| Monique Talbert - SheSaid.com.au |
| Articles - Entrepreneurial Inspiration |
 Meet Mon - The Aussie Online Fashion Pioneer...Having been in internet advertising industry since 1995, quite possibly before most of you were even aware of the Internet. Monique Talbert first worked in online advertising before launching her own online advertising business called Tempest Media which we sold to global online media companioning in July 2007. Throughout that time she also owned and ran Shesaid.com.au, her own women online magazine covering lifestyle, entertainment and beauty for busy Australian chicks online. We chat to ‘Mon’ about her online success.. You started in Internet marketing in 1995! That is way before most people here in Australia were really even aware of it. How did you initially start working with the internet and in what type of business? I was bitten by the internet bug in the mid 1990’s when I was working for Reuters and went on to work on the first Yellow Pages website and then moved to Sydney to take up a job as the Sales and Marketing Manager for Ozemail. I job I loved and got great satisfaction from setting up the Ozemail national advertising sales team and working with ad agencies on a national level too. Having worked with the Internet for so long now you would have certainly seen lots of changes online and in the general public's awareness and usage of it. Do you think that Australian's are as "Internet Savvy' as the USA yet or do you think we're still a little behind? I think Aussies are amazingly internet savvy with most of us emailing, chatting, surfing the web and researching most of the products and services we use in our everyday life. The one area the US leaves us for dead in is e-commerce and online shopping. I love the variety of products available on US shopping sites, much more extensive than Aussie ones plus they are brilliant at customer service if you are unhappy with your purchases most have money back guarantees which I love! You are quite the 'Internet Entrepreneur' In 1999 you started your own online advertising business Tempest Media and the women's website Shesaid.com.au. Back then how confident were you in how huge the Internet would be and how much potential your own business had? Look I would love to say Yes I knew back then that Tempest Media would grow to the largest independent, online advertising sales network in Australia with offices in 3 cities and a staff of 25 and millions of dollars in revenue! But realistically I loved online from the beginning and did sit as being a massive part of the media landscape but I had no idea it would take so long to be an “accepted ad medium”, luckily I didn’t realize it would take me over 10 years to reap the rewards of our hard work or I may not have been so enthusiastic in the beginning! Shesaid on the other hand still has a long way to go to fulfil it’s potential but we are working hard at making it THE place for Aussie chicks online. Like a glossy mag online only better!! How did you come up or what inspired you with the concept of SheSaid? I saw a real hole in the market for advertisers to run campaigns online solely aimed at women in Australia online. I also famously predicted many cosmetic brands and grocery brands would come online in the early 90’s and Shesaid was perfectly poised to grab the ad dollars as those advertisers rushed to online. Sadly some of them still haven’t really embraced online but we are helping them with Shesaid every day. Do you still have a lot to do with SheSaid? What is your role in the business? I am the Publisher and Director of Shesaid.com I work very closely (in the same office) with Mel Ironside the super editor of the site, work with all of our advertising partners and attend events to get the Shesaid name out there. Plus I even write the occasional article for the site! I feel like it's been over the past 2 years that we've seen a huge jump in people starting their own online businesses. Do you think it's so saturated now that it's too late for people to start something new and make it successful? No it is never too late for a great idea to get up and running. People just need to be prepared for lots of long hours, little pay, no recognition and lots of fun when they start their own online business. I would never try and dissuade people from doing it but I do think people need to be realistic about how long it will take and how hard it will be to make a really successful and profitable online business. Are there any other online business models or successful online entrepreneurs that you have followed or aspired to? Loads and loads as it is the best thing to motivate me is to see other successful people winning! Are there any mistakes that you've made in business that you can caution others on? Cash flow, cash flow, cash flow! If you can’t manage your money then you should stay where you are.... What are 3 websites you visit regularly? Obviously www.shesaid.com.au Do love a peek at www.facebook.com to see what everyone is up to Commonwealth Bank’s website to keep an eye on my finances And of course www.smh.com.au to keep up with the news and business |
