Meet Natasha Sutton, the founder of First Impressions Media which is based on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Natasha started freelancing in 1999 (Before SEO was a thing).
Nearly a decade ago she was fixing technical issues in-store for companies like Apple when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
This caused her to reflect on her professional life and re-evaluate the type of work she wanted to do. She decided to return to a passion she discovered decades ago, web development and e-commerce.
Over the past 20 years, she has developed the knowledge and skills to help businesses connect with their customers and increase sales.
For more details visit their website here.
Here we sit down with Natasha, to learn a bit more about her journey as an entrepreneur.
Q. Tell us a little more about your journey as an entrepreneur – how did you get started? What inspired you?
Natasha: Just before the year 2000 I started building websites, and it was something I really enjoyed. It allowed me to be creative with the technology side also. The world didn’t know what was going to happen with Y2K (the millennium bug) so I thought technology would be a great industry to be in. I knew it was going to be a huge part of the world’s everyday life. I was performing SEO (Search Engine Optimization) before Google was around.
I love working with and serving people and that’s what I do every day. I help businesses grow and it makes my heart so happy when I see success.
Q. What’s one thing in your routine that you do consistently that has made a huge difference in your personal or business life?
Natasha: Each day I meditate on what I am grateful for in life. It may sound cliché but it’s something that I do routinely and it keeps me grounded and happy.
Q. Who are your mentors and inspiration? and what knowledge or insight did they give to you that was valuable?
Natasha: Jamie Kern Lima the co-founder of IT Cosmetics. Jamie taught me never to give up and that anything is possible. I have been through breast cancer and still have a thriving business. I believe in what Jamie says.
Q. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Natasha: A new client approached me for my SEO services when she was starting her activewear company. I mentored her with her social media and TikTok account, showing her to record and share everything from starting the business to launching it.
Her launch was a huge success and we have together grown her business from the weekend markets to a warehouse with a team of 12 and $500k in quarterly sales.
Q. How do you market your business, and which tactics have been most successful?
Natasha: To be honest I don’t market my business. I have been fortunate enough to have enough business to grow by word of mouth and referrals from some of the biggest and most respected agencies in Australia.
I am also a member of some online communities and often give advice there. This leads people to trust me and work with me, they then pass my information on to their business colleagues.
Q. What have been your biggest failures or challenges?
Natasha: It would have to be my battle with Breast Cancer. The treatment left me so physically tired that when I was working on a technical job I would need to lean on a trolley to keep me standing.
It was a really tough time to work and go through cancer treatment. My Mum would have to hold me up physically some days. I don’t know how I did it.
Q. How did this failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?
Natasha: My battle with cancer showed me I knew I needed to stop the physical technical side of my career and work from an office environment with marketing and web design.
This way I could work my own hours and if I needed to rest I could. This was a scary jump, moving from being an employee who gets paid for working my hours whether the company was doing well or not to being solely reliant on myself for my own success.
But ultimately it’s an extremely rewarding way to make a living, and I’m so grateful that I bet on myself to succeed.
Q. If someone was to create a TV show about you, what would it be about and what would it be called?
Natasha: I’m writing a book and I am yet to name it so maybe this will help me think of a name. “The Sisterhood” – It’s a true story about an amazing group of women that lift each other up. There’s no competition, there is enough to go around for us all.
We champion each other and always have each other’s backs.
To keep up to date with Natasha and her journey, connect with her on Instagram.
