Emma Lawson is a passionate writer, online article editor and a health enthusiast. In her spare time, she likes to do research and write articles to create awareness regarding healthy lifestyle. She also strives to suggest innovative home remedies that can help you lead a quality and long life. Read our interview with the lovely Emma below…
What motivated and inspired you to start your own business?
I started working when I was very young; and all throughout the years I’ve spent working for people who haven’t been very appreciative, who were rude and very, very ignorant, and I had been planning to – someday – become my own boss. To me, my business isn’t just about the money; it’s about self-respect, self-appreciation and a future that looks brighter than ever.
Tell us about your business.
The business is a magazine based on the collective efforts of my colleagues. We are trying to produce fresh content every day. Everyone on the team has their own spin on the content that they contribute, and the way I see it – we are one little family running something I hope can become an empire. And even if it doesn’t, everything we do, we do with so much love that success is inevitable. Personally, I work very close with my Editor in Chief on finding upbeat, current and trending content. We comb through everything our content writers do and then decide on what’s going to be posted. The chemistry in our firm is amazing – even when we disagree, we always manage to find a joint solution. It’s beautiful, really.
Are you currently running any promos/contests/giveaways that you would like our readers to know about?
Yes, absolutely! We love our devoted readers and followers and we always find ways to give them a little treat, especially now with Christmas time approaching. Right now, we’re giving away little tokens of love in forms of cosmetics, makeup, winter equipment (cute gloves and caps) and we are always looking for new contributors with fresh insights.
List awards/certifications/accomplishments.
We are still very young a magazine to be competing with those who’ve got years of online experience; even though our magazine was a runner up for The Online Journalism Award (OJA), l think it’s best we take things slow. Everything is going to happen when it’s supposed to happen, you know? Plus, as far as I am concerned, the best acknowledgement in the world is the number of followers we’ve got on our social media. I’m very excited to say that the number is gradually growing – almost daily, pushing us into a direction of even greater commitment to the work we do. After all, social media is very relevant in the current business climate, and if we’ve managed to reach such great audience from zero, we’ll manage to do anything!
Where is your business based?
We are currently based in Sydney, Australia. Our offices aren’t too big, but they are cozy and modern, very pleasant and oozing an amazing creative vibe. I think our favorite place is the kitchen where we brainstorm ideas over coffee. Sure, we’ve got the conference room and everything, but somehow – the homey atmosphere of our dark-chocolate painted kitchen feels way more appealing.
What were the first few steps you took to get your business up and running?
Just as every online business, you need to do thorough research of the market before you do anything else. You need to have a target audience you wish to reach and not stray from the main idea. Since all I had was my drive, passion and the idea, I had to hire a professional to do all the business stuff for me. Once I was informed of the best steps to take at the moment I was starting out, I took them. From that moment on, everything has been taking its natural course and I’ve been following that vibe ever since.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness of your business and getting new customers?
Social media, no doubt! While I am a strong believer in WOMM (word of mouth marketing), with so much content around, you simply have to do something to stand out and help people recognize that spark of uniqueness in what you are offering. The hard part of this business is that, no matter how special you think you are, you finally understand you are not. Everyone can do it. Everyone is doing it. And this is where you prove to yourself you are better than average. This is the struggle you simply have to overcome in order to move forward. It’s never easy.
What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Staying current and different and keeping our readers/followers interested in what we have to offer.
How did you overcome these challenges?
I don’t want to sound like a cliché but – team work. I work with some amazing people. Everyone is stubborn and want things their way, but they are all so open and aware of things around them. Of people. Of chances. No matter how many pages we are far from one another, we always meet at the same point. If it weren’t for the mutual respect and openness to one another’s ideas, I don’t think we’d ever make it.
How do you keep motivated through difficult times?
When you love doing something, there’s no giving up. It’s hard, every day is hard. But, love for our magazine is our main driving force and our strength, always.
How do you distinguish yourself from your competitors?
I don’t think myself and my workmates are even thinking about the competition. We’ve managed to establish a voice, we are recognized and people seek for what we’re giving them. A play on competition is important only when we don’t want to be the same in our content as some other pages are. And that’s where the fear for competition begins and ends.
What is the best advice you have received recently?
“Your creativity is bigger than you. Don’t try to tame it. Just let it overpower you”. This was told to me by one of my best friends the other day when I started ranting about having so little time to do all I’ve planned. This made me stop and think for a second, and make a plan.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
Don’t start anything if you plan on quitting the moment things get nasty.
What is your favorite business tool or resource?
Social media. I hate it because it resembles a black hole of information and content but, on the other hand, it’s an amazing platform for that information and content to spread. If you manipulate it well, you are good to go.
What social media outlets do you use? List them below.
Twitter @highstylife
Facebook www.facebook.com/HighStyleLife
Website www.highstylife.com
Email emma@highstylife.com
Hashtags #highstylife #bbloggers #AU
What is a good article or book you have read recently?
I just love reading the Australian edition of Vogue magazine. It’s very informative and useful for our team.
What are you currently learning about for your business or looking for help with?
I’d like to keep that a secret; we are currently working on launching a new project, but to keep things exciting, I’ll stay quiet on it until it’s realized.
What are your goals for the next few months and how are you striving to achieve them?
Again, something I’d like to keep in the firm. All I can say is that it’s going to be absolutely fantastic. Stay with us, and you’ll see.