Ep. #856 - Building Business Momentum With Limited Resources

00:01.80
Andrew Morgans
What’s up hustlers is Andrew again founder of marknology here on startup hustle to cover all things e-commerce amazon entrepreneurship this is a podcast for founders by founders before I make our introduction to today’s episode from a title to to our guest. Want to give a shout out to our sponsor for today’s episode canva canva is where you go to collaborate and create amazing graphic design for free whether it’s a presentation to share an idea a video to launch your business or a social post to start a conversation with canva you can design anything discover the magic of visual communication and how canva helps you create a lasting impact. Today, visit http://canva.com to learn more today’s title is called building business momentum with limited resources and I’m telling you as a bootstrapped entrepreneur and a bootshop founder myself. Um I know a lot about this and I know a lot about making a little go a long way and today’s today’s guest
00:41.98
Silvia Myers
System.
01:54.62
Andrew Morgans
Silvia Myers is going to dig into that with me not only sharing her own story but ways that businesses and how they’re helping businesses through organic ah seo and things like that really make a difference in their business and their growth. Um, Silvia is also an I’ll show you native.
01:37.86
Silvia Myers
So more of.
02:26.50
Andrew Morgans
So we’re going to have fun with canva as our sponsor today Silvia welcome to the show.
01:51.20
Silvia Myers
Thank you so much for having me Andrew I absolutely love canva I have to say like it couldn’t be a better sponsor for our show because yeah I just couldn’t live without Ken I just spent good hour and a half on cameraba before this interview. So.
03:02.66
Andrew Morgans
I Love it I fell in love I hadn’t used the tool that much because I have a team you know and I just don’t do that much of the design or anything and I know it’s a lot of times. Canva can be seen by designers as like this is a starting point to like if you’re not that great. Get really you know, get better and be able to create things. Um.
02:25.98
Silvia Myers
That’s just goes to show like.
02:50.26
Silvia Myers
Yes.
03:38.24
Andrew Morgans
And I saw I listened to her episode on how I built this and I was just like okay I like I like this company I like the founders I like everything about it. So awesome.
03:10.36
Silvia Myers
Yes, yes, so um, you know one of the founders. The co-founders Melanie obviously they’re both australian you know she’s almost like a national hero and definitely in the in the entrepreneurial community in Australia you know we we all look up to Melanie you know. And all of us women want to be like Melanie but you know one of the things that I love about it is that she said um when they started the business. You know the whole idea was like now anybody can design and you know all of us like as in entrepreneurship like you have to wear all of these different hats and I was like. Anybody can design but Silvia you know Silvia is numbers driven. She’s very left brain. She’s very logical. You know systems and processes all this kind of stuff I am not like I’m not good with colors. You know I wasn’t able to like their outfits or nothing like that. So I’m like anybody can design but Silvia. And you know now like so many things have changed but I’m like the chief designer in our business you know because you’re like you’ve got the idea as an entrepreneur and often like it’s so hard to explain it.
06:01.10
Andrew Morgans
I Love that.
05:37.64
Silvia Myers
Right? And and we even had a full-time graphic designer who was using Canva and his like photoshopping all these things and sometimes it was crazy expensive. You know like I had this vision like I had this image in my mind and I was like it’s got to be like this you know like like you know, yeah and.
06:46.66
Andrew Morgans
Design Design design design.
06:15.86
Silvia Myers
And you know once once like no kidding we like paid for one Image. You know one week worth of worth of Time. You know for like a us based person you know mean so it’s not. Like we’re not talking little money here. Ah, and yeah I just feel like really anybody can Design. You know, really anybody can design. So for me that was a yeah that was a game changer you know because sometimes we falsely believe in small business that it’s.
07:34.98
Andrew Morgans
Um, yep.
07:51.60
Andrew Morgans
Um I love it I Love businesses that solve problems like that.
07:32.22
Silvia Myers
That it takes a lot of money to make money and sometimes like um you know we just we just so imitate what all the big brands. Do you know, but big brands is not somebody. We should model because they have like a 45 year head start and.
08:35.56
Andrew Morgans
Right.
08:10.10
Silvia Myers
You know, $5000000000 like that’s not how you’re gonna get your business going.
08:58.10
Andrew Morgans
No, and I mean I could talk about that for this whole hour because as someone has started my business while in debt um bootstrapped and had to just be super creative in order to make this thing come to life. Um, you know I look at. Look at startups that spend a majority of their time. Their their first few years honestly, just building investment right? They’re just like trying to get investments. Oh I can’t do this if I don’t have this I can’t do this if I don’t have this and really what they’ve spent is 2 years building investment now they have to go build their business and you know or they have.
09:22.80
Silvia Myers
Yeah, yeah.
10:08.76
Andrew Morgans
They have too many funds and they know what to do with and you know if you’re not having to learn it. It’s like the calculator can help you if you understand the principles behind the math. You know, kind of thing. Um, so we will. We’ll save that for another day because I want to get into.
