In this episode, I sit down with the brilliant Charlie Hobbis to uncover what it really takes to grow a successful agency, manage influencer brands ethically, and stay resilient when business throws curveballs.
Charlie shares the behind-the-scenes of scaling her business at lightning speed while staying rooted in her core values of honesty and authenticity. We chat about the pressure of showing up on social media, how to embrace trolls (yes, really), and why your personal brand could be your strongest asset. Whether you’re starting out or scaling up, this episode is packed with candid lessons, big wins, and moments you’ll relate to.
Here are the Highlights:
- (02:45) The role of social media in business growth
- (08:21) Handling trolls
- (15:47) Ethical practices and community building
- (34:32) Building up confidence
- (39:47) Holding on to those core values
Connect with our guest Charlie Hobbis:
Connect with Dawn:
- Instagram @dawnmcgruer @dawnofanewerapodcast
- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dawnamcgruer
- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/businessconsort/
- Web www.dawnmcgruer.com
This podcast is in association with @HerPowerCommunity – The #1 Female Founders Global Community where connections flourish & growth is intentional
Transcription:
Dawn McGruer
Hey, it’s Dawn McGruer, the business growth coach.
And welcome to Dawn of a New Era, the podcast where we talk all things health, wealth and happiness and where founders share the good and bad and ugly of being an entrepreneur.
So welcome to the Island series of Dawn of a New Era podcast. And we have the fabulous Charlie with us today. Now, one of the things that I just want to dive right into is what you do.
Share with us who you are, what you do, and tell us about the amazing work that you’re doing.
Charlie Hobbis
Okay, so I have a marketing agency. There are two sides to our agency.
We work with founders on their personal brand and we also have a roster of influencers which ties in very nicely to kind of the personal brand message. And we manage all of their brand collaborations.
Dawn McGruer
So how long have you been doing this?
Charlie Hobbis
I started the agency at the end of 2022. So two years now.
Dawn McGruer
It’s pretty much how long we’ve known each other now.
Charlie Hobbis
Yeah, it is. We met very early on in the journey, just as I’d stepped out of employment and was going out in the wild west on my own.
Dawn McGruer
So how has life been as an entrepreneur? Because it’s. It’s gone fast. And I know from working with you that this year has been absolutely mega in terms of growth.
So share a little bit about from going to that first stage to where life is now.
Charlie Hobbis
I think looking back over the course of my career, I’ve been in quite varied roles, various different industries. There’s always been an element of marketing in what I’ve done, but it’s not always been the front and center of my roles.
I think there’s always been kind of that natural leadership that I always want to go kind of above and beyond.
And I think speaking to people since I’ve set up and gone out on my own, they always saw it coming, but I didn’t necessarily know that that’s the route that I was going to take. I have genuinely never worked as hard in my whole entire life as I have done the last two years, but it has been the most rewarding two years.
My life couldn’t have changed more dramatically if I tried. It’s been eye opening, it’s been challenging, it’s been freaking scary at times. But yeah, it has been a roller coaster, but amazing.
Every moment has been incredible.
Dawn McGruer
So when you think back to obviously what your desire or what your why or your purpose was, like, what was it that you really wanted from being an entrepreneur?
Charlie Hobbis
I think the biggest thing for me in the roles that I’ve been in the past. There’s always been a niggle or something that I’ve observed and thought I wouldn’t do it that way.
And that was the kind of the biggest driving factor for me. I got to the point where I felt like I’d gone as far as I could in the role that I was in within a marketing agency. I needed a time to change.
And at that point I was probably unknowingly growing my personal brand. So during lockdown, we purchased a house. We bought a new build. It was box white, no personality, no character, I suppose, if you like, to the house.
And I needed a creative outlet to do something. I was working to start with from home in a very corporate job. And I needed that creative outlet and the house became that.
So we started with, you know, documenting what we were doing to the house online. And it was growing. At a very similar point, I moved from working in kind of corporate exhibitions and trade to the marketing agency that I went to.
And I was using it as an experiment basically to try different tactics out to see what would work for my clients. And it snowballed and it grew really quickly from there. That was a real driving force for me.
When I did leave, I thought I would be going to be a full time content creator, monetizing my own platform.
And within eight weeks I was fully booked with clients, I was recruiting staff, and it was a real kind of eye opener for me that because I had put myself out there and told people what I was doing and I was very, you know, forward with my audience about leaving my job and what I was going on to do, I was very fortunate that the work did just come to me and I’ve just had to roll with it then and it’s pushed me beyond my comfort zone. If you’d have told me at the point where I put in my notice and was like, it’s time, I’m ready to do this, that I would be here two years later.
