Teresa is a leading marketing influencer in the UK, ranked number five in MarkET.Live’s Top 30 Marketers that Inspire in 2021. She is the founder of, Marketing that Converts, The Academy, where she works with businesses, entrepreneurs and marketers to help them enhance their digital marketing & social media efforts.
An award-winning international speaker, TEDx speaker and thought leader, Teresa has shared her social media and digital marketing strategies on international stages including the World Marketing Summit, Inbound 2020, 3XE and Social Day.
Through her popular weekly podcast, Marketing that Converts, Teresa has interviewed leading entrepreneurs such as, Amy Porterfield, Michael Hyatt, Pat Flynn, Dean Graziosi, Jasmine Star, James Wedmore and Michael Stelzner.
However, when Teresa founded her agency in 2013 she was a single mum with no savings, having left her corporate role. She had just one week to set up her business and make enough money to keep a roof over her and her daughter’s head.
Teresa worked super hard and managed to get clients. Her agency grew quickly and soon Teresa was overwhelmed and worn out. To increase her knowledge, she invested in online trainings, memberships and masterminds, which she discovered she loved, and was inspired to create her own online academy.
Teresa enjoys spending time with her lovely husband, daughter and two stepchildren. She doesn’t have many hobbies because she loves what she does so much that she can’t help but do it all the time.
Being British, Teresa loves tea and by tea she means gin.
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Transcript
Victoria Bennion (00:05):
Hello and welcome. I'm your host Victoria. Bennion I'm the founder of the Victoria Bennion podcast booking agency. And you are listening to the best guest, the podcast for business owners, creatives, and entrepreneurs who want to harness the powers podcasts to grow their platforms and an increased visibility. We're here to support you on your journey, bringing you actionable tips with each episode. Now let's begin today. I'm so excited to welcome there. Heath wearing to the podcast. There is a leading marketing influencer in the UK ranked number five in market lives, top 30 marketers that inspire in 2021. She's the founder of marketing that converts the academy where she works with businesses, entrepreneurs, and marketers to help them enhance their digital marketing and social media efforts. Hello there and welcome to the podcast. Thank you so much for being here today.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (00:57):
Thank you so much for having me. I am very excited to be here,
Victoria Bennion (01:01):
Teresa . You have a, a really inspiring story. I wondered if you could share a little bit about what you do and how you came to start your own business.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (01:08):
That's very kind of you to say it's inspiring. It didn't feel like that as I was doing it. So I basically have a marketing background. I did a degree in it. I spent about 10 years working for all sorts of different business is so I headed up corporate marketing for land Rover. I did teeny tiny, small marketing where I was the only team member and did everything. And basically I liked being employed. I was a good employee. I liked pleasing people. I liked being patted on the head and told I've done a good job. So I was working as head of marketing for an agency and life changed a bit. So my ex-husband and I separated and I was left on my own with my daughter who was about three, four at the time. And I think I just kind of thought, you know, what I wanna do?
Teresa Heath-Wareing (01:57):
What makes me happy? So I decided that, although I loved the job I was working in, it was time to move on. And I handed my notice in and I gave them eight weeks notice thinking I'm really good at marketing. I've done this for a long time. I'll find another job easy, never once thought I'll set up my own job and started applying and forgot that I was a fairly expensive resource for where I lived in, in England that, you know, it wasn't full of big businesses. And about three weeks into my eight weeks notice, I started to think, what am I actually gonna do if I can't get another job? And I started to toy with the idea of, well, what if I can earn what I've just made this company by selling their services, but earn it for myself. And it's like that thought cross my mind.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (02:45):
And then my boss kind of got this inkling and asked me to leave. So I had like a week of income from that job. So a full month, sorry, but it was like a week extra. I had no savings, literally, not a penny. I had no other income coming into the house cuz I didn't have a partner or husband at the time. Cuz he'd gone. My parents aren't wealthy. So they definitely couldn't have helped me out. And basically from day one I had to earn about 1500 pounds a month, like from the beginning because otherwise my daughter and I literally wouldn't have had a roof over our heads. So people kind of asked me now how I did it and I'm not entirely sure. I think the fact that I had to earn the money and I didn't have a choice was probably a big driver.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (03:33):
But basically I just went out and I hustled and hustled and hustled and did all the networking and did all the old school staff and managed to get some clients and started to build my agency. And I really enjoyed that. That was great. But I started to get to the point where, you know, how obviously I had never thought about having my own business. So you know how people are like, you know, have your own business, you can do what you want. You're your boss, you're in charge. No, I went from having one boss to like 16 bosses and suddenly it was like, I can't manage with all this, these people and all wanting demands on my time. And I was working more hours than ever. And I'd started to learn online because there was lots of people in my industry that had did social media and I wasn't sure what made them an and I didn't want to be calling myself an expert without actually knowing I knew what I was talking about.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (04:24):
So I started to do all this online learning and I started to look at this online space thinking this looks pretty good. I quite like the idea of this. And it, you know, I have a saying in my house that do the math, like every time I see an online thing, it's like how many members they got? How much they charge do the math. It's like, that's all I used to do. And I decided that I wanted to shift over to online. So about two, two ish years into my business, I made the very scary decision to sack most of my clients and basically start again and build the online side of my business, which luckily five years later is what I day, which obviously then I worked out.