09:57.30
Silvia Myers
Shit.
10:40.64
Andrew Morgans
Um I want to get into your story a little bit and we talked about Melanie in canva but let’s talk about Silvia a little bit. Um, so you’re in Mexico now. Ah you know just to briefly for our listeners. They moved her and her husband moved from Australia after the pandemic to Mexico to be um.
10:15.56
Silvia Myers
Did it.
10:33.66
Silvia Myers
Of the.
11:16.36
Andrew Morgans
And more centralized time zone to be able to continue to educate themselves that they can help their clients something that I ah highly admire from from coaches and consultants that are you know, getting paid to help people. Um, you have to stay educated yourself. This stuff is changing. So so so fast and you you get to choose your inputs. Um. But you didn’t start in Mexico you didn’t ah you know you have origins before that and we’re talking about your company traffic ninjas specifically. Um, but let’s start with young Silvia like did you always know you were going to be an entrepreneur or um, you said you’re like logic and logic based kind of thinking like you know when you were. Girl thinking about University Or College like where was your head at at that time.
11:53.50
Silvia Myers
Yeah, good question I definitely never thought I was gonna be an entrepreneur although looking back I was always entrepreneurial. You know, thinking about that I was always like you know my my family had a my family. Was very educated but he had had a very financially simple background. Um, you know I I grew up in Slovakia which at the time was behind the iron curtain and you know the times were changing. You know this is like before the berlin wall fell and you know my mom was like.
13:15.80
Andrew Morgans
Okay.
13:07.96
Silvia Myers
You know so focus on her job and and you know that on his job and you know my parents divorced when I was like 2 years old and so like money was always an issue and money was always an issue and it was also that old school thinking obviously in an economy that had no business.
14:02.14
Andrew Morgans
Um, yeah.
13:43.26
Silvia Myers
There was no business and communism. So nobody even thought of being an entrepreneur because they did not exist. So yeah, exactly just so so I grew up in an environment and but it was like you get education Education Education education and then you get a good job and that’s what it was all about right.
14:32.54
Andrew Morgans
Yep, you’ll get killed or removed. Yeah.
14:22.62
Silvia Myers
But I guess my thinking was always like well you know there was so much pain and suffering in my family and I believed at the time that it was because of money. Although you know now I know that it wasn’t just because of money. But. You know I believed at the time it was because of money so I was always like okay how do I get myself out of this How do I do something differently to essentially elevate myself out of that and you know help out in family or or things like that. Um, and. Then I you know I quickly learned that you essentially have to turn up at places where people don’t expect it to turn up that’s work that was I guess my first entrepreneurial thinking you know because I was like okay I was. You know I was always smart and and driven and hardworking. But I wasn’t like the smartest kid who would get the awards you know and who would get like the you know the scholarships or whatever I wasn’t like that good and so I was like okay I’ve got um. I’m driven but you know my parents don’t have money to like you know after the belin wall fell to like you know, pay for language classes for me or anything like that right? so I was like so I’ve got to find another way and you know without understanding that at the time I now know that already back then. I was a ninja right? And that’s why our our business is called the traffic ninjas because you know when you are a small business. You just got to think underground. You cant like like even remember you know the the teenage ninjas you know the ninja tools like. They have not like come from privileged backgrounds like they came from effing sewage with some certain small superpowers and they were always outnumbered and sometimes we just let this the outnumbering. We just let that to like get to us you know and I and I guess that’s that’s.
18:39.82
Andrew Morgans
Um, yep.
18:33.64
Silvia Myers
What was really entrepreneurial I think for me was the thinking mindset he was like okay you know I’m here right now you know and I want to achieve something big I didn’t know what it was at the time yet. Um and you know you know to achieve something big. You go to. You have to get to a good university but to get to a gu university you had to speak like german and english and you know you have to be like super skilled and I felt the german class I you know I studied for it as much as I could but again I couldn’t afford any of those prior classes. So I fell the german exam. And as I felt the german exam you know and this is like the high school break and I was like oh my god what I’m gonna do like I didn’t get into university you know this is the end of the world I’m just like forever just gonna be nobody. Um, and then I met um then I’m bumped into like an old friend of mine and he was like hey like did you know. That you know the university in Austria has like this thing where you can you know, sign up to study there for free and as a result they might be able to subsidize and like german language classes and I was like. Okay, what’s the catch you know loves like this sounds amazing but what’s the catch right and so the catch was that you had to get yourself to a university in your home country. Whatever that was you had to get yourself into something and.
22:21.92
Andrew Morgans
Transfer.