I would never have believed you, but here we are.
Dawn McGruer
So I think with social media, it is one of the biggest topics in so many ways as being an entrepreneur, because it’s the biggest bugbear, let’s be honest. Like I feel as a business owner that I’m in this constant, constant pressure of creating content.
And I’ve had to really step back and think about what content is for me and what my story is that I’m comfortable with sharing. So for me, LinkedIn’s always been my channel of choice. Maxed out at 30,000 connections and then I’ve probably got like another 40,000 followers.
I was comfy with that platform and Then only like 22 months ago I started an Instagram and I’m finally pushing into TikTok. But I’ve, I’ve kind of found my way where I’m going to talk more about my sort of health, wealth and Happiness Hacks on TikTok Instagram.
I feel like I share my entrepreneurial story more and a lot more of my personality. Again, LinkedIn is a weird one you share, but it’s more value driven.
What is your advice to someone in business who knows that social media will absolutely be the catalyst, the biggest thing that they need, but how to make it work for them? Because I think people get frustrated like they post. It’s overwhelming trying to get a strategy like, where do we go?
Charlie Hobbis
I think it’s baby steps and not over complicating it.
If you show up as your true authentic self online and you, you know, talk passionately about whatever your topic is, but you do that in a way that’s true to yourself, your people will find you.
And I think so many, you know, entrepreneurs and businesses that I speak to get stuck in this whole, I’ve got to have a strategy and it’s got to be, it’s got to be planned and it’s got to be considered. And you know, that can’t go next to that post. And actually you can get stuck in that.
This isn’t the right way to do it because not overthinking it, don’t overthink it. Keep it simple.
Be true to yourself and don’t try and change who you are when you’re on online because you see through it very quickly and you become stuck and you want it to attract the right people.
Dawn McGruer
I see this a lot on videos. It does make me laugh. Like when I’ve met someone in real life and then I see them go on and it’s almost like the formalized telephone voice comes on.
What is going on here? So in terms of like the media that is working best, like on LinkedIn, I always find like static is the way forward.
Video just doesn’t seem to fly in the same way.
Charlie Hobbis
I think it’s coming.
Dawn McGruer
I hope it’s coming.
Charlie Hobbis
I think it’s evolving. There’s been an update in the last few weeks with a video tab on LinkedIn now. I know, I think it’s coming.
Dawn McGruer
It’s so needed.
Charlie Hobbis
It is, definitely. And I see LinkedIn as a safe space. You know, the harsh reality with TikTok and Instagram is. There are people out there who will troll.
Dawn McGruer
Oh, my gosh.
Charlie Hobbis
Yeah. As soon as the audience and the reach goes beyond your own audience, you do open yourself up to that. And you’ve got to have thick skin with it.
I think LinkedIn is a great, safe space because it is still very corporate, it’s very formal, it’s primarily a networking platform rather than social media. But I think video will come to LinkedIn.
Dawn McGruer
I remember doing an advert years ago, and I think I was a bit naive to the fact that because it was in. Still in the kind of like, corporate space, it was more in my digital marketing academy. Someone came on and vehemently disliked my lipstick.
And I remember thinking at the time that someone has actually taken conscious time out of their life, out of, you know, whatever they’re doing to tell me they dislike the color of my lipstick. So where do we go with trolls? Because I’ve always said to people, like, embrace it 100%, go with it. You know, don’t delete it necessarily.
I, I just fully have the conversation back because I always see that other people are watching that and they’ll have it, they’ll have their own opinion of what they think.
And I, I think a lot of people respect the fact that you’ve gone on, done the bloody video, put it up on social media, and they’re like, I won’t want to do that. And when someone comes and targets you and attacks you, they’re probably thinking, what a bloody idiot. I mean, how do you manage it?
Charlie Hobbis
I think you have to embrace it. They’re gonna, it’s gonna happen. You can’t escape them. I think that with, you know, the algorithm, it wants comments, it wants conversation.
And if, you know, your content does divide opinion, that’s okay.
Because when you feel strongly about something and when somebody aligns with what you’re doing and they feel passionately about it, that’s where the real connection comes and that engagement builds. And it’s okay that you’re not everyone’s cup of tea. If you’re not, you know, rocking the boat a little bit on social media.
I think you’re missing out on an opportunity, but you’ve got to embrace it. And, you know, you have always got the power to just switch off comments if you need to.
Dawn McGruer
Yeah.
Charlie Hobbis
If it goes beyond what you’re comfortable with and, you know, it’s. It’s starting to bother you and get under your skin, just turn the comments off.
