Team Size
1
Revenue
< $10,000 / month
Location
Singapore
STart Date
< 2 years ago
Today my interviewee is Cheryl Lyg – Founder of 351 Digital Consultancy with BA in Business & Marketing.
She was a pleasure to interview and a personal inspiration of mine. When I founded the Biz Ladies, Cheryl was my first interviewee. She shares her story of how she started a business right after university.
While her university colleagues were excited to start a full-time job, Cheryl has chosen a self-employment path and has founded a Copywriting & Brand Messaging Studio right after graduation. I hope this story will inspire other new grads to start their own business.
INTRODUCTION
PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF AND THE BUSINESS YOU STARTED?
Hi, I’m Cheryl! A Singapore based copywriter and the owner behind 351 Digital Consultancy.
I started 351 Digital Consultancy with a simple mission, to help business owners spread their message online and grow their income.
I work with startups and small businesses to create meaningful and intentional copy across their websites. I truly believe in developing copy for creative businesses that is intentional and authentic.
THE JOURNEY SO FAR
PLEASE DESCRIBE THE PROCESS OF LAUNCHING YOUR BUSINESS.
I had just graduated from university in September 2018, I knew my strengths were in helping others convey their thoughts and messages through words. In my last semester at university, I started coming up with a plan for my business and started to take action to build my business only after graduation.
I got a job interview opportunity at a local bank in Singapore but decided to reject that interview in order to pursue my dream career. I took a huge leap of faith and went for it.
I had hired a business coach for 6 months to help me in nailing my brand strategy and foundation which is essential before starting a business. Understanding your Brand’s purpose. Because if you don’t know your “why”, then how are you going to convey that message to your audience.
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH YOUR BUSINESS NAME “351 DIGITAL”?
351 are the last 3 digits of my home postal code which is where I started my business I did a lot of beta testing and validation prior. Understanding clients’ current situation & helping them through website audits and providing feedback.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT AND YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE ALONG THE WAY?
Biggest Challenge: Gaining Paid clients for the first year.
Biggest Achievement: Growing my Instagram following up to 400 followers after struggling to niche down my audience for the first 10 months in business.
Gaining my first paid clients felt very rewarding. As there had been enquiries coming through but none actually paid the deposit because they were not sure. So when I finally got my first PAID client, I felt that all my hard work had paid off and I was starting to see results.
HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS?
- Through Instagram,
- Organic followers,
- Interacting on Facebook groups,
- Email lists.
WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF THE BUSINESS?
To hit $10K in my income monthly in the next 3 years, consistently and to be able to hire a team member to help me out when my business starts to grow.
RECOMMENDATIONS & FINAL THOUGHTS
PLEASE RECOMMEND ANY RESOURCES AND TOOLS THAT YOU USE TO RUN YOUR BUSINESS.
- Showit – the website builder for photographers and professional creatives,
- Flodesk – Email Marketing solution for creating stunning campaigns for growing business,
- Dubsado – CRM system designed to cut out the busywork (it automates the entire client onboarding and offboarding process including payments, contracts, forms etc),
- G Suite – Email service for businesses,
- Google Drive – Cloud storage,
- Asana (FREE) – Project management tool,
- Planoly – Social media tool for planning and scheduling posts,
- Canva Pro – drag-and-drop tool for content creation and graphics.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE BUSINESS BOOKS, PODCASTS OR BLOGS?
Building a story brand by Donald Miller.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER WOMEN WHO WANT TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS?
Just do it! Because if not now, then when?
Violeta Semenova
Founder
theBizLadies
Welcome to the Biz Ladies interview series!
If you’re new to these series, I interview women entrepreneurs on how they started their business, what was the idea behind it, how they got where they are, the struggles, the reality and more.
By sharing their stories, we want to inspire other women to get started.
If you are interested to share your own story on the Biz Ladies LET ME KNOW!