21:43.48
Silvia Myers
To be able to you know study that to be able to transfer and so I was like okay well what are my options here. What are my options here right? and um, you know it was something I never intended or left studying but it was again like the ninja you know what is what is the field where like. They don’t have any women and they totally want women and they’re just gonna like take you in and so it was um, the field is like I don’t even know how to say it in english but it was like a scientific mathematics. It was like something something that these days is like really cool and so many like cool smart girls. Go there, you know and then all this cool things. But back then it wasn’t cool and I definitely wasn’t talented or skilled enough or whatever but somehow I just got myself in and so with that you know I transferred to Austria where I didn’t have to pay the tuition fee.
23:40.82
Andrew Morgans
Nerds are cool now nerds are cool now.
23:33.80
Silvia Myers
And where they subsidized the language classes. But then I had to also attend all of these mathematic classes in german languages I didn’t understand so you know it wasn’t easy. But anyway you know 6 years fast forward. Um, you know I managed to you know. Transfer into a different fields so you know as I end up studying political science which I really wanted to do at the time and you know it. It was such a great field to study and so applicable to entrepreneur entrepreneurship because it’s all about like taking you information what’s going on and like.
25:27.72
Andrew Morgans
Applying it.
24:49.14
Silvia Myers
And like applying in it analyzing it and then I did another ninja thing and that was like okay Austria suddenly was giving away scholarships to the world and I was like oh my god like this is crazy like I got myself to this foreign land. Which I had no idea about to start with. But now there is like another opportunity and that’s what as entrepreneurs do right? like we just see an opportunity and we just grab it. You know whether you are scared or not like I was so scared. Um, and so I rocked up to this like scholarship interviews. Um I was like okay, what is the what is the what is the niches most underground ninja field that nobody is gonna apply for because that’s essentially what it is right? like what my I’ve got to make my niche so small.
27:08.54
Andrew Morgans
Um, money.
26:41.20
Silvia Myers
That only I’m gonna be able to fit in because otherwise I’ve got competition and once I have competition like it’s game over because I always knew like german wasn’t my first language you know I had just learned a few years ago back then right definitely didn’t have you know.
27:21.74
Andrew Morgans
Um, yeah.
27:14.70
Silvia Myers
Money or some amazing results from the local kit and so I was like okay I found ah university in Australia ah that this scholarship program applied for and of course I chose the most niches thing that actually end up being super super interesting. And that was aboriginal studies. So you know studying the native population of Australia and I got in and it was like oh my god oh my god this is like so crazy. You know.
28:33.18
Andrew Morgans
Um, oh okay.
28:18.74
Silvia Myers
Um, but again because it was so niche and it was in an unsexy town in Australia that nobody like really wanted to go to because everybody was like I want to go to Sydney or Melbourne or Perth you know somewhere by the option. So I went to canberra you know if if you have any australian listeners they are like oh you.
29:32.58
Andrew Morgans
I’m in Kansas I’m in Kansas City so in my country. It’s the same thing.
28:57.54
Silvia Myers
Um, yeah, but anyway I got in and you know and I and they paid for flights and for accommodation and for the tuition fee and I got some pocket money and you know and that was my ticket to my life.
30:12.58
Andrew Morgans
That’s beautiful. Yeah I relate to that on so many levels 1 I am 35 ah so I lived in Moscow 1 year went to belarus things like that it was in early 90 s so I know it was after the wall but it was still ah, very raw.
29:33.40
Silvia Myers
Essentially.
29:52.40
Silvia Myers
Now they roll a.
30:48.30
Andrew Morgans
Very very raw ah things I’m still working through ah in my life just in my mental. You know, just like letting some of those things go that we saw um related there related as being a kid from Africa at 16 that came back and didn’t have opportunities. Um. You know families below average income. Very very below average income opportunities I failed classes in public school I was homeschooled in private school kind of like in Africa but when I came back I was thrown into public school had no credits. Ah, was like you know 2 years from finishing and um had to take these upper level math classes to get credit for the classes beneath them That’s how they were gonna give me credit to graduate in time and so I was taking french 3 for example and it was all written.
31:42.36
Silvia Myers
Um, storage for that.
32:32.84
Andrew Morgans
Well in Africa I was taking tutoring for french because my parents speak french even though we grew up in all these different places. They all speak ingala wahili. They don’t all speak french french right? And ah I knew how to speak french I could kind of talk but I couldn’t write.
32:10.86
Silvia Myers
Life.
33:02.00
Andrew Morgans
Okay, so you know just how it is as a kid you kind of like learn to talk but not right? So I’m taking french 3 trying to write I know more french than the kids there but I can’t really test. Well well what I really learned is I was a lot like you I was like smart I’m smart I’m smart I know I’m smart but I testing wise I did never I never showed smart.
32:22.42
Silvia Myers
He add.
32:48.96
Silvia Myers
For.