Dawn McGruer
And I think the thing is, is that there’s always going to be people who are triggered. And I talk about growing and scaling.
So money has to come into it because I’m not being funny, there is no business owner that I know who is doing it for the good of the health. Right. We all enjoy the fact that a business to be sustainable and successful has to be profitable.
So I get a lot of people who will comment on, like, I can’t believe she’s talking about this.
And you know, and I talk through the fact that a lot of that actually stems from people’s mindset on money because we’re often told not to talk about money. Money’s a bad word. Or it’s something that we keep secret.
And this kind of brings me on to like, what is your thoughts around sharing the growth of your business? Because it’s one thing, right? And you knew I was going to talk about this.
It’s one thing talking about how fast you’ve scaled because you’ve done amazing things and you know, literally since March to get this in contact, your business has like five times, if not ten times. And to be able to come along the journey with you has been incredible and work with you on this.
But what do you feel in terms of like people sharing monetary growth? Because these are big milestones in our life.
Charlie Hobbis
They are. It’s massive. And I think there’s a way to share it and there’s a way to put that on people.
And you will never see me go out there and shove in someone’s face that we’re doing what we’re doing financially because it doesn’t sit right with me and I’ve been triggered by it in the past and I know how it can be received. I think there’s an element of that you need to show how far you’ve come and you need to mark the milestones.
And we all have our own individual ways of doing that. But you’re not going to see me selling a course saying, this is how you run a seven figure business. I’ll teach you how to do it. Because I’ve done it.
It’s not going to happen.
Dawn McGruer
You’ve got to go with what’s true and authentic to you. But when you reach your own personal milestones, what do you feel in your heart of hearts is is an honest way of sharing it.
Like, you see businesses who will be saying that they’ll put a PR piece out and celebrate the fact that they’ve hit that first milestone. I think that’s congruent and I think that shows that business is growing and scaling.
I Mean, obviously, I work with businesses to do that for a living, and I’ve done it multiple times myself. It’s one of those kind of ick moments where you’re like, I am not keen on this seven, eight, nine figure thing.
But it, people do judge it and people will make, you know, context and judgment around where that person is based on it. So would you feel comfortable sharing pr?
Charlie Hobbis
Yeah. And I think we’re. Our success and our, you know, financial targets. Revenue, it is.
There’s an element of it that’s in our hands, but the way that we work from the influencer side of things with the talent that we work with is 80% of what we earns go back into the talent. So if we are doing seven figures a year, 80% of that goes back into our creators. And that for me, is our angle for talking about our success.
Dawn McGruer
Absolute truth. Yeah.
And I think this is a big part because when I talk about numbers, it’s not necessarily the financial numbers, it’s more around the profit and, like the growth of the business and what that actually means.
So it’s almost like money is the vanity metric where it’s like, we have to be, you know, profitable to be sustainable and successful and to be scaling. But what does that do? So share with me then with the talent agency, the uniqueness there, because there’s lots of agencies out there.
What’s your point of parity?
Charlie Hobbis
I think for us, it’s that I have been a creator, I have struggled, I’ve been in their shoes. I’ve got to the point where I’m talking with brands about paid collaborations and thinking I’m out of my depth here. I don’t know what.
I don’t know what to say. But I’m lucky that I have got years of marketing experience, I’ve got sales experience behind me. I’m used to negotiating deals.
My career has always been an element of that, so I can bring that.
But I also have the contacts around me when I’m faced with a contract that is a little bit, you know, different, that I can bring them in on it as well. So I think there’s an element of, I’ve been there, I’ve done it, and I can look at it from both sides of the table.
I’ve also seen and heard horror stories about how other agencies will work with creators and then they’re not truthful about the contract amount that’s been agreed. And there isn’t the 8020 split that there should be. It’s more 50, 50 and that mortifies me that that happens in our industry.
So I think it’s the ethical side of things that I want to do business honestly. I want to make sure that we’re always acting in our creators best interests.
But I think it’s the community aspect as well and the bringing of people together. This is a really flipping lonely industry if you’re out there. A lot of our creators now have stepped out of full time jobs.
They are doing this as their sole source of income and they’ve gone from working in an office with a team around them to doing this on their own. And it’s lonely and it’s a very closed book industry. No one wants to share their contacts, nobody wants to help other people.
But we can do that and we can bring these like minded people together and offer them more than just management. We can be their support system, we can be the community that’s around them. We become friends with a lot of our creators.
You know, some of my, my closest friends now are on our roster but.
Dawn McGruer
I guess they’re learning as well and that’s a key part. Thing is, is when you’re posting and you’re looking at curating and crafting these videos that are going to attract amazing brand deals.
Yeah, there is a skill to that.
