WBS Member Interview - Tegan Ang | Womens Business Society

Featuring Tegan Ang | Writing Your Story

Tegan Ang is a copywriter and the owner of ‘Tegan Ang | Writing Your Story’. She started her business in 2016 because writing is her life’s blood. She loves to hear and tell stories about the world around her, and wants businesses owners to have the same opportunities to tell theirs through blogging and other online mediums. She offers blogging strategies and blog writing packages, along with other copywriting services such as website writing, social media writing, and non-copywriting content like press releases and learning materials creation.

Tell us about your business

I’m a copywriter, so I provide the service of writing content that encourages action from a business’ customers or clients. My focus is online content, so websites, social media, but in particular, blogs are my passion. I chose my tagline (Writing Your Story) because I want to write for and about business owners and their lives, their businesses, their thoughts, their tips and tricks, everything. Blogs are an amazing vehicle for getting that across, and have the handy side effect of being great for promotion.

My target audience are business owners in their late 20s to early 40s who have an established business that’s about 1-3 years old. They are very clear on their brand and in terms of revenue, are doing well, but have a very faint online presence (website that hasn’t been updated since they started, sporadic social media and blog posting). They want to write because they want to get their knowledge out there, but their time is eaten up by other matters, and sometimes, they’re just not sure how to get the message across.

Why and when did you start your own business?

I started my business this year in June. I had a temp role at the time with a wonderful boss, but it wasn’t enough. I didn’t want to think that this was all there was to my life – working and living on someone else’s terms. I wanted the freedom of waking up when I liked, working when I wanted, not working when I wanted. Not because I miss my childhood, but because I knew that I was more productive in the early mornings and the late afternoons, both of which fall outside the normal work hours of most businesses. I wanted the chance to prove that I was right about my productivity habits, and more so, to be my own boss.

My temp job boss was kind enough to let me work less hours while I tested my market for my service. I had a very positive response so in August, with a fair bit of savings, I made the leap to full time self-employed, and I haven’t looked back.

What does being a business owner mean to you?

It’s about responsibility. To be a bit nerdy and to quote every Spiderman movie, ‘With great power comes great responsibility’. The greatest power we give ourselves is our freedom, and it’s how we manage our freedom that shows what level of responsibility we think we have. And it’s different for everyone. My responsibility is to my boyfriend, to my clients, and to my circle of business owners who are both clients and suppliers for me. And to my cat, because he needs to eat too.

What or who has been your greatest influence in business and why?

My greatest influence has been my need to improve. I spent years working for businesses with legacy procedures, whose staff have neither the time nor interest in changing them. I can’t stand inefficiency, so I would fix things, sometimes without permission.

What would you say is your greatest professional accomplishment to date?

It’s still early days, but it would be getting over ten clients in under two months. It feels like it’s been a year already, but I’m very proud that I’ve had so many clients in such a short time. It proves to me that what I’m doing works, and if I keep doing it, it’ll keep working.

What’s the best advice you have received in business?

Know your target market. It’s the first thing you will get asked by anyone, and when you’re starting out, your target is everyone. It has to be, unless you have a very niche product or service. So I would like to modify that a bit and say, ‘Know your target market quickly, as soon as you can, because success doesn’t follow the majority.’

What has been the most effective marketing initiatives or programs you have used to promote your business?

Networking. Always. Especially in an industry like mine, where the best way to sell is to educate. There’s very few

I’ve joined up to several networking groups, including this one, but I’ll also trawl Eventbrite and Meetup.com to find other one-off events that may be worth attending.

What is one thing have you learned as a small business owner that has served you well over the years?

As someone who’s started a few businesses, I can tell you this in absolute certainty: always do something you love. It’s clichéd but it will never stop being true. I’ve tried to start businesses because I looked at them logically: they were services that would always be in-demand, or the potential to sell was there, but my heart was never truly in it. And so they withered away, because I quickly turned my back on them.

I love writing. Even as I write this, I’m happy. So I know I’m doing the right thing for me. This is my calling, this is what I need to do. When I’m not doing it, I’m always thinking about it.

Are there any resources or tools you’d like to share with other small business owners that have helped you run your business? If yes, please describe (and include links if available).

Oh I have so, so many.