33:38.60
Andrew Morgans
So I wasn’t getting the top in the class I wasn’t getting these types of things I was learning like how to survive in Congo kind of skills instead of like studying the textbooks you know and um, it wasn’t until I found ecommerce really that um it was like. I am male I’m white male but I’m also like from no opportunity and like kind of almost like an immigrant in some ways and um so the challenges were there if that makes sense. Ah and it was like ecommerce was the field where. It was niche at the time when I found it and no one was really there and if you were the best or you won you could win you know and that was like even later but I was going to I was in a band playing music in college I I was the first to get educated in my family college education so that was a big deal for me just ah. Accomplish it. You know I was on my own I wanted to get educated outside of religious studies and um so I was going to school for computer science because I saw my friends go to school for business or communication or these things and none of them were getting jobs. So I was like I’m going to find if I’m going to pay all this money to go to the school. While touring and working 3 jobs I’m going to pick a field that like will fit me nerd. You know, kind of thing like I’m just like I’m going to pick this one at least I can get a job like I want I need to be able to get a job you know and so computer science. Let me hear and I won’t go into all of that because a lot of our listeners have heard some of that. But um.
35:31.44
Silvia Myers
Yeah, um, yeah.
36:37.60
Andrew Morgans
Just really related to you know your own story and I try not to say that I’m not I wasn’t the smartest or the brightest anymore because what I really realized is I mean I’m managing I mean I’ve managed hundreds of millions of dollars on Amazon now at this point and so me not being good at math in high school means nothing now.
36:30.64
Silvia Myers
Yes, that.
37:15.10
Andrew Morgans
Right? But it was overwhelming then you know, um and I just was comparing myself to all these other kids and students and but what I did learn because of our path is how to be a ninja you know how to stick out when you don’t have the money to stick out or how to find resources when they’re not there or.
36:43.80
Silvia Myers
Yes.
37:53.62
Andrew Morgans
You just know how to get by because it’s fight or flight you know you’re in fight or flight mode and so because you have to go through that you’re much more prepared I believe for entrepreneurship and you know some of the the troubles and the heartaches and the the things that happen because of that tough journey at the beginning right? so.
37:44.40
Silvia Myers
Um, yes.
38:30.22
Andrew Morgans
Um, I’ve tried to reframe it a little bit because I think I think there’s a lot of probably kids and students like me that are really smart that just haven’t got the right light shined on them or haven’t had the right teachers or you know weren’t in the right system you know the american public school system failed me at least as someone that moved in and I’m sure there’s lots of. Kids that can relate to moving to America and not fitting in at school or not being good at the classes because everyone’s just kind of given the same program and here I am in my opinion leading an industry in the Amazon space as far as there is no one doing it before me and now there’s an industry you know and I’m like how can a kid that was a a failure. In school now be doing something like this so I didn’t mean to take that much time. But um, just between fellow founders between us here like you know I think there’s so many people that can relate to that and I knew you had an accident but I didn’t know where I didn’t know where in the world to place your accent. So I’m glad you shared that with us.
39:20.32
Silvia Myers
A.
39:34.78
Silvia Myers
Yeah, yeah, it’s it’s kind of yeah people kind of guess and typically have a hard time you know finding where it’s from because I took my husband’s name. So um, but you know what it’s it’s also one of the things where taking his name. And leaving mine in behind all was also a big step you know because it’s not just and I and I spoke to somebody at a conference. Um about this last week. Um, and he has a background from ah from the Bahamas his parents. Original birth parentss were from but the Bahamas but he got adopted by a caucasian american family and he was saying that you know just a name sometimes like can completely change your life and how people perceive you and you know when I first. when I when I first started um the business I still had my maid name and my and my name was kmatova you know it’s a very slavic name and whilst I didn’t want to leave my name behind I also realized that unfortunately you know in. In these worlds. We. We do a lot judge just by what person’s name is and you can have an entirely completely different life experience just by changing your name and I’m not saying that That’s what happened you know to me because I was obviously a grown up by then.
43:22.30
Andrew Morgans
But you’re logical and smart enough to know and be aware that that is a thing just just like me being like I speak to it because I am a white male in the Us right? and there’s a lot of press about all of that and those things but not everyone can’t judge a book by its cover right? and I think that.
42:43.24
Silvia Myers
Um, but that it is a factor.
43:11.00
Silvia Myers
Yes.
43:57.36
Andrew Morgans
That’s what I do appreciate about the year Twenty Twenty two and you know where we are is like um you know now eastern europeans are seen as like the brains the wizards behind a lot of e-commerce and like you know ppc and like you know in my space if people are talking about. Oh. Who are you using to help you with advertising or like where are you getting your talent and it’s like Eastern Europe you know and it’s like it’s a positive thing but I remember you know in the past it would have been like oh do you trust that? do you trust that you know, um.
