Q 1. Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Ans: Tyranny is all about one-on-one website and marketing help. For 11 years Paul has run the company as sole trader; meeting, building, designing and coding every job himself.Tyranny is based in Melbourne however we have clients all over Australia.
Q 2. Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Ans: I started in web design very early, immersing myself into Google/SEO when it all began. This has given me valuable insight into the marketing of websites compared with other older agencies.
Learning skills on the job and a strong work ethic has kept my small business competing with larger businesses for all of this time.
Education and experience click here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulwagstaff?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile
Q 3. What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
Ans: Finding a role that allowed you to design, code and perform marketing was basically unheard of when I started. I had the drive to push off and start my own business so I did.
I knew the main problems of the industry were non transparent pricing, techno babble and slow project roll outs. As a result, these were my main focus when starting the new business.
Q 4. What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Ans: 1. Think of a unique name. There is nothing worse than being another generic forgettable business.
2. Spend a good amount of your budget on your marketing. Most businesses fail within 3 years without a clear marketing plan.
3. Meet with your marketing company. You need to get along and work together for years to come.
Q 5. What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: 1. Allowing yourself time to sit and think. Developing ideas and polishing your concepts is important as it allows you to refine and reflect on your skills.
2. Plan out your marketing strategy in as much detail as possible. Have back up plans and schedules.
3. Meet and greet. The more people you talk to about life and business the more well-rounded your understanding of business and people will be.
Q 6. How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans: Work life balance is very important. Working efficient and quickly is better than the amount of hours you put in.
Q 7. To what do you most attribute your success?
Ans: My work ethic – for many years I worked from home and once I walked into the office I was in business mode. It is important to me to work productively and support my clients in making the best choices for their websites and/or marketing.
Q 8. How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Ans: My most successful marketing strategy is referrals and word of mouth. You almost always land a referral job because someone has done the hard work of selling you already. After this, SEO. It can be a giant funnel sometimes and it requires fine tuning or sifting out the “right” type of clients. However, it’s something that can really grow your business.
Q 9. Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Ans: I started off small and took on smaller jobs. From there I have built my business up to what it is now. People new to the industry will often turn their noses up designing for small businesses or businesses that aren’t glamorous. The more jobs you do and the harder you push yourself, the more you will learn. Then, next time that complicated job will be easy because you now know how to do it.
Q 10. What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans: Put a business plan together. Talking to a business coach can help with this. Also, give yourself general goals, sales wise or even income wise. Never get too focused on failing these goals, instead use them to push yourself that little bit harder the next month.
Q 11. Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Ans: In 10 years’ time Tyranny will employ 5 – 10 staff who will be better able to support a wider range of clients.
Q 12. Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Ans: We admire companies that develop functional design. Many design agencies go for the award winning designs but their sites aren’t user-friendly for their general audiences. There needs to be a balance between style and functionality.
Q 13. How important have good employees been to your success?
Ans: Honestly we have struggled to find well rounded employees. We are always searching for employees that can not only design but also code and on top of that talk to a client without getting technical.
Q 14. How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Ans: Always sleep on it and look at it again with fresh ideas.
Q 15. What motivates you?
Ans: Running a successful business really drives me to keep me on my toes and continually develop my skill set. I want all of my clients to have a positive experience when we work together to create their websites.
Q 16. What are your ideals?
Ans: I thrive on creating high quality work and being reliable for my customers. All too many times I hear of companies who do not deliver their best work to their customers so I believe honesty is the best policy. I am always contactable.
Q 17. How do you generate new ideas?
Ans: I am inspired by other designers’ folios and through searching in my own time. Customers provide new ideas through unique selling points and differing points of view.
Q 18. How do you define success?
Ans: My success is defined by happy customers. If a client walks away happy I know that I have done my job correctly. Positive testimonials and referrals are examples of the influence I have had. My business growth over the past 11 years has also been another example of success. Each year I have provided my services to more customers showing a sustainable growth. This excites me as Tyranny continues to develop.
Q 19. How do you build a successful customer base?
Ans: Happy clients will always be my most successful base. I know that their positive experience with me can lead to further sales so I endeavour to create a meaningful relationship with each of my clients. Marketing provides an outreach service to clients who would have otherwise not been able to access my services. I also believe in the importance of newsletters and keeping in touch with new and current clients.
Q 20. What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Ans: As an entrepreneur I am constantly learning and improving myself. These are most important qualities in my field.
Q 21. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Ans: After the first few years being able to call my business financially successful
Q 22. What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Ans: The major difference is the risk. To go out on your own and be prepared to make mistakes, financially or otherwise, can be scary, however, to be able to be your own boss is very fulfilling. You need to have the passion and drive to make your business work so you need willingness to learn by yourself.
Q 23. In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Ans: Interesting
Q 24. If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Ans: I would invest more heavily, earlier on in my career, in marketing.
Q 25. How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Ans: It sometimes requires more work and longer hours. As a sole trader you need to be willing to sacrifice weekends and long trips away. However, your lifestyle is more flexible and you can make your own hours.
Q 26. What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Ans: My greatest fear is that Tyranny will not grow and gain new clients. I can manage this through constantly improving our marketing and sales pitch.
Q 27. How did you decide on the location for your business?
Ans: It was important for me to be close to Melbourne CBD however not within those confines so that inner suburb clients could easily access my services. Rental costs also determined the location of my office, as the closer to the CBD I got, the more expensive it was and this of course would have to be transferred to my customers. By being, a bit further out I can keep my prices down.
Q 28. Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: Learning on the job, learning by yourself are two of the biggest keys to being successful.
Q 29. If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
Ans: Any great thinker like Aristotle, Einstein or newton. Tycho brahe, he had a crazy life, silver nose and liked to drink.
Q 30. Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Ans: Carl Sagan, his ability communicate complex ideas and terminology is something I aspire too.
Q 31. What book has inspired you the most? (OR what is your favorite book?)
Ans: Stephen kings IT captures childhood very well.
Carl Sagan’s demon haunted world shows you how to think critically and understand our human biases.
Company Details:
Company name : Tyranny Web Design and SEO
Address : Suite 6, 596 North Road
City : Ormond , Melbourne
State : VIC
Zip Code : 3204
Tel No : 1300 502 466
