October 7, 2024 • 27 mins
What if you could launch a thriving nature play business without breaking the bank? Most of you listening are nature loving hands-on type people. So when you’re thinking about starting a Nature Play business of your own, you might feel really confident in the Nature Play side of things but terrified of the day-to-day running of business. The other thing that worries people is the cost of start-up. So in this episode, we thought we’d tackle these two problems in one hit and give you a list of free, easy to use software programs to get you started on your Wild Business journey.
Ever wondered how to bring the magic of 'Nature Play' into your child's education? Or how to say goodbye to your worries about snakes and ticks? With Nature Play Now, crafting an epic outdoor program is easier than you think. You’ll boost your confidence, skill sets, and have parents eager to enrol. Join the adventure for just $57, exclusively for Raising Wildlings listeners. Visit our Raising Wildlings website for more details today!"
www.r Hey it’s Nicki here interrupting this episode to quickly say, if you’re like us and feeling torn between your career as an educator vs. your beliefs for child development, We’ve created a 5 step e-guide to unlock your purpose without compromising your values. This Treasure Map is completely free, takes ten minutes, and is available from our Raising Wildlings website. So dive in and s If you enjoyed this episode of Raising Wildlings. We invite you to check out Your Wild Business, our signature business course for education change-makers who are ready to create or refine their own nature play businesses. Your Wild Business is the only program that focuses on the business side of nature play, with sustainable practices, processes, and systems that will cut down your administration work, giving you more time to focus on building a business that is centered around your e Other ways we can help you:
1. Ready to create your own Nature Play business? Head to www.raisingwildlings.com.au/wildbusiness to access the roadmap to starting your business journey.
2. Keen to find your purpose in 10 minutes? Download our FREE treasure map to find your passion without compromising your educational values.
3. Want to know how to craft an epic outdoor program that has parents and directors lining up to enrol? You need Nature Play Now our $57 Workshop and Bundle series (people are saying this is a steal!)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Most of you listening are nature-loving, hands-on
type people, which is why welove you.
So when you're thinking aboutstarting a nature play business
of your own, you might feelreally confident in the nature
play side of things, butterrified of the day-to-day
running a business.
The other thing that worriespeople is the cost of startup.
So today we thought we'd tacklethese two problems in one hit
and give you a list of free,easy-to-use software programs to
(00:23):
get you started on your wildbusiness journey.
We like to acknowledge thetraditional custodians of the
land on which we record todaythe Kabi, Kabi and Gubbi Gubbi
people.
We recognise their continuedconnection to the land and
waters of this beautiful place.
We recognise Aboriginal peopleas the original custodians of
(00:43):
this land and acknowledge thatthey have never ceded
sovereignty.
We respect all Gubbi Gubbielders, ancestors and emerging
elders and all First Nationspeople listening today.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Welcome to Raising Wildlings, a podcast about
parenting, alternative educationand stepping into the
wilderness, however that lookswith your family.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Each week, we'll be interviewing experts that truly
inspire us to answer yourparenting and education
questions.
We'll also be sharing storiesfrom some incredible families
that took the leap and aretaking the road less travelled.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
We're your hosts.
Vicki and Nikki from WildlingsForest School, pop in your
headphones, settle in and joinus on this next adventure.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Hello, and welcome to the Raising Wildlings podcast.
We're your hosts, vicki Oliverand Nikki Farrell.
Now, technology, it's the baneof our nature-loving hearts, but
it's also the saviour of ourtime, and it's the best thing
since sliced bread when it comesto marketing.
It's a saviour, it's a timesaver and, as the saying goes,
(01:49):
we can't live with it, we can'tlive without it.
So if you can't beat them, jointhem.
We thought we would at leastgive you some of our experience
and ideas on what kinds oftechnology you can use when
you're getting started, becauseit's sort of hard to run a
business these days without it,if I'm being perfectly honest.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Yeah, absolutely, and there is just a mind-blowing
amount of options available outthere.
I think sometimes Vicky and Italk about this all the time
that I think actually one of thebiggest things, the hardest
things about running a business,is the decision fatigue, and so
sometimes it's really nice forsomeone to go just do this or
use this.
It's great.
So, first of all, ask around,but be aware that you can pay
(02:37):
anything from absolutely nothingto hundreds of dollars a month
and in an ideal world, you'd begifted a huge amount of money
from a generous family member tostart up your dream business.
It's not what happened for us,and I'm sure the reality for
most of us is that we'restarting with zero budget or
with a really limited amount.
(02:57):
So we thought we'd be youragony aunts today and just give
you some idea about some of thesoftware programs you can start
your wild business with when youhave a really limited budget.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
I don't even know where to start.
I think we've got.
The ones that we're talkingabout today are ones that we
believe are actually reallyimportant in allowing you to
generate income for yourbusiness, like it'll actually
ease that burden.
These particular ones thatwe're bringing about are time
(03:31):
savers that don't cost youanything to start up with.
So the first one I thought we'dtalk about is some form of
email direct marketing software.
So you know, the first one thatcomes to mind for most people
is MailChimp.
There's heaps of differentsystems out there.
Mailchimp is probably not a lotof people's favorite.