43:54.36
Silvia Myers
Yeah, yes, yeah, and and that’s that’s the thing that it isn’t now there’s a positive thing but you know for your own identity like. I don’t necessarily feel like I’m from there anymore. Do I mean it’s been 22 years Tis I left you know I left like I still have the accent obviously but it’s like I now lived abroad because you know after Aust Australia living Australia and then back in the U K and then it’ll been in Belgium and then back in Australia. So.
45:08.40
Andrew Morgans
Um, yeah, totally.
45:02.84
Silvia Myers
And now obviously we’re in Mexico so I feel like it’s been such a big part of my life that you know having a name that doesn’t sound slavic makes people wondering. Oh you know, but but gives me in a way more freedom in the sense that people. Don’t put me into a box because you know the thing is like you know my accent does not sound russian or it does not necessarily sound. You know super strong polish or you know even I don’t know Hungarian or whatever you know I mean.
46:46.72
Andrew Morgans
No totally I had an accent I actually got tease so much I got rid of it and and that makes me sad but I did I really got bullied so much that I stopped I just got rid of my African accent. You know I wanted to fit in and be left alone. You know and I’m um I’m ashamed of that now. But.
46:26.80
Silvia Myers
That’s crazy. Yeah, yeah.
47:23.18
Andrew Morgans
It’s ah it’s a real thing and I think that I’m very much in the same place as you were I’m 35 I think it was like you know 32 33 where I finally had spent just as much time here as I did like growing up you know and so it’s kind of this difference now. Um, kind of owning that you know for me. But okay, so.
47:03.90
Silvia Myers
Yeah, yes.
48:02.78
Andrew Morgans
Before we go I have some questions I want to move us along but as a reminder today’s episode of startup puzzle is sponsored by canva with canva you can design your ideas with ease get inspired with 500000 free templates in a rich content library that helps you and your team achieve your goals sign up and start designing for free at http://canva.com
47:23.98
Silvia Myers
So.
48:37.62
Andrew Morgans
Silvia Today’s title is building business momentum with limited resources right? and I think we’ve talked about even just in your origin story and me sharing some of mine like what limited resources can look like and you know that can be whether even if you come from opportunity or you come from a affluent family. You can still have limited resources when you’re starting a business of course. Um. So you know I see some people that are like oh I can’t do this I can’t do this I can’t do this and I just I get my eyes light up when I come up with like oh let me help you brainstorm with ways to do this with a small budget cause that just gets me excited I think it’s even more of a challenge. Um you you went to school for aboriginal studies. You’re in Australia. Um. Let’s skip a little bit to where like you know, ah ninjas came into the play right? So where where did where did traffic ninjas kind of get birthed and um, you know this idea of helping people with limited budgets with organic seo really take hold.
49:18.98
Silvia Myers
So yes. Yes.
49:39.52
Silvia Myers
Yes, yes, good question. so so I got myself a great career in Australia and you know they just know so I was doing essentially management consulting few different industries.
50:43.50
Andrew Morgans
Um, you were doing what at that time.
50:18.24
Silvia Myers
Um, you know lots in ecommerce. Um, lots in the digital space as well. But also in lots of boring. Well-paid industries like digital digital marketing in banking. You know that’s. Like incredibly incredibly well-paid. But it’s so incredibly toxic at the same time and so you know I felt that at point in my life like wow I achieved these things that I thought I wanted. You know I am now like wearing the suits and high heels to work and I’m like consulting the ceos and I’m getting paid like few thousands of dollars a day you know? Yeah yeah and I thought it was so important.
52:23.76
Andrew Morgans
That financial thing as a kid that as a girl that you thought was like the most important thing you’d accomplish that? yeah.
52:04.22
Silvia Myers
And and it just was so toxic you know it was toxic and um and also I just felt like I just want to be free. I felt like I thought those finances were gonna give me freedom but actually they didn’t give me freedom because I wasn’t learning anymore. It’s kind of like as a management consultant you take to go from a company to company and create a new solution and you know smoosh the boards and all of these kind of things and you know present the solution and then make sure that they get their bonus and. blah blah blah and so I felt like at some point I wasn’t like a growing myself I was like I’m not learning anymore and you know this is not necessarily fun environment either. It’s extremely competitive so you always kind of have to watch. You know what do you say every single word because it just became so political and I was like. You know what? I just want to be free and how else can I do that and I was like okay so at that point I had quite a lot of experience from ecommerce and from from digital marketing because I was doing all of this. Um. I guess I was advising all of these you know, big companies and I was like well well what if I take that what if I take all of that information that I learned over all all these years and I make it applicable for entrepreneurs for small business owners because i. Could see that there were so many amazing product makers who had talent that I didn’t have you know I didn’t have a talent to come up with a new product concept and then bring it to love to design it. You know lots of our customers or majority of our customers are product makers you know like. They might start with something creative on Etsy and then you know create a overtime you know, full time big business from that but I just could see all of these like product makers who were so talented and they had talents that I didn’t have um. And you know even in in the in the family and my husband said you know his sister is like an amazing product maker and I was like I always found myself like telling them like no, you’ve got to do this. Do it like that you know don’t spend your money there don’t spend your money here you know just turning around. Um. And then I was like well how about I just actually start doing that. How about like I start doing that and so that’s how essentially the traffic ninjas were born. You know it was it came from. You know the perspective that.