Victoria Bennion (05:04):
So it must have been like a really big shift going from being employed. As you said to them running your own agency, cause you suddenly, you gotta wear so many hats haven't you. And then you were juggling that with being a mother. So what was, what was kind of the biggest challenge?
Teresa Heath-Wareing (05:18):
So I think I went into it with the mindset of, I do this for a job. How hard can this be? I literally thought, how hard can this be? Because I was, I, I did marketing. I was good at it. I, you know, that was what I did, but I didn't have the flip in faintest idea that actually you're not just doing your job. You're not doing the employed bit of your job. You're doing the, the CEO bit of your job. And I didn't have a clue. And I think what I discovered was when you're employed and you're paid to go somewhere and do something like you can have days off or you cannot feel great and be a bit unproductive one day, cuz you're still getting paid regardless. And suddenly I realized that actually running your own business, there was a so much more to it.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (06:06):
And B that actually my mindset was so very important that if I hadn't of like put some time and effort into that, I don't think I would be where I am. Because like when we used to pitch for work, when I worked at the other agency, if we didn't get it, we didn't get it. I'd be gutted. But that's as much as I, I think that, you know, I would worry about it when you pitch for work and it's your business and you don't get it. It's like, oh, holy moly, what am I gonna do now? So I think for me, not only the, the pressure of having to win that money, but the, the pressure of, okay, now I've got to have all these other skills that I've never had. And like, if I didn't have to do that and I could just do what I do, it'd be easy.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (06:50):
But that whole other side is like, oh, it was beyond anything I'd ever done well. And what did you do? You work on your mindset? So like I joke that before I had a business, there was no woo woos about me at all. I was, you know, I think I'd done some mindset, like practical mindset stuff years and years before, but I started to realize that it was so incredibly important. So basically I inhaled books and podcast and blogs and I got myself, a coach, which my coach is amazing and she's really, really good and really helped me to figure things out. And even like the smallest things. I remember going on a call once with her and I'd lost a fairly big client and not for any particular reason, we hadn't done anything wrong. It just come to the end of, but it was quite a big chunk of money.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (07:40):
And I remember getting on the call being like, oh my goodness, what am I gonna do? You know, I've lost this money. This is bad. What I'm gonna do with the team. And the stress was like eating me up. And then she said to me, well, if you're exactly where you're meant to be, well, if you just can't see it and actually this is exactly where you're meant to be right now. And I remember thinking like, I don't think it is, but, but, but then I was like, okay, well even whether I believe that or not thinking that just feels a whole lot nicer yeah. Than stressing out because either way, nothing changes. Like whether I stress and get angry and upset and worry, it's still the same position as to whether I go, well, maybe if this is where this is where I'm meant to be.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (08:20):
And oddly enough, that was the start of the journey of going online. Like, and actually how it did work out, how it was meant of is that that freed me up to have time to start to build the online stuff, which I needed that time because I wasn't getting any. So I did a lot about, like I said, I got a coach in later years cuz my mum had passed away last year. And I then got a therapist and, and again, it's like years ago, it would've been something that you just don't talk about. And now it feels very indulgent. It feels very nice to have your coach and a therapist and people that you can use, all the tools they give you in terms of like all these brilliant things that you can do. And that's all it is. And what's kind of reassuring is that it never stops.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (09:05):
It's not like, oh, I learned that tool. Cool. I am brilliant for the rest of my life. That's right. It's not the case at all. The next thing will come invite you on the backside. The next thing will happen. But once you've got those tools, you move yourself out of it far quicker than, than you would necessarily. And things like I remember once I had been given the opportunity to, I was actually being paid to speak to for Google in the European parliament in Brussels and it sounded amazing. Right. And I was really excited and Mary and I get on a call, my coach and she's talking to me and I'm like, I'm very excited about this. And I'm like, yeah, no. And she's like, what? What's wrong? And I was like, well, I don't know. It just doesn't feel right. And I said a couple of things.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (09:48):