Charlie Hobbis
Absolutely. Our industry is constantly evolving.
What is working now in, you know, this present day won’t have been what you will have seen being posted three months ago. It moves so quickly.
So we have to make sure that we are constantly evolving in what we do and help our creators do the same so that they don’t get left behind. Because you can grow overnight on social media now.
It’s not always a good thing but you know, the industry does move quickly so you’ve got to make sure that you’re constantly at the front and staying ahead of what you’re doing and we can enable that and help them do that.
Dawn McGruer
And we’ve had the privilege to spend the past few days on this amazing private island in Oxfordshire and talking to other women and hearing their stories is always fascinating.
But one of the things that keeps coming up again and again is that when you talk about creators and you talk about these fantastic brand deals, it does sound very appealing and it will attract a lot of people’s attention because they’re like, if I can build this following, I can make a lot of money.
But what is the difference between being influential to a brand where they have click throughs and things like that to what we see online in terms of numbers as influencers, what are you noticing.
Charlie Hobbis
The shift, I think this has been the biggest shift for me. And obviously when I started this journey, I was a creator. I don’t consume content in the same way now as I did when I started this journey.
There is a massive difference between building a following and having influence. And actually you can build and have an influence with a very small number of followers. And it does.
It all comes back to that true, authentic self online.
And the things that we see and the patterns that we observe among the most successful creators is they are putting themselves out there personally, they are being vulnerable, they are being open and they’re showing their true personality. They are building brands into everything that they do.
So even from their organic content, when a brand lands on their page, their format of content, brands can instantly see what it would look like to work with them and that’s really important. But they’ve also got the data and the metrics to back it up.
And if we can’t demonstrate when we’re in negotiations with a brand that there is that click through rate the conversion, the movement of an audience from the platform to wherever the brand are trying to direct them, our negotiations are not as strong.
So it’s about having that and understanding that those three key areas are really important when you’re growing your personal brand, if that is an area that you want to move into.
Dawn McGruer
And when you started your business, obviously you had no idea. Like most of us, we have no idea where it’s going to take us.
What has been like the most fun element of being a business owner and not being in that corporate world?
Charlie Hobbis
I think the freedom and the flexibility. I’ve always been in jobs where no two days are the same. My career started in the wedding industry. No two weddings are the same.
I was very lucky to be at a venue that allowed a lot of freedom and flexibility in what bride and groom’s days looked like.
I then moved into trade shows and events and exhibitions again, you know, working across a real vast array of industries to then working with, you know, clients in a marketing agency. And that’s always been important for me. I cannot sit behind a desk and do the same thing day in, day out.
But having that flexibility to attract the clients, that really excite me. That’s been the kind of the biggest shift for me and making sure that everything that not only what I do, but my team do.
We go into work each day and enjoy it and don’t have that, you know, Sunday scaries and the Monday morning dread that we are turning up and we are enjoying what we do. Because we spend a bloody lot of time at work.
Dawn McGruer
Oh, I know, it’s scary. I think the thing also is that one of the things we were talking about yesterday is I love the fact that my life is blended.
So my weekends and weekdays, there’s no clear differentiation. And that’s been one of the most magical things that I strive for. Hasn’t always been that way.
When I was in corporate, I remember literally counting the steps to the train. Everyone on the outside telling me how successful I was and me just feeling a void like inside where I wasn’t connecting to anything.
My nervous system was shot. I was traveling, traveling, traveling. And now it’s hard to see the difference. What is the biggest shift that you’ve seen in you and how you feel?
Charlie Hobbis
I think my confidence, you know, knowing that I have that ability to say yes and no to things that I am putting myself in situations that I wouldn’t necessarily say I feel comfortable with, because I’ve definitely pushed myself beyond my comfort zone, you know, the last two years. But it’s. It’s something that I am comfortable to put myself into and that I can see the bigger picture and I know where it’s going.
I think that’s had a massive impact on my confidence, but also kind of the self reflection. I think I have a much better understanding of who I am as a person, what I stand for and why I am the way that I am.
You know, it’s given me a real period of reflection and you know, why I’ve got to the point I’m at and what I want to take from my past experiences and learnings and how I put that into what I do now. I think that’s been the biggest reflection. Like I really understand who I am as a person now.
Dawn McGruer
See, I think you’re quite a resilient person. I think you bounce back quick and I think one of the. I’m going to have to share this one.
The funniest things for me, not funny for you, was obviously flying into Marrakesh to come on a retreat, arriving and having the horror of actually having no cases. I mean, from the outside, you absolutely nailed it. You look like you were in complete flow. It wasn’t problem.