57:13.48
Silvia Myers
You know all of this information and consulting that big businesses pay for small Businesses. Cannot pay for yet. They want to model them which they don’t have budgets for So. How do I You know how do I bridge this gap and essentially serve them so that you know the world can. See their products and and you know yeah.
58:33.50
Andrew Morgans
I love that no I’m in a situation right now where I’ve started with like the Amazon industry started with like fba sellers is what they call them or people that are private labeling product makers like trying to you know they were the ones really looking at opportunity. The big brands weren’t paying attention to Amazon.
58:16.44
Silvia Myers
Yeah.
59:11.94
Andrew Morgans
And there’s a certain amount of work that just goes into building a brand and doing it right and running a team and so you know for sustainability in order to keep myself in business and my team in business. We’ve gone up the food chain a bit you know to get higher paying clients and brands that are going to be stable. Um, but my passion my heart is still you know with that bootstrapped.
58:35.30
Silvia Myers
Yeah, yeah.
59:50.72
Andrew Morgans
Ah, small budget mentality. It just takes almost. It takes double the work for the smaller brands almost you know to really to really be successful. Um, you know some of the things we did early in my business was um, had a great rate on ah I went and I have somewhere I’m going with this but like.
59:16.84
Silvia Myers
Yeah.
01:00:20.76
Andrew Morgans
You know with marnology it was I had a great office space location and some extra rooms so I gave 1 room to a video a video content team and and 1 team one room to a graphic designer and I was trading them like very cheap rent in exchange for 10 hours a month or something from them toward my business. You know it was like.
59:54.24
Silvia Myers
Well.
01:00:10.28
Silvia Myers
Wow, That’s great.
01:00:58.94
Andrew Morgans
Okay, it’s kind of like therebnb model or something you know, but it was like okay this is one resource I have how can I help someone else to get help for myself or um, you know it was it was collaborations like that that was like ways to be super Tricky. You know it was ways of um I found photographers that wanted like kind of ah a mission like. Um, you know to help build a brain or to learn and so I had them kind of helping me with social media at the beginning you know, taking someone that’s not ah that has a passion that needs a project really to focus on and saying hey here’s a project and a passion I need help too. Do you want to like you know I had to give up some control but it was ways that I was getting help. Um, getting people to buy into my my mission like before I had you know the dollars to do so and just getting like really creative in those ways those are a couple examples but you know the list goes on and on and on in regards to like how did you get things done. What are some ways I want like I think you know as.
01:02:03.30
Silvia Myers
You know it’s.
01:02:48.20
Andrew Morgans
We have about 10 minutes or so and so I want to give like some practical advice to like young makers like how traffic ninjas. Well one how traffic ninjas works with smaller brands or or makers trying to get going but also.
01:02:12.84
Silvia Myers
Um, yeah, yeah.
01:03:12.14
Andrew Morgans
Um, what are some practical things like how do you work with makers alongside them is it is it just like creating content for them. Is it more so like business strategy. Um, you know like things like Gurilla warfare and marketing like what are the things that traffic ninjas really does and how do you work alongside you know makers.
01:03:04.58
Silvia Myers
Yeah, great question. So essentially um, we’ve created Ah what we call a traffic Ninja system all right? and you know what we found is that lots of product makers and Brand builders who we work with.
01:04:00.66
Andrew Morgans
Okay.
01:03:41.72
Silvia Myers
You know they’re not necessarily numbers Driven. You know analytics is something they have to do. It’s not something that they want to do even marketing is something they have to do is not what they want to do you know they really love creating their product and you know lots of them make them or manufacture them. Um, and then you know over time they start doing that at Scale. And so one of the the biggest things how we work with them is essentially helping them learn as very very simple system. Um, you know it’s literally only just 4 steps. Um and the first step is helping them understand that ideal customer because you know the.
01:05:16.28
Andrew Morgans
Okay.
01:05:00.52
Silvia Myers

More and more and particularly since last years you know since all of the online algorithms changed and privacy privacy restrictions kicked in the really most important part is for for the entrepreneur for the product seller. Or brand builder to understand like who am I actually creating this product for who is my ideal customer because the the algorithm can no longer learn that right like gone are the days when we put hundred bucks on Facebook ads and we could predict with the crystal clarity. How many cells we were going to get out of that.
01:06:24.96
Andrew Morgans
A messaging.