(03:55):
We still use it.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
And we don't love it.
Let's be honest.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
But that's just because over time you realize
what it is you actually need outof a system and you have to
start somewhere, and sometimesstarting with the free stuff
isn't where you'd like to end up, but it gives you a good idea
of what you don't want in thefuture.
I think that we've learnt thatone the hard way.
It still does exactly what weneed it to do, and a lot of the
times what we don't like aboutit is because we haven't
(04:21):
invested enough time learning itas well.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
So exactly what you said it does all the things you
need it to do.
All the tools are there andactually it works really well.
I just personally don't find itas intuitive as other email
direct marketing tools, andthat's okay, because we have
invested so much time and wehave so many segments and tags
(04:44):
and things organized in there.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
It would be a big job to move them over now which is
how they get you, and I thinkthat that's part of
understanding, or part of havingthese tools is understanding
what you're actually using themfor.
And we could talk all day aboutwhy you absolutely need a
mailing list.
That's not the point of thispodcast today.
But trust us in saying settingsomething up to collect emails
(05:10):
that you can send out to peopleis absolutely key, and MailChimp
offers a free plan.
So I think it's like at thispoint in time, as we are
recording, when you go ontoMailChimp, the free plan offers
you like 500 subscribers, whichis a fair bit when you're
starting up, and once and Iguess the thing to remember is
(05:33):
once if you've got 500subscribers, that must mean that
your business is doing allright, so you know, then you can
have a look at upgrading yourplan to have the functionality
that you might need in that nextstep of your business as well.
So the free plans offer youenough to get you started and
get you used to using them aswell.
I think is the key thing toremember about the programs is,
(05:58):
once you start using them, youstart to realize what it is you
want out of them and spend a bitof time working out how to set
those up.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
I love.
I always keep that number in myhead.
I couldn't even tell you whereI heard that saying from is that
you need a thousand loyalcustomers to run a successful
business because, even thoughthey might not be buying from
you at that particular moment,they're championing you and so
and that's how you keep them hot, as hot leads and loyal
customers is that regularcontact with regular, you know
(06:30):
information or gifts or you knowthings that you're giving those
customers to remind them aboutyou and to feel like you're
nurturing them.
So that's why an EDM is soimportant, and please make sure
all your contacts aren't justkept on social media and please
make sure all your contactsaren't just kept on social media
(06:51):
, yes, um.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
So the next thing that you probably want to invest
some time in um and you'll needsoftware to do this is a, a
website um, which is notprobably necessary in the grand
scheme of things, but if youhave big plans and if you think
about it from a customer'sperspective, most people expect
(07:12):
to be able to find a websitewith information about what
you're doing.
Some people get by just finethrough social media and we know
quite a few really successfulnature play businesses who have
entirely had their businessrunning through Instagram.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
I would love to ask the question about how much time
it takes them up not having abooking system.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Because, though they are successful programs and
running beautiful programs, howmuch time are they spending with
that not being automated?
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Exactly so.
Having a website will save youtime and admin stress, and there
is running a business foryourself.
A particularly service-basedbusiness means that you are
spending a lot of time incustomer relationships, and if
you can shortcut thatinformation by having a website
where people can go to to answertheir own questions, it means
(08:09):
that they're only coming to youwith really pressing things,
rather than questions that youcan have answered on your
website.
So a free website builder likeWix is going to be your best
friend, so it's a builder thatyou can use without having to
pay a monthly or a yearlysubscription to have.
It is something that we wouldhighly recommend you looking
(08:32):
into, even if it was just ahomepage and a couple of landing
pages about your program, or tohost the next bit of software
that we would highly recommend,which is some way for your
customers to book your programs.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
I just want to add with Wix that if you do choose
to go down the free route, it isa subdomain, so it would be
raisingwildlingswixcomau.
So again, just when you'rethinking from a customer journey
point of view, does that lendprofessionalism?
Some people don't care, Somepeople do.
Same.
(09:07):
With the Instagram, you know,if I can only access you on
Instagram, does that feel ahundred percent professional?
Some people don't care at all,Other people might go.
This feels like you know, maybe, maybe not.
You don't know really, youdon't know your market.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
But just a heads up.
Knowing that, like knowing thatyou know at the end of the day
you're making decisions in thebackend based on your
experiences, but having to keepin mind that your customer is
going to have a customer userexperience, and we can drive
people away really quickly bymaking it hard to contact us, to
(09:45):
interact with us, to book withus.
And I know that even as aconsumer myself, and
increasingly now where ourattention spans are not great, I
know that I've even abandonedthings that I wanted to buy
because I've had to go find mycard.
It hasn't been easy to make thetransaction and it might sound
(10:06):
silly, but that is whereconsumers are at and you have to
keep that in mind.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Another quick thing on websites, too, is you can
also use WordPress for free andMailChimp for free, but don't
forget, most websites willrequire you to pay for your
domain name additionally andalso security additionally.
So do look into your packagesreally carefully to see what's
included have a plan, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
So if you're going to start with a free one, have a
look at what they're offering asthe next level, because that's
where you'll need to move intoto progression.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
If you're really serious, that forward planning
could save you in the long run,and I would say WordPress,
unless you're an IT person, isnot an easy way to go, despite
it being free.