I use Timely to manage my time and plan my weeks
I use Trello to project manage at a high level
I use Evernote for research and client notes
I use Swipe for task management
I use Chrome as my browser with lots of extensions
I use Quotient for project proposals
I use Xero for bookkeeping
I have two separate email clients for my business and personal email so I don’t get distracted.
I have a standing desk extension from Officeworks for when I feel I’ve sat too long.
I have a decent backpack for going to meetings with lots of stuff.

Do you have any new projects coming up (or have you just completed a big project ~ reached a milestone, etc.)

I’m currently working on a how-to guide for a software company. It was always going to be a big project but it was never certain how big. The most time-consuming part is getting screenshots of all the different aspects and buttons to add to the guide. I’m 40 pages in and it’s only about 30% done. I wanted to have it done by the end of the month but it’s just one of those projects that is going to be much longer than expected. Still, it’s a little different from my normal writing projects so that makes it a little fun.

What do you do for fun/relaxation?

Movies, videogames. Creative writing when I’m not too tired. Camping. Brunch.

What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?

Confidence, or at least the ability to call on confidence as you need.
The strongest possible belief in yourself and what you’re doing
Willingness to take action even when you don’t know what that action is

What fear have you faced in business? Have you overcome it? How do you manage fear?

My daily fear is that I’m a terrible writer, that I am never good enough. And it is something I have to overcome daily. I think if I constantly believed I was an amazing writer, then I wouldn’t strive so hard to find ways to improve my writing.

womens business society — Tegan having fun at a WBS Networking Event

What are your top 5 goals you want to achieve by the end of 2016?

We’re almost at the end! I’ll only have been five months in but I’d like to:

have three ongoing blogging clients (almost at 2)
Present at a workshop
Have a successful health strategy through 90% consistency
Be blogging weekly for my personal blog
Have a week off, which I think I will at Christmas

What makes you happy?

I’m very much about the simple things – cooking a perfect roast, the perfect amount of sunshine when I’m out for a walk, how good my bed feels after a long day, the satisfaction at the end of an early exercise session (even if I don’t feel that way when I wake up), and ticking off my task list.

And smoothies. So amazing.

Have you had to make any sacrifices whilst running your business? If so, what are they?

My sacrifices have been small but lots of small things add up to a big thing. I sacrifice time with my boyfriend so I can do a bit more work on the weekend, I sacrifice time working so I can network and get my next client, I sacrifice time with my friends to save a bit more money, I sacrifice those extra treats in the shopping basket so I have that money for other groceries.

I’m by no means struggling, but like I said, all the small things sound like one big thing.

What company or business do you admire the most and why?

I love Cargone Couriers. They’re a bicycle courier service in Melbourne that is advocating for eco-friendly delivery solutions. I think they have a great name, a great attitude, a great ethos, and they can carry a lot of stuff! Far more that you would think.

Where do you see yourself and your business in 10 years? 20 years?

I haven’t really thought further than five, but in 10 years, I would think that I have 2-3 businesses that are mostly automated or handed over, so that I have lots of time to spend with my future family and can focus on creative writing.

One of those businesses would be teaching writing, because I love teaching. It’s something I used to do and something I want to go back to.

What book has inspired you the most? (OR What is your favourite book?)

The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. Unlike most people, I read this in my early 20s, but the humour and absurdity made me laugh over and over again. It’s the kind of book I would like to write someday.

How do you measure your success in business?

Achieving my goals, pure and simple. I set goals, and when I achieve them: success.

Do you have kiddies if so how many? And what is their favourite activity to do with you.

No kids yet. I have a cat, and my favourite activity is giving him hugs when he doesn’t want them.

What is your favourite inspirational quote?

‘Everything will be alright in the end. And if it’s not alright, then it’s not the end.’ – John Lennon.

What are your top 5 business tips?

Get a good project management software
Take note of everything
Always clarify as soon as you’re not sure
Make the phone call even when you know it’s not good
Get a bookkeeper as soon as you can. Seriously.

Why did you become a WBS Member?

I love to network, but I wanted a networking group that was all about women, something that’s still not as common as you’d think. A couple of other women I’ve met through other networking groups are a part of WBS and that encouraged me to join, because if they’re so great and in this group, then it must be a great group.