01:06:18.80
Silvia Myers
You know that algorithm doesn’t do that anymore and so as a result it’s kind of like you know when people have limited resources and they start running. Its it’s kind of like fishing in a haystack so you know we’ve got to be really clear to Krista clear to cut through to. To really connect to the ideal customer and unfortunately what happens most of the time I’ll give you an example, we’ve got ah you know an amazing customer in italy and she like sheil like sells this handmaids you know, beautiful letter bags and you know in the past you could just put a handbag. Into a picture and create an ad out of that and you know the algorithm would learn and you would predictably get sales because the picture was beautiful but these days it’s more about just being beautiful because if you just sell a product that becomes a commodity. That’s just a commodity.
01:08:54.78
Andrew Morgans
Where’s the story.
01:08:15.40
Silvia Myers
Um, yeah, what’s the story exactly like there is and and it’s just a commodity is like commodity. Your only essentially point of differentiation becomes price you know and and like. So many brand builders are like oh but we provide great customer service but hang on me customer service and quality of your product. It’s after purchase that’s after purchase right? like that’s how you get repeat business back but connecting to that ideal customer. It’s like as you said Andrew what’s the story. Why you need to buy from me what makes me different and who is that I build customer. You know it’s not women between 18 to 65. It’s like a specific person who has an aspiration and I’ve got to cut through and they have to see themselves in the in the. In the post in the ads. Whatever you’re putting out there in the email and that is the main like the first and main part of the system because you know in the past that just used to work right? You put a beautiful image out. You run the algorithm everything works like clockwork ah, and essentially. What I find is that so many entrepreneurs just want to quickly skip that step. But when you skip it. It can hurt. You know it can really hurt and I’m not saying that again that you’ve got to have it perfect and not move along until it’s perfect because it’s kind of like a work in progress but you just always have to come back to. Who is that customer that’s like the main important thing and once you figured that out, you know the second step is okay at least at least I’ve got a basic understanding of who that customer is so second is like well let me just throw in few hooks. It’s like going fishing right? So like.
01:12:27.20
Andrew Morgans
Um.
01:11:52.98
Silvia Myers
Again, in the past you know we just that a B testing a B testing but a B testing again that you know no longer works I mean unless you’re a big business with like unlimited resources. So you’ve got to just try and um and essentially test few hooks organically. Um. Very simply right? and like quickly you get. Ah you get a response even just by boosting posts by dollar or 2 Um and then eventually when you have that have the library of hooks you can build what we call magnets out of them and these magnets That’s when you. That’s when you switch from pushing marketing to pool because these these magnets essentially attract your your ideal customer which you can then you know build that audience out of and that step forward to build your own audience. That essentially only you feed in that audience right? and then suddenly all of the big brands. Um essentially are not your competition anymore.
01:14:29.66
Andrew Morgans
Yeah I love it. Silvia that was beautifully said um I can’t like I can relate so much even in marthnology like my customers changed from when I started the business to where we are today and I’ve had to change that customer you know profile. Um. Of who I’m talking to is it the-commerce manager is it. The Ceo himself is it the vp of sales is it. You know the marketing director like who am I talking to on the marketology side and then I think what’s helped me is honestly just attempts. You know we’ve worked with 300 plus brands on Amazon now. So. Dialing failing you know, failing on those brands figuring out you know for each product that we’re selling. They have a different customer. They’re trying to reach you know and it can be is it. The professional bartender is it. The amateur bartender. That’s on Amazon you know like who’s there is it like is it your mom is it the mom buying the gift is it the person that’s actually getting the gift that we’re selling to like who are we selling to and you know that’s why I think in content and in movies and in hollywood and you’re seeing redheads in film. You know you’re seeing like Ginger Ginger guys and girls and in videos. Um, you’re seeing. People just like creating ads and videos and content to a lot bigger market than just white. You know, white males and white females like as as traditional beauty goes you know and so they’re trying to find okay, let’s get more my more more minorities in film and more minorities in content and who are you selling to and let’s let’s speak to those people specifically. Gone are the days of you know, a men’s sea Alice which is like erectile dysfunction ad on. Yeah Espn when you’re watching sports and so you’ve got every man and woman and in the us like watching some of these big sporting events and they’re showing an ad to a whole bunch of people. It doesn’t even apply to you know you can’t do that if you’re. If. You’re a small business. Um, you have to be very select with you know where you’re spending that money. Um, and so for me as a bootstrapped business. Um, you know I used to have ah a speech impediment so like much less being on a podcast I had a speech that stutter kind of like you know I would just get so nervous.
01:17:23.12
Silvia Myers
Yeah, exact case.
01:18:30.84
Andrew Morgans
Um, now I speak and I’m on a podcast but it was something that when I was bootstrapped when I was really just thinking about how to grow my business I was like one I want to go to these conferences and learn. Okay I have to have money to get there and then when I’m there I want to get business like I need to grow my business so it was like look. If I can get paid as a speaker to come. They pay my event or they pay my stay and I’m able to speak there and get customers and branding So. It’s like free marketing for me and so but what? ah my challenge was that I need to be able to speak German right in your example? no it wasn’t German for me. It was be able to get in front of people and talk.