And like you opened up and said, like you did have a small drama about it, but you obviously from the events industry and then, you know, handling all of these things all of the time. What is your advice in terms of being able to cope with these challenges?
Because I’ll be honest, most people who did not have a case arriving in Marrakech would have had a complete meltdown, full on tantrum, you know, what’s your advice around this?
Charlie Hobbis
I think this ability to be resilient and handle situations isn’t something that’s come natural to me and it’s something that I’ve learned a lot about over recent years. I think my childhood, my past has made me be resilient. I lost my dad at the age of 10. That ends your childhood instantly.
And you go into looking at life very, very differently and I think that has a big impact on resilience and the fact that life is really short and you’ve just got to.
You deal with what, what’s thrown at you, you can’t change it, you can’t do anything about it and sitting and wallowing about it or worrying about it or, you know, overthinking things, it’s not benefiting you and it’s not benefiting the situation. You’ve just got to deal with it in the best way that you possibly can.
You might reflect and look back afterwards and think, I could have dealt with that differently. And you take a lesson from it, but you can’t change what’s happening, so just embrace it.
Dawn McGruer
Do you think with what’s happened in your childhood and losing your dad has made you more accepting or open to taking risk?
Charlie Hobbis
Yeah, I think so.
My mum won’t mind me saying, but she is the most risk averse person that you will ever meet and I have grown up with that and I’m glad I’ve had that influence because there are times where you need to be a bit cautious and, you know, really assess things before you go into them. But for me, I just think, what’s the worst that can happen? Like, what is the worst? Like leaving my. Leaving employment.
My mum has worked in the same job since she had me. She took a part time job at a supermarket and has been there ever since. It’s safe, it’s secure, it’s a role that she feels comfortable in.
She knows the people. For me, I worked at Sainsbury’s when I was at university and I was studying. I worked in the same department as my mum.
I could have done the same and stayed there, but I wouldn’t have had the experiences that I’ve had and met the people and, you know, become the person that I am today without that.
But if I’d have taken my mum’s approach, I never would have left employment, I never would have done this and I wouldn’t have had all these opportunities. What was the worst that could happen. I come out of that job, I attempt to start a business, I attempt to freelance, it doesn’t work.
I apply for a job with somebody else.
Dawn McGruer
I love that.
That’s very similar to, I mean, anyone who knows me and a lot of my clients will always say that I do love a little bit of fun and a little bit of risk in life, but I think that’s being open to trying new things.
But also in all seriousness, a lot of the reason that I am quite open to risk is that every time I’ve taken a risk, even if it hasn’t panned out exactly how I wanted it to, I mean, I’ve had some epic ups in life and business.
Those have been the biggest learnings, but they’ve also been the biggest growth spurts in my business that if I hadn’t leaned into those taking the learnings, I wouldn’t be where I’m at and I certainly wouldn’t got here as quickly as I did. So thinking about the challenges, what has been the worst? Like the one point where you’ve thought, do you know what?
I’m not sure I can come back from this.
Charlie Hobbis
Earlier this year we had a fantastic opportunity present to us with the agency, three very well connected founders who have phenomenal contacts. And they came to us off the back of knowing who I am, what I do and my interest in this particular industry.
We started working with them, managing their entire launch. So from branding to social media, getting it set up, to working with the physical concept of the product that they were launching.
And it was an incredible opportunity for us. It was investor backs and they were waiting for investment funds to clear.
The deadline that we were working towards was fixed and we knew that from day one.
And I had to take a risk and say, do we start working on this before payment is cleared or do we hold off and do we rush our work, impact the quality of what we’re going to do to get it done in time by waiting for the money to clear? And I thought, no, will I trust these people? Like they’ve given me their word. We’ve, you know, we’ve looked at contracts and things like that.
They’ve given me their word and we put a lot of time and effort in multiple five figures were owed and that money never cleared and it never arrived. And we’d put considerable hours into it, considerable resources and it never happened. And that was a, you know, more than my previous annual salary.
We lost in that. And that was a big hit and really eye opening. But you can’t let it hold you back and stop. My business still exists. We’re still in profit.
We’re still doing well. You know, we’ve attracted other clients. But I could have taken that as like, oh, this is too scary. I can’t do this.
I need to get back to safety, and I need to go back and work for somebody else.
Dawn McGruer
It’s so true.
And I think the thing is, a lot of people in business will have had heartbreaking times around finances, Things that have happened outside of their control that have impacted things like Covid.
You know, I think to be a business owner and still stand true to yourself after those knockbacks says a lot about the founder, but also the stability of the business.
