who could benefit from Facebook ads. In fact, our agency was not catering to these businesses, but nobody was.”
The problem is that once you’ve worked at an agency, it can be daunting to go it alone. How much should you charge? What should you offer?
Tenai wanted a no BS approach that included clients in the process, rather than ignoring them. She opted to do something completely different.
“I created a marketing training course. It lasted 3 weeks, with just an hour required from the client each week,” she said. “We would work together and build ads; we’d see how this resulted in real time data creation, and then they’d learn how to understand that data and optimise their ads based on that feedback.”
There are millions of boring digital courses out there, and Tenai decided she didn’t want to do that. “I wanted to give my clients the human touch, but at a price point they could afford,” she said. “It’s become one of the most popular services we’ve offered.”
Tenai’s Ads Haus has now worked with clients all over the world to help them make their own ads and optimise them for maximum return on investment.
“As an industry outsider who is now an industry insider, and in a crowded market, I found a unique niche that makes a difference for the businesses I serve,” she said.
“One of the joys of coming to an industry without all the baggage that most people pick up in education is that you can take a different view on things, and it’s easier to break out of the mould and create your own unique approach to things.”
Tenai is positive that anyone can wing it to the top with the right attitude and hard work.
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Annette Densham, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Multi-award-winning PR specialist Annette Densham is considered the go-to for all things business storytelling, award submission writing, and assisting business leaders in establishing themselves as authorities in their field. She has shared her insights into storytelling, media, and business across Australia, UK, and the US speaking for Professional Speakers Association, Stevie Awards, Queensland Government, and many more. Three times winner of the Grand Stevie Award for Women in Business, gold Stevie International Business Award, and a finalist in Australian Small Business Champion awards, Annette audaciously challenges anyone in small business to cast aside modesty, embrace their genius and share their stories.