You're going to use up so muchof your time learning to code,
so paying a bit more for a dropand go website builder is so
(11:00):
much better worth your time.
All right, let's talk about thebooking systems, because I
think this is one that getsoverlooked, because it's one of
the ones, unless you're runningas a Google form or you're just
doing like the Instagram with abank transfer or Instagram with
a cash payment, people arehesitant to sign up to one,
(11:21):
because it's one of the firstsoftware programs you kind of
have to pay for.
You know, we started reallycheaply with Event Espresso and
there's heaps of ticketbooketing systems, so many apps.
We've used what?
Four, five, I think fourdifferent ticket booking systems
, because what we realized as wegrew was that our needs changed
(11:45):
and most of these systems areset up for one location, one
type of program, like yogaclasses in Maroochydore, easy
Gymnastics for children inBulimba Great, you know, when
we've got multiple locations,multiple age groups, it's
multiple different types ofevents Outgrew a free system
(12:07):
very quickly, very quickly.
So I would say this is one ofthe things I would invest in as
quickly as possible, absolutely.
You can use an Excelspreadsheet, you can use Google
forms, you can just useInstagram messaging in cash, but
be wary of how much time you'resinking into these ways of
booking people in?
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Yeah, because every time you opt for a low-cost
option, it's low cost in termsof money handed over, but it's
costing you in your time.
So at first that is an easytrade to make, because you often
don't have that choice.
If I was going through these,you know things that we're
(12:45):
talking about today.
The first thing I would investin is a ticketing system.
Many of them are actually freeand it's just they take a cut of
each booking, which is a morecost-effective way to begin with
.
But if you are planning ahead,looking at if you were to get a
certain amount of bookings, howmuch that's costing you, as
(13:06):
opposed to just like a monthlysubscription.
The booking system we use atthe moment only costs us $40 a
month and if you break that downto the amount of bookings that
you're like amount of time, likeeven if you spent you know,
depending on what hourly rateyou put on yourself if you were
spending more than two hours ina month dealing with bookings
then paying that subscriptionfee is probably worth it in your
(13:29):
time, because then your timecan be used in other areas of
your business.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Time is money and if you flip that and you're using
the cost per ticket, say we getI don't know.
I'm just pulling a number 500bookings in a month and it's a
percentage per ticket is waymore than $40.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
So you just have to like you know, it's so great
that these options are out there, but just also having a really
good idea of what that actuallymeans longer term for you and
going, okay, this is what I'mgoing to use short term, and
then, once I get to this point,I need to start considering
upgrading my software.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
And also upgrading your software takes time.
It's not that you can't do it,and most of those bigger systems
will help you migrate yourcustomer list over, but it's a
headache and it is stressful.
So I actually think it's $40 amonth and to me that's one
bottom on one seat a month.
It's worth it from the get goright to not have to swap four
(14:28):
times.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
At the end of the day , it's so funny because, yeah,
it's important to find ways tocut costs, but also there's this
payoff, such big payoff, thepayoff.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Because, you hear the journey of business owners and
I can see every person I've metthat started a business has been
like yes, passionate, yes,doing everything, yes, saving
money everywhere.
Oh, burnout, boom.
And it's because we start withthese systems where it's more
time than money and we don'tswitch over quick enough.
So, absolutely, start for free,go nuts, but please switch over
(15:03):
before burnout.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
That's our hot tip have a bit of a plan for it and,
you know, make sure that youput it in your calendar well, so
that you've got time to problemsolve things that might come up
.
But yeah, it is definitely very, very important to have a
booking system in place and thenalso payment software, payment
(15:25):
gateway so, like store options,it is as much as it's annoying
to have to pay a fee to thosepayment processes, it's it will
drive people away Like you'lllose sales you'll lose bums on
seats for not having accessiblepayment options for people.
So having a booking system thatincorporates easy ways for
(15:47):
people to pay may cost yououtright, but you're more likely
to get more income from itbecause you're making your
customer journey so much easier.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Yeah, remember, in general, most of you, most of
your ticket buyers in general,are going to be mothers in
general, booking in bed at 10o'clock at night on their mobile
phone.
So how can you make it as easyas possible for them to purchase
on their phone when they'rehalf asleep?
Speaker 3 (16:12):
That's right.
And then the next part of yourbusiness that you can absolutely
do well and do for free is yourmarketing graphics for your
social media through somethinglike Canva Now if you haven't
used Canva before, it's amazingLike it really is amazing how
(16:35):
quickly and easily you can puttogether things using Can
software.
It's still limited free um, butit will bring the level of
professionalism in yourmarketing and also be
eye-catching um and grabpeople's attention.
Very easy to use, free plan.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Cannot recommend highly enough yeah, we used free
for years in the beginning andwe we pay now because we have a
team on it.
Uh, but we use it for free foryears and we still love it,
absolutely love it.
All right.
Socials what a beast.
I mean.
You've got facebook, instagram,pinterest, linkedin, tikt, but
(17:19):
they're all free until you startadvertising, so we don't have.