Yeah, it almost kind of proves to me, and this is one thing I always say to people, and they’re like, oh, it’s an interesting view, that when things have happened and they’ve really shaken me, I’m like, my business will still stand. The other thing that I’ve been really conscious of is that social media is something that I have to put conscious effort into.
It’s not something that naturally flows from me, but I know that my business would still stand without it. And that in 2024 is quite a bold statement. One of the biggest things that I brought into my businesses is in real life, in person, connection.
And as you know, this is a big part. I do not do anything unless it involves human beings. What is the one core value that you hold true in your agency?
Charlie Hobbis
I think it is that the honesty and the ethical way that we go about doing things that underpins everything that we do. It goes from the clients that we work with.
We have difficult conversations at times, but it’s always underpinned by doing the right thing and being honest about what we’re doing. If we’ve made a fuck up, we’ve made a fuck up. Like, it happens every now and again. But we deal with it, it’s addressed, and we’re honest with people.
I’ll never try and pull the wool over someone’s eyes. I think the ethical side of things, it’s not always been there in roles that I’ve had in the past, and that’s really important to me.
I want to know that I’ve conducted myself and conducted everything that we do with those two core principles, and I think that underpins the clients that we work with. We turn down a lot of opportunities that just don’t feel right and don’t fit with our morals and values. And it always comes back to that.
Are we doing the Right thing? Is this the right thing for my team? Is it the right thing for the client?
You know, businesses who approached me and said they would give their right arm to work with us and they are happy to part with a considerable amount of cash to do it. But if I don’t believe I can get results and give them a return on that, I don’t want to be part of it.
Dawn McGruer
I love this because it’s in business. Quite often when you start your business, we all have to focus on getting the consistent cash in. And we’ve probably all.
And people listening to this have made decisions that we’ve gone. Do you know what? In our gut, we truly knew that that wasn’t the right client. It doesn’t feel in flow.
Thinking about how you work, I know that you work as a partnership, both with your clients and your creators, which is quite unique in the online space. I often see agencies being quite detached. You are very much kind of involved. It’s more like a family.
What is the trends or insights that you see happening in social media that is going to change the dynamic of how business owners show up on social media in the next 12 months?
Charlie Hobbis
It is that personal brand. It all comes back to people, buy from people.
And there are brands who have built reputations and following and audiences and customers without having that personality, I suppose, is the word to use behind the brand. But that is becoming increasingly difficult now.
And I think everything comes back down to the personal values, the relationships, the impressions that you leave on people.
And I think it’s very difficult to launch and grow a brand or, you know, if your brand is your personal brand, if you’re not fully showing up and putting your personality across. And I think that’s been a shift that we’ve observed.
But I think it’s going to be even stronger as time goes on that, you know, it’s going to be the personal brand that leads the product, the service that the physical brand in itself is pushing.
Dawn McGruer
Yeah, I agree. And I think the thing is, is like I’m definitely guilty of it myself because I’ve used my podcast very much as my voice.
And when I do show up on social media and I am showing what I’m doing, you know, the thing is, is it’s about being inspirational in multiple ways.
So as a coach and the coaching industry is one that, you know, has its good and it’s bad connotations, but for me it’s about showcasing kind of like what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. I found that the Content that works really well is when I’m telling people not just like the feature, but what the benefit is.
Because the thing is, is showing up in business every day can be hard. Sometimes it feels in flight, sometimes it’s easy. But what is it that we’re doing it for?
And I think the heart of the matter and the thing that I’m seeing the shift is that the more I share about vulnerability, about what I’m doing, what did work, what didn’t work, and taking some of the conversations from the podcast to social media, it’s definitely getting more engagement, I’m getting more of that personal connection. And if you were to say to somebody about the social media, what is the biggest thing of why it’s not working?
Because I always say to people that, you know, if your social media is not working, it’s probably because it’s quite boring. What is the one thing that you, you see like a common trend where it’s a pitfall that business owners fall into that they could tweak making their.
Charlie Hobbis
Content about themselves rather than their audience. You are not there for yourself, you’re there for your audience.
And if you’re not serving their needs, their wants, their desires, they’re helping them with their struggles and their difficulties, then they don’t care. They don’t give a shit, they don’t care about you, they care about themselves.
Dawn McGruer
Absolutely.
Charlie Hobbis
And that is unfortunately, human race, that we all care more about ourselves than we do anything else.
And if you are producing content that is just about you and, and you know, fulfilling your purpose, your wants and desires, but you’re not thinking about your audience, it won’t work.
Dawn McGruer
I see a lot of this Hermosi style content where it’s literally a static image with music on like reels. And everyone seems to be picking up this trend. What do we feel?
