March 18, 2015

Naomi Stevens, Confidently Social

Professional, Marketing & Admin Services | Shepparton, Victoria, Australia

At a Glance

Naomi owns Confidently Social, providing social media services to women entrepreneurs and consultants. Est 2015.

Bio The path that led her to this point

I started work as an administration assistant for a training and recruitment company, which was the start of my HR career.

I remained in Human Resources for 15 years, before getting into Marketing.

All of my positions were in the corporate/government sector and while the job security and employee benefits were great, I just wasn't getting any satisfaction (like Mick Jagger said!).

My husband and I decided to quit our jobs and head overseas and do volunteer work and live on our savings.

We did this for 8 months, and that's when the idea was born - "Why can't we do this all the time and try and find work or a business that will support us while volunteering part time."

That was my "aha" moment.

I scoured the internet to find a way of using my current skills in an online/virtual capacity.

I found out about virtual assistance, created my business and started offering anything and everything.

That worked out great, and my husband and I were able to do another year volunteering abroad, and working virtually for clients in Australia.

I soon realised that I needed to niche down my services a lot more, and focus on certain clients that I enjoyed working with.

I loved working with women, especially creative women who had creative businesses, and needed some assistance to make their business visions happen in actionable steps.

I found that I loved being on social media on behalf of my clients.

That's when Confidently Social was born.

Confidently Social provides social media services to Women Entrepreneurs, Consultants and Business Owners who know they need to be on social media, but are too busy working on and building their own amazing businesses.

The services I offer include initial set-up, evaluation of your current social media presence, and social media management.

Q&A Insider advice & tips

What's been your greatest achievement to date?

Gaining the confidence to 'give it a go'. Having been an employee, I had no experience in running my own business, but even though doubts would arise as to whether I was doing the right thing, I persevered, pushed through the doubts and it worked.

I'm not saying it will always work, but just give it a go!

What's been your biggest challenge so far?

Marketing and selling my business. I love marketing and selling for other people, but when it comes to my business, I seem to hold back, get self conscious etc.

I view my business as an extension of me, and always worry about what people think of my business. It's my baby and I want everyone to love it!

Best lesson you've learned along the way?

Get a mentor or someone who will be your accountability partner. The city that I live in has great workshops and information sessions for new businesses.

I found a mentor through that service and I've done this in the last month, but I have had huge results just by having someone to report my monthly activities to. It works!

A website, book or resource that has helped you in your business or inspired you and why?

This is going to be vague, but I am a member of some really great Facebook groups. These groups are not public, but are not hard to get into and I find real value in these groups. There will be groups in your industry on Facebook, just search and you will benefit from the experiences of others.

Which person or brand do you most admire and why?

Marie Forleo is both a brand and a person that I admire. She provides so much value in her videos and blogs about marketing online. I like that she is funny, has personality and spunk, and doesn't hide it.

Having personality online is always a plus.

What advice would you give someone starting an independent business in your industry?

Do as much research as you can, stay as up to date as possible as this industry is always changing especially Facebook (we all know how Zuck likes to mess with us!). While doing work for your clients, always schedule time just to read and research the latest news updates etc. Your clients will thank you for it.