Welcome friends, to my first instalment of CHINWAG!!

I have been blogging about my legend clients for a little while now, under the guise of ‘Meet The Maker’ – But I quickly realised that it wasn’t the right description (and is also not original, AT. ALL). So… Exclusive to LLP, this is my brand new series, CHINWAG!

 

And truly? No better people to start off with than my friends Cherie & Cat from The Digital Picnic!

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These ladies are the real deal. They transformed my business a couple of years back, and I have read so many testimonials from their other clients that will say the same thing. They are both Mum’s, who are so honest about the juggle of running a business and family life. Their work ethic is like no other. And they are so damn generous with their knowledge, I know I am not alone when I say they have helped me and my business ENORMOUSLY, and I just…. whole-heartedly love them and what they are all about.

 

So… I caught up with Cherie recently and asked her a few questions. Some are business’y, and some are a little off centre – But I think it will give you a really good insight into the ladies (the legends!) BEHIND the business… TDP!

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1. Let’s start with the deep questions… You are a new addition in a crayon box, which colour would you be?
   Ooooooo, it’d have to be a combination of pastels / mixed with gold, and we’d call it a shiny-pastel’y-UNICORN! 😉
2. Why did you start your business?
   The absolute honest truth? We got sick of being invited out for a $3.80 coffee in exchange for $800+ worth of social media marketing advice. Rather than getting to a really resentful place and feeling like our friends / peers weren’t valuing our #marketingGENIYUSSSS? We decided that it meant there was a demand for the teaching of this knowledge, and so worked really hard for a really long time turning everything that was in our brains? Into TDP workshop curriculum. It was the best feeling having that printed up / bonded up, & subsequently delivered to our workshop attendees for the very first time. We still get butterflies thinking about that very first workshop 🙂
   
   
   
3. What was your biggest business hurdle to overcome?
   There’s been many, but we’d have to say that it’s been launching a business with a perfect stranger, & navigating business ownership as a business partnership. We’ve had to learn a lot about each other, at a really rapid rate, because if we didn’t? We’d have wanted to throttle each other in the tougher times [i.e work overload / working mostly remotely in the first x2 years / BAS / burn-out / etc. etc.]. There have been hurdles, absolutely, … but we’re in a really good place, & x3 years into this caper? We’d have to say we know each other really well, & understand [& more importantly] respect each other’s hugely different communication styles.  If nothing else, that’s been a huge personal development milestone in itself.
4. What is your biggest achievement to date?
   It’s definitely been being hand picked by Lisa Messenger to deliver the Collective Hub’s Melbourne series of Digital Marketing Masterclasses. A genuine pinch-me-is-this-real moment for us both!
5. What is your favourite 90’s jam?
   Definitely House of Pain’s “Jump Around”, … makes you just wanna get high on life.
6. Tell us something that your customers might not know about you.
   Lately? We’ve been asked to undertake so much free work that we can’t help but form the impression our customers might not know this, but … we’re definitely not star-fishing around in our own #cassshhhhhh, lolllll! Jokes aside? Cat – is the very definition of the “quiet achiever”. She’s incredibly intelligent, but also incredibly humble about broadcasting her “wins” etc. online. … so I go and post about them to our socials instead 😉 Me? [Cherie] – I know a lot of people think I’m the more extroverted personality within the TDP business partnership duo, however I’m actually a shy-extrovert, and battle low self-esteem. … I’m working on it 🙂
7. What is your favourite part of running your own business?
   It’d have to be setting goals [both realistic, … and “pie in the sky”], and competing with yourself to reach those goals. We used to say “the flexibility”, but there’s less flexibility in business ownership, than in our former jobs [i.e in the early years? You’re barely paying yourself / can’t take annual leave / sick leave just accumulates to more work when you return, ha!]. We don’t mean that to sound neg., but we think a lot of folks [much like us!] were attracted to business ownership for “the flexibility” that [ahem], … actually doesn’t really exist.
8. What do you think about when you are alone in the car?
   If we’re alone in the car, we’re basking in the quiet of children not screeching in the back seat, ha!
9. What are you excited for?
   We’ve got some huge goals that we’re currently working towards achieving, and whilst it’s currently taking a lot of time / hours worked / full-cray, … we know the end-result will feel so incredibly worthwhile.#watchthisspace
   
   
10. Who are you business idols? Who inspires you?
    Definitely Angela Ceberano from Flourish PR. The woman epitomises everything we’re attracted to from a values-sense, her work ethic is incredible, and she’s just incredibly … real. She’d never know it, but we often have “what would Angela do?” moments in our own business journey, and she inspires us to make better decisions based on what we *think* she might do should she be in our shoes.
11. How would you describe your job to a child?
    “Mummy’s on the computer, darling”, ha!
12. Tell us 5 fun facts about yourself (personal or business)

• We can’t keep TDP office plants alive
• We were perfect strangers when we launched TDP, … & met online 😉
• We’re both left-handed
• Both book-nerds / literature geeks
• Both accidentally manage to #twin with fashion, way.too.regularly!

13. Who should we follow on social media?

@oh.eight.oh.nine if you wanna imagine yourself in the most stylish, crazy-clean home you ever did see.

@arron_crascall if you wanna laugh until you’re crying

@yorkelee_prints for social strategy success, … done authentically, & sometimes hilariously [she can rap like nobody’s biz!]

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So there you have it… Now you know the inner mind of a Social Media guru! If you haven’t already attended one of their many business changing workshops, it’s time to book in (here, if you are keen like… right now!) – The alumni Facebook group is worth the investment on it’s own!

 

These ladies? Know. Their. Stuff.

 

Thanks so much Cherie for taking time out of your RIDIC busy schedule to answer some silly questions!

Big love, Leah
~ xoxo ~