Alex Morris is the Founder of To The Moon Digital, a Sydney-based digital marketing agency helping coaches and consultants find quality leads and clients on social media.
Founded in 2020, Alex and his team have helped coaches all over Australia, the USA, and Europe to expand their impact and client base with targeted social media advertising.
For more details, visit their website here.
Here we sit down with Alex, to know a bit more about his journey as an entrepreneur.
Q. Tell us a little more about your journey as an entrepreneur – how did you get started? What inspired you?
Alex: My dad was always in business, and it always gave me an entrepreneurial tendency…I’m not particularly good at listening to a boss! I started my first business (a cafe and catering company) when I was 22, before using my food knowledge to move into health coaching for about 6 years. This is where I learnt to leverage the internet to grow my business.
When I heard in early 2020 that we’d be having twin daughters, I decided to pivot fully into digital marketing for other coaches, so that I could work from my laptop for a couple of months. Two and a half years later, we’re still here!
Q. What’s one thing in your routine that you do consistently that has made a huge difference in your personal or business life?
Alex: It sounds counterintuitive, but I don’t use my phone or the internet between 8pm and 8am. I spend this time focusing on being with my family, exercising or resting.
As a young coach running a business that relied on social media I spent way too much time obsessing over my followers and not my family. Setting those boundaries makes me a better husband, dad and business owner for sure.
Q. Who are your mentors and inspiration? and what knowledge or insight did they give to you that was valuable?
Alex: I’ve spent a lot of time with a lot of different mentors. Some who inspired me to take big leaps, some who gave me the tangible advice I needed to solve day-t0-day problems. I’m currently in my 2nd year of working with Scott Weddell from the Digital Marketing School, who has personally run an 8-figure marketing agency.
He’s a creative genius but also helps me to work on the systems and logistics around growing a company, which is something that doesn’t come naturally to me.
Q. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Alex: We work with a range of different people with very different levels of experience. It’s always great to see people make a bunch of money for their business, and we’ve definitely seen some clients get a tremendous amount of cash in the bank from the work we’ve done.
But honestly, as a guy who has had a lot of ups and downs in business over the years, when we can help a young coach ‘break through to the point where they can consistently provide for their family and wake up feeling super confident every day… that’s the stuff that gets me excited.
Q. How do you market your business, and which tactics have been most successful?
Alex: For an agency that focuses on paid social media ads, we actually focus a lot on organic marketing strategies. Mostly, we get a lot of content from podcasts. I host a podcast, Coaches to the Moon, every week and interview experts from all over the coaching industry, and I try to be a guest on as many shows as possible.
This is great for me, because I love to talk to interesting people, and it’s been a brilliant and simple way to expand my network and get us in front of lots of amazing business owners who could benefit from the work we do.
Q. What have been your biggest failures or challenges?
Alex: Goodness me. Take your pick!
Over my early years as a health coach, I remember multiple times when I had less than 50 bucks in my bank account. I sold cars, lived in terrible apartments, and took multiple jobs in cafes and restaurants to keep my business going. Clients and sales were inconsistent, and although I had a good following, I could never monetise it the way I wanted to, and it got very stressful more times than I care to remember.
Q. How did this failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?
Alex: When I was a health coach, my biggest problem wasn’t that a lack of work ethic or enthusiasm. It was that my offer was boring and my client acquisition process was basically non-existent.
Everything I did wrong in the early years set me up to learn what does work; having an irresistible offer that your audience wants, a predictable way to bring in clients, and a delivery system that gets results for everybody who works with you. This is what we aim to bring to our clients now at To The Moon Digital.
Q. If someone was to create a TV show about you, what would it be about and what would it be called?
Alex: ‘The Offline E-Preneur’: One Dad’s journey to make a living online, and a life offline.
I think I’m in a situation a lot of people could resonate with…I love the internet and the opportunities it provides us to make money and create a great lifestyle for ourselves and our families. That being said, all my favourite things are very natural, very simple, and a complete departure from artificial intelligence, algorithms and the metaverse. Give me a wood fire, a BBQ and a house on a hill, and I’d be a very happy man indeed.
To keep up to date with Alex and his journey, connect with him on Facebook, and Instagram.