01:18:51.46
Silvia Myers
Um, ah yes, yes.
01:19:43.62
Andrew Morgans
About what we do that was my challenge I had to overcome you know, but the goal was on the other side of this is is free marketing for me, you know and I get free education by getting to go to these conferences so that was just a silly example, but 1 where I didn’t have the budget to go buy a big booth.
01:19:33.20
Silvia Myers
Yeah.
01:20:16.46
Andrew Morgans
And set up a big exhibit or pay to be a sponsor at these events so I was like okay I have knowledge let me figure out how to get seen enough to create these magnets right for myself. So just just sharing some examples. But as we round out. Um. Let’s share 1 more tip with our listeners on just like you know what’s one piece of advice. You’d give to to female founders like yourself because I think um, you can speak to a lot of them as a successful female founder. But really honestly to any founders that are um, you know don’t have tons of budget. Um, and are just looking to get started. You know I used to be in networking and security out of college and I was making more money than I ever had and I hated it I hated it so I went to e-commerce and I found something that fit me. Um, but for anyone trying to make that leap maybe from a suit to something that they’re passionate about let’s speak to that specifically that’s a specific thing but. What’s a piece of advice. You give to someone trying to make that leap or thinking about making that leap.
01:21:26.36
Silvia Myers
Thinking about making the leap but somebody who already has product. For example.
01:22:14.54
Andrew Morgans
No someone that’s ah maybe someone that wants to be a maker or someone that wants to work alongside small business or do something like you’ve done with traffic ninjas. Not the maker themselves but the person like the Silvia that founded traffic ninjas that was in a suit you know, doing digital marketing for banking and just not loving her stuff.
01:21:42.22
Silvia Myers
Um, believe. Um, yeah, and yeah.
01:22:52.88
Andrew Morgans
And and now I can definitely tell that you’re passionate about what you do? Um, what was that kind of decision. What was that leap like for you when you decided to hey I’m actually going to go all in on this and and build traffic ninjas.
01:22:32.80
Silvia Myers
Yeah, for me, it was It was really just like I can no longer do this like I I came home and I was like hey babe I did it and my husband who was my boyfriend at the time he’s like you did what and I said I quit is like. You quit. What I said I quit my job and he’s like what what the hell are you gonna do you know? so he was all like panicking I mean he’s happy now because he he quit himself 2 years after me and we run the business together. But you know one of the one like the piece advice I would give is probably just.
01:24:09.34
Andrew Morgans
Um.
01:23:46.48
Silvia Myers
Don’t be afraid you know don’t be afraid just do it because the scenario we always paint that the the worst case scenario we always paint is never as bad as we measure need to be like what’s the worst that could happen.
01:24:51.40
Andrew Morgans
Um, yeah.
01:24:25.58
Silvia Myers
The worst that can happen is that you’re just gonna in the future find another job and that’s you know you are so capable of doing that because if you’re thinking of entrepreneurship then you already are so capable of being you know, employable. In so many other industries we see this like across so many people who we work with right? So Just just go for It. Don’t be afraid and you know the worst case scenario is never as bad as we think it is so yeah.
01:26:08.80
Andrew Morgans
You’re so right? Ah, my mom always tells me go to the worst case scenario go backwards from there. It’s not really that bad and I have a tattoo here. No one can see it that’s listening but it says feel the fear and do it Anyway. So mine says don’t have the fear and do it mine just says you’re gonna have the fear no matter what feel it. But. You know, take the leap anyway because there’s nothing worse than you know, being miserable for the rest of your life. You know, um and you just gotta take a chance. What’s there to lose I do know that like when you put your passion and positive energy behind anything you’re better off than having negative energy behind something Great. You know so.
01:26:33.94
Silvia Myers
Um, yeah, hundred percent
01:27:19.48
Andrew Morgans
Silvia. Thank you so much for sharing I feel like I could just chat your story all day. Um, and once again, a big thank you to today’s episode sponsor canva with canva you can work together from wherever get on the same page as your team with seamless real-time collaboration while we design today explore and start designing for free at http://canva.com I’m gonna have all of Silvia’s um Linkedin Instagram Social Media handles in the notes. So if anyone’s looking to reach out to traffic ninjas. Well 1 you can find our traffic ninjas dot com but also all of her contact information will be at the below of the podcast show notes. So if you guys are looking to get some guidance or some help in getting your business going and really. Um, dialing in your messaging and your customer profile I’m sure Silvia would be happy to chat with you I think I have a couple of projects to reach out to you to Silvia so we’ll connect offline. Um, thanks again, hustlers for tuning in and thanks again Silvia for your time see you next time. Guys.
01:28:20.36
Silvia Myers
Thank you, Andrew.