I mean, yes, the yellow pagestechnically does still exist,
but I don't know anyone thatactually uses them anymore, so
you have to be on them.
What we wouldn't recommend isbeing on all of them, because
you just can't, you can't, youknow, you just can't be across
all of them.
Well, so, pick the ones you usethe most, that you enjoy, that
(17:42):
you enjoy being on.
You might enjoy, you know,photos or video more, so you
might be on Instagram.
I would say, while TikTok isobviously going gang busters at
the moment, just be aware we'veexperimented with this recently
and while you can go viralpretty quickly and you can get
lots of comments and likesreally quickly, be aware that
(18:06):
it's not as geographicallyrelevant and who you attract are
, as a beast of keyboardwarriors.
I'll list out there.
It is a whole new world maybe.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Maybe we're just showing our age, but it's
important to be thinking aboutwhere your ideal customer is
hanging out.
Yeah, to be making aservice-based purchasing
decision, and it's probably notTikTok.
So investing time in a socialmedia medium where your
customers are not hanging out isnot worth your time.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
No, tiktok seems great for products.
You know, if you've got aforest school nature play
product you want to push somegumboots, go nuts.
That'd be awesome because youcan send them anywhere.
Same with, say, pinterest.
If you've got downloadables oreBooks that you want to sell,
awesome.
Linkedin if you want to get onthe guest speaker route or get
into schools more, go nuts there.
(19:00):
But for your day-to-dayprograms, I would say Instagram.
At the moment, a lot of peoplehave a lot of success with
Facebook.
We've just kind of slowly movedover to Instagram without even
really realizing it as our maindouble post Instagram yeah,
which is, you know, ease.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
Thanks, meta, you've met your ideal customer um, and
finally, when it comes tosoftware, um, I'm going to talk
a little bit about finances,because that's nice, do vicky,
hit us with it so you can usefree software to manage your
accounting.
Now, if you're a very, verysmall business, a spreadsheet is
(19:41):
probably fine.
But what I will say is, if youare looking at growing, if you
are making significant income,if you do have plans to grow
this, is one area you do notwant to neglect and not plan for
, because there are plenty ofpeople that we have been dealing
(20:03):
with who have absolutenightmarish migraines over
converting all of theirinformation into a better system
.
So, spreadsheets, if you'rerunning like a play group a week
just to be able to keep a tabon your expenses and how much
money is coming in, if you'restarting to use things like
(20:25):
booking systems, if you do havemultiple programs and lots of
expenses, then I would startlooking at a proper program to
be keeping an eye on thosethings.
And if you are really deadserious, then I would suggest
moving straight to a paidsubscription straight off the
(20:46):
bat, something like Xero.
They usually offer like asix-month, three-month half
price.
There's some sort of dealalways At the moment, I think
it's like $16 a month, that's $4a week to be running your books
.
It is so easy to use, it's sointuitive.
Your accountant will knowexactly what's going on in there
.
They've got like a practice tabthat you can go in and have a
(21:10):
play around with how it works.
Most things can be undone.
Like if you make a mistake, myaccountant still says to me
don't worry, we can always fixthings if you've made a mistake,
but the headaches you can havewith accounting if you don't do
it right will cost you way morethan you'll save in trying to
tighten your budget around it.
So just take that one very,very seriously and just make
(21:34):
sure you've got really goodrecord keeping at the end of the
day, because yeah, it's all ofthe other stuff can be stressful
when it comes to finances.
The tax department, accountants, what you owe, how much money
Like that is a stress that isbeyond anything else when it
comes to business.
So getting that right is very,very important.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
I think the other thing with things like Xero was
that most business owners areusing it.
So you've probably got a friendthat you could ask if you could
have a sit down, shout them acoffee and can you run me
through your tips and tricks.
So Vicky does I'm dobbing youin here for you to say no, but
Vicky does consults on Xero,particularly for wild businesses
(22:18):
, because there is a bit of aniche within a niche, if that
makes sense.
Um, and also setting up bookioand things like that too,
because you can make them talkto each other, which is amazing.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
Yeah and that's what and I mean that's exactly what
happens when you get, when youhave a plan.
Our booking system is linked upto our accounting system, so
invoices are very easy toreconcile.
Mailchimp is then linked upwith our booking system so that
we've got records of people'semail addresses and everything
(22:52):
is linked up together and thattakes that extra level of time
away and everything's organisedand it took us a really long
time to get on top of that.
If we can help people sort offast track that process by,
really, it's very easy to saywhen you're far into it to
(23:12):
someone who's starting like thisis what we would do.
There's a reason why so manybusiness owners are like I wish
I had insert the thing you know.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Yeah, it's always.
You know, what every businessowner says is I wish I had have
offloaded some things earlier,whether that's to a software,
because essentially software isjust taking over the role of a
human right.
So you're either offloadingthat to a software program time
or you're offloading your timeto a person.
So that's our tip is offload itsooner than you think you're
(23:45):
ready for, because you will savetime and you need to be working
on your business, not in it.
You don't want to be up at 10o'clock every night sorting out
invoices when your you know yourzero could be doing that for
you, or you could be schedulingmail chimps, or you know you
could be your booking systemsautomatically moving your
mailing list over to your edmlist.
