When Ami Shah's husband was preparing her for life outside India, neither he nor his wife knew she was being pushed to pursue a career that would turn around her fortunes forever and change the lives of a lot of other women out there.
Ami was an accounting major but was never interested in the profession. Instead, she loved writing and worked as a content writing intern with a digital startup agency in India. "That's how I was introduced to the world of digital marketing, and I have never left since then," Ami says.
Ami was in India then while her husband was in Australia and was just trying stuff out. He recognized Ami's creative and writing potential and encouraged her to go into digital marketing, a new concept back then in 2017. She tried it out, and here she is today, running her own successful digital marketing business Marketing Hues.
Established in 2019, Marketing Hues is a growing digital marketing agency that helps brands overcome the struggle of establishing a solid online presence and connecting with their audience while at the same time running a business.
Ami’s Challenges as an Entrepreneur
Like every other entrepreneur, Ami faced many challenges as she navigated the world of entrepreneurship.
First, Ami says time management was a huge challenge. She currently works full-time with five-star hotels in Sydney, Australia, and manages her own business on the side. She, therefore, finds it difficult to manage her time effectively while juggling between her business and two full-time marketing jobs. Her business is growing very fast. "We're getting a lot of leads and clients," Ami says.
Second, Ami had a problem hiring the right person. "It is a time-consuming process, and sometimes it is so frustrating when people don't show up," she explains.
Third, Amir struggled financially sometimes even though she had a fixed income.
Fourth, Amir says she doesn't have her personal life anymore as she combines work with family. The pandemic allowed her to work from home in her full-time job at reduced hours while devoting more time to her business and health. Now, she struggles to readjust as everything goes back to normal. She has a daily schedule. "I wake up early to start my day early. The first thing I do is plan my day out and just put down the things that are really of high priority in my business, and the same goes for my full-time job," Ami adds while making sure her full-time job is never affected.
Ami recognizes that things could sometimes get in the way of her schedule. Hence, she uses time management and productivity software to stay organized and hires the right people to take over some tasks, so she doesn't have to worry about them.
Working with a Team
Amir works with a fully remote team. She is not a micromanager. She trusts her team and offers them a lot of flexibility. "They are very dedicated to their work," she says of her team. She is delighted with her team because they always get work done according to specifications.
Amir has had bad experiences in the past by hiring the wrong person because they say they have specific skills, but they just can't fit in. This, she explains, adds up to her stress because she has a lot of things to take care of as a business owner and as a full-time employee.
Handling Clients
Ami believes clients are very understanding and advises business owners to be open to them. According to her, it has helped her a lot. She lets them know about any delays from her end in meeting up with her own obligations. "I will just be very open and just talk to them, and they will definitely understand at the end of the day. They are also running a business. We are also running a business. So, both are in the same boat," Ami explains.
Hiring Employees
Amir advises fellow female entrepreneurs who are looking to hire to leverage Facebook groups and LinkedIn and post jobs there when they are just starting. She also recommends hiring from one's own networking group. "So, just go in there, just post it, and I'm sure you will definitely find someone from there. That's what happened to me," she advises.
LinkedIn really works, she says, because your connections and other people will see your job posting on your feed once you post it with the right hashtags.
Succeeding as an Entrepreneur
The first is patience. Patience has been Ami's reason for being in business. "Sometimes you think I'm just hitting a wall; I need profit in my business. But, yeah, as I told you, patience is the key here," she tells fellow entrepreneurs.
The second is giving value, offering products that people really want to spend money on.
The third is building connections in the initial stages of a business. She advises fellow female entrepreneurs to never be shy in promoting their business , which nearly ruined her business because she was an introvert.
The fourth is trust. "If you don't talk to them, you don't build connection, you don't build that trust," Ami says, advising others to establish that trust through conversation.
Ami sees business like a rollercoaster. Her marketing business was full of ups and downs when she started it about three years ago. She admits that business takes time to grow and encourages fellow entrepreneurs to always offer value to get there.
As a businessperson, Ami is not after profit-making. She has a stable full-time job which helps her financially.
Ami's Role Models
Ami describes her mom as her biggest inspiration because she always supports her and offers valuable advice from time to time. She started her own business after reading her mom's book "Go Boss."
Her husband has also been very supportive.
She also derives her inspiration from Instagram celebrity Sophia Amoruso, who started an e-commerce business from scratch.
Ami's Digital Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
Ami has the following five digital marketing tips for small businesses:
- Have a business plan.
- Do branding.
- Create a website.
- Choose the right social media platform.
- Post useful tips once in a while, and don't try to sell to your followers.
How Ami Can Help
Ami is on a mission to support and empower other women to realize their full potential. She gives women a 20% discount on all her services and provides free services to nonprofit organizations.
She offers a wide range of services, from branding , social media management, marketing , website content writing, website designing and development, and search engine optimization. She has clients from all over the world.
Plans for the Future
Ami plans to quit her full-time job and focus on her business which is still a side hustle.
She also expects to put an employee program in place to take care of the mental health of her employees for their hard work.
Leave a comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
