Toni Perrin is the founder of Kickass Marketing in Cairns, QLD. After Covid-19 border closures ended a 16-year career as a travel agent, Toni went back to her roots in marketing, upskilled, and created Kickass Marketing in November 2020.
After completing Practitioner and Master Practitioner training in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Time Line Therapy (R), and Hypnotherapy, she identified the need for a copywriter that understood what coaches/practitioners in this field actually do and how to translate that to their target audiences.
For more information on services offered, visit their website here.
Here we sit down with Toni, to know a bit more about her journey as a marketer.
Q. What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
Toni: To some degree, I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit – willing to test the unknown and take calculated risks.
What really inspired me to take the leap with my own business was the ability to work it around my life (I’m a single Mum), the idea of uncapped earning potential and the desire to create something unique.
Q. How did you get started?
Toni: Whilst I was still a travel agent, I was a member of a local BNI group. When my world was turned upside down, it was the guidance and support of a couple of amazing fellow members that encouraged me to upskill and pursue my original plan to work in marketing. In all honesty, I jumped in the deep end and learnt how to swim as I went knowing that the relationships I had built in the business community would be my floatation devices!
Q. What was your biggest startup challenge? What steps did you take to overcome it? What did you learn?
Toni: My biggest challenge as a startup was going from being a veteran in my previous career to a novice in my new business. The imposter syndrome was real!
I realised that there were two things that would allow me to ditch that feeling – one was to keep learning at every opportunity and the other was to get stuck in and get some experience under my belt. The more projects I worked on, the more positive feedback I started receiving and that was a huge confidence booster for me. My NLP courses also enabled me to clear out old emotional baggage that wasn’t serving me.
Q. What is the Most Memorable Thing You’ve Done Since you Started your Business?
Toni: I’m not sure this counts as the most memorable thing but it is definitely something I’m very proud of.
Collaboration has been at the core of my philosophy and it’s something I discuss with all of my clients.
By working with other small business owners who offer services that complement my own, I’ve been able to create additional opportunities for those businesses by incorporating their services in my packages and vice versa. It’s a great win-win-win situation for all involved, including the end client.
Q. What is one book you recommend, and why?
Toni: Tim Ferriss’ “4 Hour Work Week” is one I recently read and it resonated with me a lot. Whilst it was written quite some time ago, the basic principles remain the same – it’s about working smarter and working to live rather than living to work!
Q. What are your top 3 favourite online apps, tools, or resources and what do you love about them?
- HighLevel – this is relatively new to the market and it’s receiving rave reviews. It’s an affordable, all-in-one marketing solution that cuts out the need to pay for multiple subscriptions for emails, funnel building, review management, text messaging, CRM, membership/course sites and more! I offer this to my clients to help them start automating their marketing activities and start making money while they sleep!
- Canva – This makes it so easy to keep your marketing materials on brand and can produce fantastic designs for all your digital media. Perfect when you need to whip something up at short notice.
- Answerthepublic.com – A great way to research what people are typing in when they are searching for the solution you provide.
Q. In terms of legacy, what is the mark you’d like to leave on the world?
Toni: I know how incredibly powerful NLP, Time Line Therapy (R), and Hypnotherapy can be in making positive changes in an individual’s life.
I want to create a ripple effect – when coaches and practitioners in this field attract more clients, those clients go on to positively affect others around them and that’s how lasting change starts to happen. One of my clients has the mission of “Assisting the Evolution of Mankind” and I love the idea of being part of that mission.
Q. In one sentence, what’s the best advice you’d give to someone just starting out on their entrepreneurial journey?
Toni: Before you launch, take the time to get super clear on your niche and get to know their problems better than they know themselves.
To keep up to date with Toni and her journey, connect with her on Facebook and LinkedIn.