(24:06):
So really think about you areonly one person.
You only have a certain amountof time per week.
Some of that is going to bespent on the ground, hopefully
doing the business you wanted tostart exactly.
Think about where you wanted tostart Exactly.
Think about where you want tospend your time.
Would you rather be running anextra program a week or would
you rather be spending one bumon one seat a week,
(24:28):
consolidating that into asoftware program?
Speaker 3 (24:30):
There you have it.
You don't need to start withevery whiz-bang software program
and the cost associated with it.
In fact, many of these we stilluse as our main software
programs associated with it.
In fact, many of these we stilluse as our main software
programs.
So don't use your budget as anexcuse not to start your own
wild business.
You can start with pretty muchall free software and start
upgrading as your business andyour budget grows.
We hope that's helped tame someof those fears around
(24:52):
technology for all of you naturelovers.
So until next time, stay wild.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Stay wild.
Most of you listening are nature-loving, hands-on
type people, which is why welove you.
So when you're thinking aboutstarting a nature play business
of your own, you might feelreally confident in the nature
play side of things, butterrified of the day-to-day
running a business.
The other thing that worriespeople is the cost of startup.
So today we thought we'd tacklethese two problems in one hit
and give you a list of free,easy-to-use software programs to
(00:23):
get you started on your wildbusiness journey.
We like to acknowledge thetraditional custodians of the
land on which we record todaythe Kabi, Kabi and Gubbi Gubbi
people.
We recognise their continuedconnection to the land and
waters of this beautiful place.
We recognise Aboriginal peopleas the original custodians of
(00:43):
this land and acknowledge thatthey have never ceded
sovereignty.
We respect all Gubbi Gubbielders, ancestors and emerging
elders and all First Nationspeople listening today.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Welcome to Raising Wildlings, a podcast about
parenting, alternative educationand stepping into the
wilderness, however that lookswith your family.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Each week, we'll be interviewing experts that truly
inspire us to answer yourparenting and education
questions.
We'll also be sharing storiesfrom some incredible families
that took the leap and aretaking the road less travelled.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
We're your hosts.
Vicki and Nikki from WildlingsForest School, pop in your
headphones, settle in and joinus on this next adventure.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Hello, and welcome to the Raising Wildlings podcast.
We're your hosts, vicki Oliverand Nikki Farrell.
Now, technology, it's the baneof our nature-loving hearts, but
it's also the saviour of ourtime, and it's the best thing
since sliced bread when it comesto marketing.
It's a saviour, it's a timesaver and, as the saying goes,
(01:49):
we can't live with it, we can'tlive without it.
So if you can't beat them, jointhem.
We thought we would at leastgive you some of our experience
and ideas on what kinds oftechnology you can use when
you're getting started, becauseit's sort of hard to run a
business these days without it,if I'm being perfectly honest.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Yeah, absolutely, and there is just a mind-blowing
amount of options available outthere.
I think sometimes Vicky and Italk about this all the time
that I think actually one of thebiggest things, the hardest
things about running a business,is the decision fatigue, and so
sometimes it's really nice forsomeone to go just do this or
use this.
It's great.
So, first of all, ask around,but be aware that you can pay
(02:37):
anything from absolutely nothingto hundreds of dollars a month
and in an ideal world, you'd begifted a huge amount of money
from a generous family member tostart up your dream business.
It's not what happened for us,and I'm sure the reality for
most of us is that we'restarting with zero budget or
with a really limited amount.
(02:57):
So we thought we'd be youragony aunts today and just give
you some idea about some of thesoftware programs you can start
your wild business with when youhave a really limited budget.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
I don't even know where to start.
I think we've got.
The ones that we're talkingabout today are ones that we
believe are actually reallyimportant in allowing you to
generate income for yourbusiness, like it'll actually
ease that burden.
These particular ones thatwe're bringing about are time
(03:31):
savers that don't cost youanything to start up with.
So the first one I thought we'dtalk about is some form of
email direct marketing software.
So you know, the first one thatcomes to mind for most people
is MailChimp.
There's heaps of differentsystems out there.
Mailchimp is probably not a lotof people's favorite.
(03:55):
We still use it.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
And we don't love it.
Let's be honest.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
But that's just because over time you realize
what it is you actually need outof a system and you have to
start somewhere, and sometimesstarting with the free stuff
isn't where you'd like to end up, but it gives you a good idea
of what you don't want in thefuture.
I think that we've learnt thatone the hard way.
It still does exactly what weneed it to do, and a lot of the
times what we don't like aboutit is because we haven't
(04:21):
invested enough time learning itas well.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
So exactly what you said it does all the things you
need it to do.
All the tools are there andactually it works really well.
I just personally don't find itas intuitive as other email
direct marketing tools, andthat's okay, because we have
invested so much time and wehave so many segments and tags
(04:44):
and things organized in there.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
It would be a big job to move them over now which is
how they get you, and I thinkthat that's part of
understanding, or part of havingthese tools is understanding
what you're actually using themfor.
And we could talk all day aboutwhy you absolutely need a
mailing list.
