The Māori Millionaire Podcast - Episode 43 Summary
This week on the Māori Millionaire Podcast, we dive into what it means to create a business in 2023 and strategies I used to boost MM into what it is today.
In 2017, I launched my first business at 14 called "Sussed", a clothing brand designed to bring positivity to the customers day through the fun colours and affirmations printed onto the items. With the assurance of my friends, I saved all my money, and put through the order, but when it finally arrived, I sold four T-shirts (3 to family, 1 to a stranger) and was left with 45 unsold T-shirts.
This contributed to some pretty important lessons I was able learn early on :
Market Research - Is your product/services needed/wanted. Who is your target audience? What makes you different to your com
Making a Business Plan - How are you gonna market your brand? What is niche about your business? What is the vision behind your business?
When doing my own research on understanding my audience, I came across an amazing book written by Simon Sinek called "Start With Why". He presents a model that all successful companies use which says that "the WHY leads to the HOW and WHAT". Using Apple as an example, he explains why they are so successful and surpass all their competitors in popularity.
Apple don't just sell us products - they're selling us a vision.
Apple don't only offer products that feel luxurious, they offer innovation, they challenge the status quo, their products surpass in quality and longevity. All of these qualities are what Apple markets to consumers and we love it.
Some final tips I can leave you with are to
Secure your social media - Social media is amazing at boosting your business and reaching audiences quickly and easily. Securing your handles across all platforms is important as it means your followers can connect with you and your content across all platforms and it also opens you up to new audiences that may only be familiar with one platform.
Visualise your goals - Write out your goals for your business (and yourself) and plan towards it. Embrace the mindset that no goal is too large or to out of reach. Think to yourself, what steps can I take to make this a reality?
and finally - VALUE YOURSELF - be confident in yourself and know your value. Before Māori Millionaire, I had so many goals like becoming a youtube creator, but I didn't follow through with it because I did't know my value and didn't have the mindset that I could do it. Knowing yourself and having the confidence to push through anything is your greatest tool. Like a friend told me, "Doubting yourself is doubting your tīpuna". My Nanny Mei is the most courageous women I know, and I could never imagine doubting her or those before her, so why should I doubt myself??
Finally, I love connecting with the Māori Millionaire community so if you want to discuss business or planning, please reach out to me on Instagram via @maorimillionaire_.
To listen to the full podcast, head over to www.maorimillionaire.com/podcast or search "Māori Millionaire" on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Maori Millionaire is on a mission to empower Maori to become financially independent. Make sure to subscribe to my email list so you won’t miss out.