Charlie Hobbis
There’s no personality behind it. That’s, that’s my. There’s a place for it. It can be used and it can be integrated into a content plan.
But original content, where you’re showing up as yourself and being true to who you really are, that’s what’s most powerful.
Dawn McGruer
What do you see working particularly well on Instagram right now?
Charlie Hobbis
It’s all about video content. And I know that scares a lot of brand founders, a lot of businesses, a lot of creators, because it’s exposing. You can’t hide anything on a video.
You know, you can adapt a photo, you can, you know, make sure it’s capturing you at your best angle. But video exposes everything. And I Know that people find it scary and intimidating, but that really is what people are consuming at the moment.
And you’ve got to lean in and go all in with video.
Dawn McGruer
So there’ll be loads of people listening who struggle with getting their face in front of camera. And the sheer thought of it puts them into a blind panic. What is the number one tip if you do not like going live or doing videos?
How can we get past that?
Charlie Hobbis
I have been there. Sitting in front of a camera and producing content did not come naturally to me. And as I say, I was.
I was growing my own personal brand on Instagram and I’d got to the point where I’d got probably around 3,000 followers. And it stunted. It stopped. The growth stopped. And I was like, what am I doing wrong?
And I had to really sit and reflect on the accounts that I enjoy the most. What are they doing differently to me? And it was that they were showing up.
Up until that point, you would never have known who lived in my house, my friends, my family. No one really knew it existed. And I was very embarrassed. I would say embarrassed. I was embarrassed of having it because people didn’t understand it.
This influencer term, and I hate it. And I don’t use it.
I run an influencer agency and I refer to my influencers as creators because I hate the connotations that come with the word because of how people judge it. It is about showing up and putting yourself out there. So I did it gradually.
I didn’t from one day go from not being in my content at all to turning up and speaking face to camera and, you know, doing it confidently. That didn’t happen. I would ease myself in gently, and I think that’s the best way to do it.
Start by just setting a phone up on a tripod in the corner of the room and getting some B roll of yourself that you can do. The hormones, style, you know, captions over the top, trending audio, whatever. Do that if that builds your confidence.
I then would only show up on stories because they’re only up for 24 hours. I can archive them, I can hide them. I can film it as many times as I need to. It’s okay, you know, you’ve got control over it.
Then I would introduce myself in slowly and I would film my hook talking to camera, and then the rest would follow as B roll. And it’s about building your confidence gradually. And you’ll get that dopamine hit. And it does hit.
When something does well or you see conversions come off the back of A piece of content that you’re in and it’s just about, don’t force yourself into it.
If you’re really uncomfortable with it, don’t try and sit and film a two minute video talking face to camera because your lack of confidence will show you won’t turn up as your authentic self. Yeah, you have got to build to it slowly.
But the impact that that had when I did do it is a massive reason for the success that the business has had now. Because people know who I am online, they see me, they know who I am.
And people, you know, do occasionally recognize you in public and know what you’ve done, but they feel like they can approach you and speak to you because you have turned up online and you’re human.
Dawn McGruer
You’re showing, I suppose, your true self. You’re not kind of putting yourself in there as inaccessible.
And I guess also it’s positioning to show that it’s attainable for other people, that your story, you know, could be anybody’s story, that anyone, you know, anyone could do it.
When you start your business, there’s always like one point where you experience a moment where you just kind of go, yeah, it’s a business, I’ve made it, I’ve done it. What was that moment for you?
Charlie Hobbis
There are three key moments that stick with me. One is one of the clients that we still work with now, 18 months later, I met her in a training session where I was working for somebody else.
She has been a guest on your podcast, so you know who I’m talking about. I trained her, we spent a day together and we didn’t speak for a couple of months after that.
But at the point where her business had launched, she’d come back to me and said, there is nobody else that I want to do this other than you.
And that day, and seeing the impact that spending one day together had, for her to come straight back at the point where she’d got that opportunity and to have been part of that journey and the, the growth of the business. And that was a real kind of pinch me moment to be like, we’re bloody good at this. The second one is still a massive highlight of my career.
We were very lucky to be involved in a Marks and Spencer’s campaign and we filmed a music video with Status Quo. And that was a real pinch me day. Experiencing it, seeing everything come together.
That was a real point where I was like, we’ve done this, I’ve made it. And the third one was here on the island back in June. We brought all of Our influencers along and held our first retreat.
And to see the impact that the business has had on them and to have 16 people sitting there saying that you’ve changed their life was really overwhelming. It was really emotional. But that was a, a real kind of changing point for me to see.