That's not the point of thispodcast today.
But trust us in saying settingsomething up to collect emails
(05:10):
that you can send out to peopleis absolutely key, and MailChimp
offers a free plan.
So I think it's like at thispoint in time, as we are
recording, when you go ontoMailChimp, the free plan offers
you like 500 subscribers, whichis a fair bit when you're
starting up, and once and Iguess the thing to remember is
(05:33):
once if you've got 500subscribers, that must mean that
your business is doing allright, so you know, then you can
have a look at upgrading yourplan to have the functionality
that you might need in that nextstep of your business as well.
So the free plans offer youenough to get you started and
get you used to using them aswell.
I think is the key thing toremember about the programs is,
(05:58):
once you start using them, youstart to realize what it is you
want out of them and spend a bitof time working out how to set
those up.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
I love.
I always keep that number in myhead.
I couldn't even tell you whereI heard that saying from is that
you need a thousand loyalcustomers to run a successful
business because, even thoughthey might not be buying from
you at that particular moment,they're championing you and so
and that's how you keep them hot, as hot leads and loyal
customers is that regularcontact with regular, you know
(06:30):
information or gifts or you knowthings that you're giving those
customers to remind them aboutyou and to feel like you're
nurturing them.
So that's why an EDM is soimportant, and please make sure
all your contacts aren't justkept on social media and please
make sure all your contactsaren't just kept on social media
(06:51):
, yes, um.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
So the next thing that you probably want to invest
some time in um and you'll needsoftware to do this is a, a
website um, which is notprobably necessary in the grand
scheme of things, but if youhave big plans and if you think
about it from a customer'sperspective, most people expect
(07:12):
to be able to find a websitewith information about what
you're doing.
Some people get by just finethrough social media and we know
quite a few really successfulnature play businesses who have
entirely had their businessrunning through Instagram.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
I would love to ask the question about how much time
it takes them up not having abooking system.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Because, though they are successful programs and
running beautiful programs, howmuch time are they spending with
that not being automated?
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Exactly so.
Having a website will save youtime and admin stress, and there
is running a business foryourself.
A particularly service-basedbusiness means that you are
spending a lot of time incustomer relationships, and if
you can shortcut thatinformation by having a website
where people can go to to answertheir own questions, it means
(08:09):
that they're only coming to youwith really pressing things,
rather than questions that youcan have answered on your
website.
So a free website builder likeWix is going to be your best
friend, so it's a builder thatyou can use without having to
pay a monthly or a yearlysubscription to have.
It is something that we wouldhighly recommend you looking
(08:32):
into, even if it was just ahomepage and a couple of landing
pages about your program, or tohost the next bit of software
that we would highly recommend,which is some way for your
customers to book your programs.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
I just want to add with Wix that if you do choose
to go down the free route, it isa subdomain, so it would be
raisingwildlingswixcomau.
So again, just when you'rethinking from a customer journey
point of view, does that lendprofessionalism?
Some people don't care, Somepeople do.
Same.
(09:07):
With the Instagram, you know,if I can only access you on
Instagram, does that feel ahundred percent professional?
Some people don't care at all,Other people might go.
This feels like you know, maybe, maybe not.
You don't know really, youdon't know your market.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
But just a heads up.
Knowing that, like knowing thatyou know at the end of the day
you're making decisions in thebackend based on your
experiences, but having to keepin mind that your customer is
going to have a customer userexperience, and we can drive
people away really quickly bymaking it hard to contact us, to
(09:45):
interact with us, to book withus.
And I know that even as aconsumer myself, and
increasingly now where ourattention spans are not great, I
know that I've even abandonedthings that I wanted to buy
because I've had to go find mycard.
It hasn't been easy to make thetransaction and it might sound
(10:06):
silly, but that is whereconsumers are at and you have to
keep that in mind.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Another quick thing on websites, too, is you can
also use WordPress for free andMailChimp for free, but don't
forget, most websites willrequire you to pay for your
domain name additionally andalso security additionally.
So do look into your packagesreally carefully to see what's
included have a plan, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
So if you're going to start with a free one, have a
look at what they're offering asthe next level, because that's
where you'll need to move intoto progression.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
If you're really serious, that forward planning
could save you in the long run,and I would say WordPress,
unless you're an IT person, isnot an easy way to go, despite
it being free.
You're going to use up so muchof your time learning to code,
so paying a bit more for a dropand go website builder is so
(11:00):
much better worth your time.
All right, let's talk about thebooking systems, because I
think this is one that getsoverlooked, because it's one of
the ones, unless you're runningas a Google form or you're just
doing like the Instagram with abank transfer or Instagram with
a cash payment, people arehesitant to sign up to one,
(11:21):
because it's one of the firstsoftware programs you kind of
have to pay for.
You know, we started reallycheaply with Event Espresso and
there's heaps of ticketbooketing systems, so many apps.
We've used what?
Four, five, I think fourdifferent ticket booking systems
, because what we realized as wegrew was that our needs changed
(11:45):
and most of these systems areset up for one location, one
type of program, like yogaclasses in Maroochydore, easy
Gymnastics for children inBulimba Great, you know, when
we've got multiple locations,multiple age groups, it's
multiple different types ofevents Outgrew a free system
(12:07):
very quickly, very quickly.
