Mia Vicary made the transition from intern to CEO very quickly. With less than $50 in her account, she fearlessly launched Media In Action solo in 2019. The Central Coast native now owns the M/I/A Group – in addition to the original Media In Action, Mia also runs three other divisions aptly named Marketing In Action, Management In Action, and Moments In Action.
Home to a team of super-skilled staff, multiple multi-national brand accounts, and a stable of exclusively signed influencer celebs, today M/I/A Group is everything the woman after which it was serendipitously named stands for: experience, expertise, and an inimitable energy.
For more details, visit their website here.
Here we sit down with Mia, to know a bit more about her journey as an entrepreneur.
Q. What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
Mia: I’ve absolutely inherited a lot of my work ethic and entrepreneurial skills from my parents. My dad ran small businesses his entire life and my mother worked in magazines at a young age.
It wasn’t until I took on a role in New York City as a Publicist running the account for the largest dog walking company in the globe, Swifto, that I saw my creative side really come to life. I was working across social, digital, and traditional media and events and I knew this was my niche! After returning to Sydney and continuing my career, as a Junior Publicist and Social Media Manager for a boutique PR agency, I realised that my experience and my interests could intersect to offer something truly unique and invaluable for businesses looking for communications services that offered a range of services that could bring their brand to life.
Q. How did you get started?
Mia: Early on, I discovered the brands’ growing need for a complete communications experience. That’s how Media In Action came to be in 2019. We fused the best of digital marketing practices and traditional PR methods. 2 years later, I am now running three other divisions: Marketing In Action, Management In Action, and Moments In Action, all falling under M/I/A Group.
Q. What was your biggest startup challenge? What steps did you take to overcome it? What did you learn?
Mia: Cash flow and a dream team! You always hear people say it but really need to experience it first hand to understand how important those two components are to ensure a business runs successfully.
I hired people that were skilled in areas I wasn’t so we could all complement one another and work as a team.
I also made sure that pre-payments were the key to new clients signing on. Without the cash flow, the business simply can’t run and I learnt that the hard way early on.
Q. What is the Most Memorable Thing You’ve Done Since you Started your Business?
Mia: Career highlights to date include: dancing under the stars with Samantha Jade at the launch of Unapologetically Black (in collaboration with Vogue magazine); raising over $300,000 for cancer within three months for Cancer Council and securing the delivery of millions of dollars in pink diamonds from Perth to Sydney within 48 hours for Crown Group’s A Jewel In The Crown event.
In under 24 months, M/I/A Group had grown from a one-woman show to a team of multi-skilled experts driven by a common commitment to delivering client needs – through the business four-division; Media In Action (social media, branding, PR), Management In Action (managing high-end celebrities and micro-influencers), Making In Action (optimisation strategies) and Moments In Action (event styling and activations).
Q. What is one book you recommend, and why?
Mia: There’s a lot of female energy in my life. I’m a girls girl, so I love In the Company of Women by Grace Bonney. It’s a collection of interviews featuring incredibly diverse women, from how they embraced creativity, overcame diversity, and hit their stride as an entrepreneur. I think it’s important to listen to other people’s stories to be able to grow as a person.
Q. What are your top 3 favourite online apps, tools, or resources and what do you love about them?
Mia: The first two are Instagram and TikTok. It’s interesting how the platforms transformed in all areas from advertising, inspiration, education and it’s not stopping anytime soon. The third one is Later, the social media management app that we use in the office. It’s a weekend and holiday saver.
Q. In terms of legacy, what is the mark you’d like to leave on the world?
Mia: That I lived well. Business as a legacy sounds more concrete, but leaving a mark on the people I’ve met, loved, and laughed with speaks volumes on the kind of life that I lived.
Q. In one sentence, what’s the best advice you’d give to someone just starting out on their entrepreneurial journey?
Mia: Don’t be embarrassed to get excited!
I think clients are drawn to that enthusiasm more so when you apply it to their business and translate it to success.
To keep up to date with Mia and her journey, connect with her on Instagram.
