Shelley Tilbrook is the founder of Fruitful Group, a Melbourne-based agency that provides marketing, branding, and digital services to entrepreneurs startups, and small businesses. Since 2019 the agency has focussed on building blooming brands and developing digital assets to help clients scale while delivering fruitful results.
For more details on Fruitful Group, visit their website here.
Here we sit down with Shelley, to know a bit more about her journey as a marketing and branding expert.
Q. What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
Shelley: I’ve always had the entrepreneur mindset. I love creating things that solve a problem, as well as the actual design and creation process.
Over my 20 years in the industry, I had seen many great ideas not achieve the success they deserve and set about unpacking the fruitful ingredients of a successful business. I wanted to test if my formula to establish a successful business would work across multiple industries.
Q. How did you get started?
Shelley: I had been working as a sports marketing executive in a demanding role. I loved the work, but the work/life balance was not the lifestyle I intended. When my role was made redundant, I took it as a gift to create a business that I could do from anywhere and redesign the lifestyle that I wanted with projects I was passionate about.
I wanted to support businesses that were good for your health, good for the environment, education, charities, and essentially brands that made a positive impact.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, I was empathetic to the millions of people who had their incomes cut overnight and wanted to use my skill set to help others not just start a business, but build one with fruitful foundations that set them up for sustainable success in any environment.
With a passion for technology, storytelling and positively changing lives, I was determined to create a business that supported start-ups and scale-ups that wanted to increase their impact. Helping businesses to thrive with strategic business plans, consistent branding, an evolving digital strategy, superior storytelling, clear messaging, and owned digital platforms to build their audience and attract their ideal customer.
I invested in myself and my business to get things started. At first, there were just a few clients, but that led to referrals and repeat business and before long I had several recurring clients with a steady and predictable flow of project leads coming in. I expanded the team adding a VA and Designer to support the growing need for branding, website design, and content creation projects.
While all of this was building, I was also busy creating the first sub-brand, fruitful faculty to deliver online courses teaching our formulas, and then the second sub-brand, fruitful entrepreneurs, the coaching arm supporting startups.
I look at the progress from the last 12 months and feel very blessed for getting to work with all these wonderful, inspiring entrepreneurs.
Q. What was your biggest startup challenge? What steps did you take to overcome it? What did you learn?
Shelley: I relaunched my original business, Fruitful Group in December 2019 on the eve of the coronavirus pandemic. The closure of the sports and events industries overnight was a massive challenge since I had worked in these industries for the past 15 years.
If I was going to build a business, I would need to attract people that did not know me and had not worked with me previously.
I set about building my digital profile to showcase my expertise and also looked to solve the biggest problems my ideal clients were facing.
This prompted me to help other startups and small businesses scale their business online and support with a pandemic-proof solution.
Ironically, the lesson it taught me, was to implement what I teach others in my own business! It required me to implement my expertise to build my brand with content creation being the biggest lead generator for my business.
The second was the power of a personal brand. It was faster and easier to build a personal brand than a business brand as people want to work with people.
Q. What is the Most Memorable Thing You’ve Done Since you Started your Business?
Shelley: The joy of working with clients who truly appreciate your expertise and the satisfaction of seeing their brands and businesses take off is something I get to experience on a weekly basis.
I choose to work with clients who are making a positive impact whether that be on people’s health, wealth, or environment, so it is hard to pick just one.
The top three memorable moments would be:
- Helping a health charity smash their $300,000 campaign fundraising target which more than tripled their previous year result. When your efforts are helping to save lives, that’s pretty cool too.
- Coaching a client to overcome their limiting beliefs for their startup business and stepping them through that startup journey. I realised what has become second nature to me, is actually a gift I can help others with.
- Developing sporting strategies and using storytelling to onboard the key stakeholders to captivate, connect and convert them. I really enjoy this work as it challenges me to step into the shoes of the audience.
Q. What is one book you recommend, and why?
Shelley: During my entrepreneur journey I have leaned into many successful entrepreneurs sharing their life lessons.
I would recommend all business owners read ‘Start with Why by Simon Sinek.
The purpose behind, why you do what you do is not only powerful for you but helps attract people that resonate and share that same desire – both from a staff point-of-view and customers.
When people align their purpose, power, and passion, they will be forever motivated, fulfilled, and unwavering from their end goal. When you study successful people, you can see they have these things clearly articulated.
Q. What are your top 3 favourite online apps, tools, or resources and what do you love about them?
Shelley: My three favourite and most used apps at the moment (these change)
Canva – While I’m a designer and still use Adobe creative suite on a regular basis, Canva has become a time-saving app where I create a lot of social media content, eBooks, Templates, and Checklist for my own business and clients projects.
FireFox app – great for creating short videos for social media and editing long-form videos for online courses.
Monday.com – for project management and team collaboration. Helps keep projects on track and plan out the action steps required. It just makes things feel organised and can track budgets too.
Q. In terms of legacy, what is the mark you’d like to leave on the world?
Shelley: I would like to help more women become 7-figure entrepreneurs and achieve complete financial independence, freedom and attain the lifestyle they want. Not just to become ‘rich’ but so they can have choices, the ability to support their chosen charity or fund their child’s education without stress. A business that gives them purpose through positively impacting others.
Whether they choose to use our consulting services, online courses, or business coaching, I’ve developed many resources, courses, and formulas like the fruitful foundations for building blooming brands, the powerful persuasive pitch, and the fruitful formula of content marketing to help start-ups and scale-ups succeed.
I would like to see these continue to grow, so we can positively impact more businesses and the founders that created them.
Q. In one sentence, what’s the best advice you’d give to someone just starting out on their entrepreneurial journey?
Shelley: There is one phrase I have followed from a young age.
“Dream. Believe. Create. Succeed.”
It’s literally the formula I have followed to achieve success all throughout my life from sport, to business to lifestyle.
I find many people don’t dream big enough – most are held down by a glass ceiling that they place on themselves.
Those who do, often don’t truly believe that can do it or deserve it – mindset plays a huge role.
Many will not do the hard work or create the plans and actions to move them toward their goal. Work ethic is critical.
But for those that do all three, success is inevitable.
To keep up to date with Shelley and her journey, connect with her on Linkedin and Instagram.