So I would say this is one ofthe things I would invest in as
quickly as possible, absolutely.
You can use an Excelspreadsheet, you can use Google
forms, you can just useInstagram messaging in cash, but
be wary of how much time you'resinking into these ways of
booking people in?
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Yeah, because every time you opt for a low-cost
option, it's low cost in termsof money handed over, but it's
costing you in your time.
So at first that is an easytrade to make, because you often
don't have that choice.
If I was going through these,you know things that we're
(12:45):
talking about today.
The first thing I would investin is a ticketing system.
Many of them are actually freeand it's just they take a cut of
each booking, which is a morecost-effective way to begin with
.
But if you are planning ahead,looking at if you were to get a
certain amount of bookings, howmuch that's costing you, as
(13:06):
opposed to just like a monthlysubscription.
The booking system we use atthe moment only costs us $40 a
month and if you break that downto the amount of bookings that
you're like amount of time, likeeven if you spent you know,
depending on what hourly rateyou put on yourself if you were
spending more than two hours ina month dealing with bookings
then paying that subscriptionfee is probably worth it in your
(13:29):
time, because then your timecan be used in other areas of
your business.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Time is money and if you flip that and you're using
the cost per ticket, say we getI don't know.
I'm just pulling a number 500bookings in a month and it's a
percentage per ticket is waymore than $40.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
So you just have to like you know, it's so great
that these options are out there, but just also having a really
good idea of what that actuallymeans longer term for you and
going, okay, this is what I'mgoing to use short term, and
then, once I get to this point,I need to start considering
upgrading my software.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
And also upgrading your software takes time.
It's not that you can't do it,and most of those bigger systems
will help you migrate yourcustomer list over, but it's a
headache and it is stressful.
So I actually think it's $40 amonth and to me that's one
bottom on one seat a month.
It's worth it from the get goright to not have to swap four
(14:28):
times.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
At the end of the day , it's so funny because, yeah,
it's important to find ways tocut costs, but also there's this
payoff, such big payoff, thepayoff.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Because, you hear the journey of business owners and
I can see every person I've metthat started a business has been
like yes, passionate, yes,doing everything, yes, saving
money everywhere.
Oh, burnout, boom.
And it's because we start withthese systems where it's more
time than money and we don'tswitch over quick enough.
So, absolutely, start for free,go nuts, but please switch over
(15:03):
before burnout.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
That's our hot tip have a bit of a plan for it and,
you know, make sure that youput it in your calendar well, so
that you've got time to problemsolve things that might come up
.
But yeah, it is definitely very, very important to have a
booking system in place and thenalso payment software, payment
(15:25):
gateway so, like store options,it is as much as it's annoying
to have to pay a fee to thosepayment processes, it's it will
drive people away Like you'lllose sales you'll lose bums on
seats for not having accessiblepayment options for people.
So having a booking system thatincorporates easy ways for
(15:47):
people to pay may cost yououtright, but you're more likely
to get more income from itbecause you're making your
customer journey so much easier.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Yeah, remember, in general, most of you, most of
your ticket buyers in general,are going to be mothers in
general, booking in bed at 10o'clock at night on their mobile
phone.
So how can you make it as easyas possible for them to purchase
on their phone when they'rehalf asleep?
Speaker 3 (16:12):
That's right.
And then the next part of yourbusiness that you can absolutely
do well and do for free is yourmarketing graphics for your
social media through somethinglike Canva Now if you haven't
used Canva before, it's amazingLike it really is amazing how
(16:35):
quickly and easily you can puttogether things using Can
software.
It's still limited free um, butit will bring the level of
professionalism in yourmarketing and also be
eye-catching um and grabpeople's attention.
Very easy to use, free plan.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Cannot recommend highly enough yeah, we used free
for years in the beginning andwe we pay now because we have a
team on it.
Uh, but we use it for free foryears and we still love it,
absolutely love it.
All right.
Socials what a beast.
I mean.
You've got facebook, instagram,pinterest, linkedin, tikt, but
(17:19):
they're all free until you startadvertising, so we don't have.
I mean, yes, the yellow pagestechnically does still exist,
but I don't know anyone thatactually uses them anymore, so
you have to be on them.
What we wouldn't recommend isbeing on all of them, because
you just can't, you can't, youknow, you just can't be across
all of them.
Well, so, pick the ones you usethe most, that you enjoy, that
(17:42):
you enjoy being on.
You might enjoy, you know,photos or video more, so you
might be on Instagram.
I would say, while TikTok isobviously going gang busters at
the moment, just be aware we'veexperimented with this recently
and while you can go viralpretty quickly and you can get
lots of comments and likesreally quickly, be aware that
(18:06):
it's not as geographicallyrelevant and who you attract are
, as a beast of keyboardwarriors.
I'll list out there.
It is a whole new world maybe.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Maybe we're just showing our age, but it's
important to be thinking aboutwhere your ideal customer is
hanging out.
Yeah, to be making aservice-based purchasing
decision, and it's probably notTikTok.
