Mitch Hills is the Founder & CEO of Mastered Marketing, a digital agency that helps service businesses increase their revenue and brand awareness with SEO, paid ads and social media.
For more details, visit their website here.
We sat down with Mitch to learn more about his journey as an entrepreneur, and what he recommends to other people thinking about taking the entrepreneurial route.
Q. What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
Mitch: It’s actually not something I ever set out to do, but I always enjoyed working. In high school I stopped playing school to get an after-school job, and having my own money for the first time was exciting.
It probably started when I tried to figure out how to make the most money possible by working certain hours after work, which days paid the highest, how to make sure I got those shifts and so on. That naturally made me think ‘well how else could I make money? I guess that’s where it began!
Q. How did you get started?
Mitch: I’ve always loved music. I started playing piano when I was 6 years old and have adored it ever since.
When I was in grade 11, a friend of mine at the time (who’s now Young Franco, an amazing DJ and producer haha) showed me a mix he’d made and I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever heard. So I taught myself how to DJ and found it really fun.
Then another friend of mine Nic Marchesi (now the Co-founder of Orange Sky Laundry, an amazing non-profit organisation) had speakers and lights so we teamed up to do a friend’s party. That was a hit, then we started doing more, and then ‘POGO Entertainment’ was formed (which stood for Party Or Get Out, something I still cringe at today haha!).
Eventually, I hired a photographer, then another DJ, then another, and it kept growing. Eventually we were doing parties all over Brisbane like 18ths, 21st, formals, weddings and more. Then we got into nightclubs (having 3 resident DJ spots at age 17 was interesting) and it was all a great time.
As part of that I had to learn more about how business works (like sending invoices, paying people, doing marketing, etc). I remember going to Officeworks and buying ‘Small Business For Dummies’ which was surprisingly helpful.
Q. What was your biggest startup challenge? What steps did you take to overcome it? What did you learn?
Mitch: I really enjoyed the nightclub scene so I sold POGO and focused on being a full-time DJ. I was earning pretty good money and I wanted to step it up a notch to become super successful.
I thought… What do super successful people do? Apps. I’ll do an app!
Unfortunately, I didn’t have any idea what I was actually doing so I jumped a little too quickly into the deep end. Whilst it was a great learning experience, I lost $100,000 of my own money that I’d saved since I was 16, along with a $100,000 loan I had to pay back (quickly!).
The biggest lesson I have is one word — validation.
Figure out if people will pay for your product BEFORE you make an investment. (Or if it’s free, make sure there’s a sound business model behind it, don’t just make something ‘cool’ but ultimately unnecessary.
Q. What is the most memorable thing you’ve done since you started your business?
Mitch: Whilst I’ve had a wild career in DJ’ing (like headlining 29 nights in a row in one of the biggest nightclubs in Southeast Asia at the time), there hasn’t been anything that extraordinary in the business.
I’ve definitely learned most of my critical life lessons through my entrepreneurial journey, but there’s not 1 key moment that sticks out.
I suppose one thing that comes to mind is surviving COVID without having to let a single staff member go. That doesn’t sound that memorable, but it’s something I’m proud of!
Q. What is one book you recommend, and why?
Mitch: As an avid reader this is near impossible to answer because it totally depends! If we’re talking startups I’d recommend “The Mom Test” by Rob Fitzpatrick because it’s a short read and will help you avoid spending time and money creating something nobody wants.
Q. What are your top 3 favourite online apps, tools or resources and what do you love about them?
Mitch:
- Trello — It’s so simple and I can use it for both my personal planning and managing projects. If it’s not on my Trello board it won’t get done.
- Chat GPT — Because it’s ridiculously powerful and the best $20 you can spend anywhere on the planet.
- Google Drive — It has everything in one place like Docs, Sheets and Slides.
Quick shout out to some of my other favs like Slack, Figma, Canva and Squarespace.
Q. In terms of legacy, what is the mark you’d like to leave on the world?
Mitch: To be honest I think legacy is a waste of time to fuss over. We’re not as important as we like to think and 99.9% of us will be forgotten in 2 generations anyway! I say just have fun, be a good person and live a fulfilling life as best you can.
Q. In one sentence, what’s the best advice you’d give to someone just starting out on their entrepreneurial journey?
Mitch: You either win or you learn — you only fail if you quit.To keep up to date with Mitch and his journey, connect with him on LinkedIn.