This isn’t your small business that you set up, like, how’s your little business going? Our business has changed people’s lives and it’s, it’s made a massive impact. And I think those are the three kind of evolvements of the business.
Dawn McGruer
Yeah, I mean, that event, I mean, I was, I was privileged enough to be speaking at that event, so I felt that energy in the room and it was a lot. I mean, I couldn’t look at you because it was emotional.
And I think the fact that there are so few agencies out there that have that style and connection where you’re actually in their businesses and you’re seeing the grow and you’re making impact, you’re changing lives. What’s the one thing then that if you could have changed it, you would. Is there one thing you just think, oh, I just wish I had done this?
Charlie Hobbis
No, I don’t think there is. I don’t. Because there are. There’s been mistakes, but there’ve been learnings and I don’t think that we would be where we are now without those.
I think everything is a lesson. It’s not a mistake, it’s not held us back. But I think we’ve needed all of that to get to where we are now.
So, no, I don’t think there is anything that I’d change.
Dawn McGruer
I love that because I feel regret should not be a thing. It’s something that it can hold us back. So going forward, I know magical things will be happening and I am so excited.
And if you were to kind of share with us like a snippet of what is to come in the world of Charlie in the next 90 days, what does that look like?
Charlie Hobbis
There’s a lot happening in the next 90 days. When is there ever not? 90 days is a very fast moving period for us.
Dawn McGruer
We do love a 90 day cycle, Charlie.
Charlie Hobbis
We do. The team is growing, so we’re about to bring on not only some more creators, but also some extra members of staff to support in house.
So that is very exciting. You can have this as an exclusive, but we are launching a podcast.
So we’re going to bring together and really unveil and open up the industry because there’s a lot of secrets, there’s a lot of Lack of willingness to share information. It’s a very closed book industry. So that will be launching before.
Dawn McGruer
How exciting. Peeling back the curtains. We get like the behind the scenes.
Charlie Hobbis
Yeah, absolutely, yeah, 100%.
And sharing the things that everybody wants the answer to, but nobody wants to share, Nobody wants to give their contacts, nobody wants to give the answers, nobody wants to share it. I do. I don’t have anything to hide.
I think, you know, that if I had have had that support and source of information when I started out, it would have made the world of difference to me. And you know, every single day I have people in my inbox on Instagram. I don’t know whether I can ask you this, Charlie.
I’m really sorry to, you know, approach you. We’ve not spoken before, but I don’t know who else to turn to. I don’t know who asked this question.
And if we can provide that platform and build that community around us of helping other people, then that’s, that’s all we’ve ever set out today.
Dawn McGruer
Well, you know that working with me can obviously bring lots of different fun things, but one of the things I love talking about are funny stories. So you knew I was going to ask you and I always do. I always ask my guests. I love to know, like what is the most embarrassing story, the one that.
Charlie Hobbis
Sits at the front of my mind because it’s recent.
We were filming with our client Jolt in Manchester and we’d been in the podcast studio in the morning and the plan was to go out in the streets of Manchester and do some vox pop star content interviewing the public about how they feel about getting older. It had been raining all morning, the clouds had just cleared and we left the podcast studio and I was carrying all our kit.
I was laden with bags, stepped out onto the pavement, my feet went from underneath me and I decked it. There is nothing more embarrassing than falling over in public. Than falling over in public whilst you have a stand up comedian with you.
So Russell Kane was with us.
He was, we were off out filming with him and my phone was rolling and I have a commentary of him in the background giving a second by second breakdown of my fall. The getting back up, the pulling over the next member of public that walked past us to ask if they’ve observed my fall.
So that is, that is the one that really sticks out for me because it’s still raw, I’ve still got the bruise.
Dawn McGruer
See, I am the queen of falling over. So I can completely relate to that because I do not know what happened, but I am possibly the Columbia person ever. Thank you, Charlie.
You have been a delight as always. And if there was one parting sentiment or phrase or quote that you could leave our listeners or piece of advice, what would it be?
Charlie Hobbis
Show up. Be yourself. Be truthful to who you are, and do everything that you do with authenticity. That’s, that’s the most important.
Dawn McGruer
Where can they follow on the rest of your journey? What’s your favorite channel of choice?
Charlie Hobbis
So my primary channel is Instagram. You’ll find me over at Charlie’s. And the marketing agency is OAC marketing and OAC talent.
Dawn McGruer
And if they’re looking for you on LinkedIn.
Charlie Hobbis
Yep. Charlie Hobbis.
Dawn McGruer
Amazing. All right. Thank you so much and can’t wait to see what’s coming for you in the next year. Thank you.
Thanks for listening to dawn of a New Era, the podcast brought to you in association with the Her Power community.
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