So investing time in a socialmedia medium where your
customers are not hanging out isnot worth your time.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
No, tiktok seems great for products.
You know, if you've got aforest school nature play
product you want to push somegumboots, go nuts.
That'd be awesome because youcan send them anywhere.
Same with, say, pinterest.
If you've got downloadables oreBooks that you want to sell,
awesome.
Linkedin if you want to get onthe guest speaker route or get
into schools more, go nuts there.
(19:00):
But for your day-to-dayprograms, I would say Instagram.
At the moment, a lot of peoplehave a lot of success with
Facebook.
We've just kind of slowly movedover to Instagram without even
really realizing it as our maindouble post Instagram yeah,
which is, you know, ease.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
Thanks, meta, you've met your ideal customer um, and
finally, when it comes tosoftware, um, I'm going to talk
a little bit about finances,because that's nice, do vicky,
hit us with it so you can usefree software to manage your
accounting.
Now, if you're a very, verysmall business, a spreadsheet is
(19:41):
probably fine.
But what I will say is, if youare looking at growing, if you
are making significant income,if you do have plans to grow
this, is one area you do notwant to neglect and not plan for
, because there are plenty ofpeople that we have been dealing
(20:03):
with who have absolutenightmarish migraines over
converting all of theirinformation into a better system
.
So, spreadsheets, if you'rerunning like a play group a week
just to be able to keep a tabon your expenses and how much
money is coming in, if you'restarting to use things like
(20:25):
booking systems, if you do havemultiple programs and lots of
expenses, then I would startlooking at a proper program to
be keeping an eye on thosethings.
And if you are really deadserious, then I would suggest
moving straight to a paidsubscription straight off the
(20:46):
bat, something like Xero.
They usually offer like asix-month, three-month half
price.
There's some sort of dealalways At the moment, I think
it's like $16 a month, that's $4a week to be running your books
.
It is so easy to use, it's sointuitive.
Your accountant will knowexactly what's going on in there
.
They've got like a practice tabthat you can go in and have a
(21:10):
play around with how it works.
Most things can be undone.
Like if you make a mistake, myaccountant still says to me
don't worry, we can always fixthings if you've made a mistake,
but the headaches you can havewith accounting if you don't do
it right will cost you way morethan you'll save in trying to
tighten your budget around it.
So just take that one very,very seriously and just make
(21:34):
sure you've got really goodrecord keeping at the end of the
day, because yeah, it's all ofthe other stuff can be stressful
when it comes to finances.
The tax department, accountants, what you owe, how much money
Like that is a stress that isbeyond anything else when it
comes to business.
So getting that right is very,very important.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
I think the other thing with things like Xero was
that most business owners areusing it.
So you've probably got a friendthat you could ask if you could
have a sit down, shout them acoffee and can you run me
through your tips and tricks.
So Vicky does I'm dobbing youin here for you to say no, but
Vicky does consults on Xero,particularly for wild businesses
(22:18):
, because there is a bit of aniche within a niche, if that
makes sense.
Um, and also setting up bookioand things like that too,
because you can make them talkto each other, which is amazing.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
Yeah and that's what and I mean that's exactly what
happens when you get, when youhave a plan.
Our booking system is linked upto our accounting system, so
invoices are very easy toreconcile.
Mailchimp is then linked upwith our booking system so that
we've got records of people'semail addresses and everything
(22:52):
is linked up together and thattakes that extra level of time
away and everything's organisedand it took us a really long
time to get on top of that.
If we can help people sort offast track that process by,
really, it's very easy to saywhen you're far into it to
(23:12):
someone who's starting like thisis what we would do.
There's a reason why so manybusiness owners are like I wish
I had insert the thing you know.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Yeah, it's always.
You know, what every businessowner says is I wish I had have
offloaded some things earlier,whether that's to a software,
because essentially software isjust taking over the role of a
human right.
So you're either offloadingthat to a software program time
or you're offloading your timeto a person.
So that's our tip is offload itsooner than you think you're
(23:45):
ready for, because you will savetime and you need to be working
on your business, not in it.
You don't want to be up at 10o'clock every night sorting out
invoices when your you know yourzero could be doing that for
you, or you could be schedulingmail chimps, or you know you
could be your booking systemsautomatically moving your
mailing list over to your edmlist.
(24:06):
So really think about you areonly one person.
You only have a certain amountof time per week.
Some of that is going to bespent on the ground, hopefully
doing the business you wanted tostart exactly.
Think about where you wanted tostart Exactly.
Think about where you want tospend your time.
Would you rather be running anextra program a week or would
you rather be spending one bumon one seat a week,
(24:28):
consolidating that into asoftware program?
Speaker 3 (24:30):
There you have it.
You don't need to start withevery whiz-bang software program
and the cost associated with it.
In fact, many of these we stilluse as our main software
programs associated with it.
In fact, many of these we stilluse as our main software
programs.
So don't use your budget as anexcuse not to start your own
wild business.
You can start with pretty muchall free software and start
upgrading as your business andyour budget grows.
We hope that's helped tame someof those fears around
(24:52):
technology for all of you naturelovers.
So until next time, stay wild.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Stay wild.
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