The opportunity lies in stillness
Female Founders
May 24, 2023
Fast, furious days full of delivery after delivery.
Heart racing. Everything is important. Including the things that aren’t.
But sometimes we need quiet.
Utter stillness.
And in those still moments we refocus and find a motivator beyond the continuous movement that is momentum.
Because momentum provides movement, but not direction.
It is only in stillness that we can stop and actually study possible pathways.
Only in stillness that we can make considered decisions about which direction all our momentum should be focused on.
Stillness can be found when we go for a walk and sit on a park bench by some water.
Or lie on the couch and pat our dog or cat after a long day at work.
Or when we get really, really sick and can’t even get out of bed. (that’s me while writing this)
Sure it might then be harder to start up again after those moments living without movement.
But once direction and momentum are aligned, there is very little that can stop us from getting to where we need to go.
❤
Lessons from a fellow business owner
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8 Best Awards for Shecompreneurs
Female Founders
May 23, 2023
Awards are great—they lift product credibility, increase buyer confidence in your brand and can be the final tick in the box when someone is purchasing from you. Plus, as the product is so often about your own story, it helps to support that by boosting your own authority and profile!
Here are the 8 best eCommerce product awards for female founders to put on your radar!
SHE-Com
Why should you enter? It’s specifically for women in e-commerce.
When do entries open? Open now!
Why we love it We sponsor it! 🤭
Online Retail Industry Awards (ORIAS) — Best Small Independent Retailer
Why should you enter?
It recognises the achievements of small eComm businesses who demonstrate best practices in ecommerce, innovation and growth.
When do entries open?
April 2024
Why we love it
You’re in with the big dogs but can enter the category specifically for start-ups 🐶
Online Retail Industry Awards (ORIAS)
Australian Business Awards
Why should you enter?
There’s a new award (The Australian Brand Award for New Product Innovation) which recognises innovative new products that offer a point of difference from their competitors.
When do entries open?
September 2023
Why we love it
It’s super prestigious and celebrates the best of Aussie businesses 🇭🇲
Australian Web Awards
Why should you enter?
It specifically celebrates the best digital work nationally.
When do entries open?
January 2024
Why we love it
There are loads of categories including ‘shoestring website’, ‘small business’ and ‘eCommerce’—you can enter more than one! 🥳
Smart Company Smart50
Why should you enter?
It recognises the fastest growing businesses across Australia.
When do entries open?
November 2023
Why we love it
There’s a Rising Star Award for the achievements of high-growth start-ups—that could be you! ✨
Women in Business Award
Why should you enter?
It specifically supports women in business with a variety of awards.
When do entries open?
September 2023
Why we love it
It allows women to gain well deserved recognition for both their career and business achievements
AusMumpreneur
Why should you enter?
Because it’s about challenging the stereotypes and raising awareness about the contributions made by women with young children to the Australian economy 😍
When do entries open?
August 2023
Why we love it
Support for mums in business—need we say more?!
Australian Export Awards
Why should you enter?
Running for 60 years, the ideal awards for eCommerce start-ups are the ‘Small Business’ or ‘E-commerce’ national categories.
When do entries open?
May 2023 (open now!)
Telstra Best of Business Awards
Why should you enter?
These awards focus on celebrating Aussie small and medium-sized businesses. There are categories specifically for Women as well as innovation, growth and sustainability.
When do entries open?
Nominations are open now!
Telstra Best of Business Awards
The Stevie® Awards for Women in Business
Why should you enter?
International awards with a list of categories as long as your arm! The women-owned awards caught our eye. Try applying for Company of the Year ;)
When do entries open?
They're open now!
Now that I have a child, I have never felt less productive in my life
Female Founders
May 22, 2023
I once read an article that said that having kids made this person more productive.
Now that I have a child, I have never felt less productive in my life.
Work-wise.
Maybe it’s because the to-do list never actually gets ticked off. Ever.
Or because my brain is firing in all directions, and I feel like I am constantly in a cycle of chaos.
There is no sense of satisfaction in a job well done (only mum guilt).
There is no clear line in the sand between work and being a mother. Which comes first? One simply never ends.
Or maybe it’s because the outside world pushes in on me, telling me to do it all, be everything, show up, and smile.
But if being productive includes using 40% of my own metabolism to feed my baby so they can grow billions of neurons and literally have the strength to crawl and stand and walk—and grow into an amazing little human—then yes, I am incredibly productive.
Lessons from a fellow business owner
Understanding your Google Ads daily budget
Ecommerce Metrics
May 4, 2023
How does Google Ads fit into my marketing strategy?
Are Google Ads one of the main players or just a sidekick in your marketing game? Assess all of your marketing channels and see where paid ads fit in.
What are my competitors spending?
Use a keyword tool like SEMrush or Similar Web to learn how your competitors are investing in Google Ads. Identify their ranking keywords and improve your ad copy with persuasive language to outperform them.
Remember to double-check the spending analysis as it can be inaccurate.
For example, if you’re spending $3,000 but your analysis tool shows $1,000, and your competitor spends $3,000, assume that your competitor may be spending up to $9,000 per month.
How much are the costs-per-click for the keywords I want?
Use Google Ads Planner to find the most relevant keywords that actually have enough people searching for them within the location you want to target.
You can even input your likely conversion rate and average order value to get a sense of your potential return on ad spend (ROAS).
Don’t base your budget solely on keyword costs—it’s not the be-all-end-all. Your target audience, ad copy, landing page design, and overall marketing strategy are just as important to the campaign’s success.
Which KPI matters most?
A KPI is not the same as a campaign objective. KPIs are the metrics, and the campaign objective is the goal.
For example, if your goal is to increase website traffic, you might focus on KPIs such as click-through rates and cost-per-click. But if your goal is to drive sales or leads, you might focus on KPIs such as conversion rates.
Setting your daily budget
Setting a daily budget ensures that you’ll never spend more than you can afford to on the platform. Average daily budget is the average amount that you set for each ad campaign on a per-day basis. It specifies how much you are roughly comfortable spending each day over the course of the month.
A month in Google Ad terms is 30.4 days
So Daily budget = Monthly budget / 30.4
While your daily budget may fluctuate, the campaign’s total spend will never exceed your overall budget.
Create a daily budget for each of your campaigns. Your Google Ads budget depends on your company’s overall marketing budget, as well as the average value of each of your sales.
Use Google’s suggested bids as a guide. For example, if Google suggests a bid of $10 on a keyword for a product that only costs $20, you’d have to convert 50% of the traffic to that page in order to break even.
Calculate cost per conversion
CPC is the percentage of people who converted after clicking each ad.
You’ll want to make sure you get a positive ROI.
For example: a campaign generates an average cost per conversion of $5. If your average sale is worth $20, you’d earn a significant return on investment (ROI). But if your average sale is $5, you’d lose money because of the cost of goods sold.
As you continue to optimise your campaigns, you can remove those keywords that are not generating enough revenue for you; and increase ROI over time.
Once you reach this point, the actual budget itself is less of a determinant because for every dollar you spend, you’ll be getting more back. So the campaign is paying for itself with the sales it generates.
🔥 HOT TIP
Google Ads (especially Search and PerformanceMax campaigns) are best for driving sales conversions.
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