And I was like, they're not honoring my time. And this wasn't Google directly. FYI. This was a company who worked to put people in for Google. And I was like, you know, they're not honoring my time. And actually, you know, they're putting me in an Airbnb and I'm going over to a country that I've never been in and I'm, I don't want use the female card, but I am female. I'm a bit of a baby as well. Like I didn't fancy that. And anyway, she was like, do you wanna do it? And, and she, and then she sort of questioned me as like, why would I want to do it? And I'm like, cuz it be a, wouldn't it to say, I've spoken there. And she's like, is it gonna do anything for your business? Not really. Is it gonna bring you loads of money in not really.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (10:21):
I think it was covering like the expenses. And she's like, why do it then? And I was like, because they, they need me to do it. And she's like, no, don't do it. And with that power, I was able to then go, do you know what? No, I don't wanna do that. And I said, no. And they weren't very happy and that's fine, but it wasn't. Right. Right. And my gut was telling me it was wrong and I need to, I needed at that point to learn, to trust my gut. So I think all these tools, they never stop being useful. They never stop like, you know, coming into play or a new one comes into play or a new one. But for me, it's, it's just huge. The mindset side is massive. You worked
Victoria Bennion (10:57):
Really hard actually to put yourself out there. Didn't you, when you were starting your business, speaking at events and increasing your visibility, was that challenging to start
Teresa Heath-Wareing (11:06):
With? I like speaking, I was always told as a child, I talk too much, which is kind of helpful in my job now. I think the reason it was comfortable because I started small, I think in this business life that we have, we look at people where they are. So when we discover them, which normally means they're quite big, we look at them and think, well, I want that. I want that. You know, they might look at me speaking on some awesome stage in some awesome country, but it didn't start like that. I literally remember doing a talk to three people in they play barn cuz it was a mum's networking thing. Like, are you for real? Like, and I remember coming home, my husband go, don't ever do that again. And I did. I did it two more times. In fact, the point is in the early days you do all that stuff.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (11:52):
You do the local stuff, you speak to five people, you do a inside someone's business thing. And I did all of that. So actually I built slowly up to it. But I remember my first tour in the states, I was speaking in Minneapolis and Pat Flynn was going on right before me. This was a fairly big event. And I fell owned my assistant in the morning I was on zoom and I had a zoom call with my husband and both of them spoke to each other separately away from me. And both of them said, she's gonna lose it. She's not gonna do it. I was nearly sick. I was, I've never been so scared in my life ever. The event was skewed. It was one of the biggest events I had done to date. Like I said, the lineup was big. The stage was flipping massive.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (12:37):
And I honestly thought I said to my, you have like, depending on the events, but some events you have like a concierge person who looks after you. And I knew the guy that was looking after me cuz I'd met him before. And I said to him, I think I'm gonna pee my pants on stage. He what? I said, well, if I pee my pants on stage, I was so nervous. And he was like, well I guess that's a first, no one's ever done it before. Okay. But honestly, and, and it's not that I don't get scared. And what's really funny is like, I've spoke online now for the whole of lockdown. I have my first in person speaking again in about three weeks time and I'm very much looking forward to it and I do get really excited and I love it, but I will be nervous. And I think I'll be more nervous than I would've been because I've not stood on a stage for a while. I can't wait. Is that a Comicon? Yes, honestly. I'm really excited. It's been a long time coming that, that event. Yeah, it has. Hasn't
Victoria Bennion (13:37):
It. So pat, was that when you met him when you were on stage with him because he's been on your podcast too, hasn't
Teresa Heath-Wareing (13:43):
He? Yeah. So I met him. I think I met him once before. I know. Was that the first time I met? I know it was the first time I met him, actually. I think that's the first time I met him when we spoke on the same stage and he was really nice and we, she had a green room and that was nice. Although obviously it was pat Flyn and I was like barely starting. And then I had been to a couple of events really early on in my journey. I decided that I would invest in going to events and events in the states. So I'd been to like trafficking conversions, social media, marketing world. Obviously the one that I spoke at I'd been there the before. So I made sure that even though it was a lot of money, I knew the importance of getting in front of people and physically meeting people.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (14:28):
So I'd already met pat once. And then I went to see traffic and conversion and social remarking will back to back and pat was at both and he always hosts like some kind of meet up things. So I went to the meet up. So he, by this point he well and truly knew who I was and you know, that was nice. Yeah. And I watched him do a talk on the one of the events and, and it was a Q and a and someone said to him, how do you get good guests on your podcast? And by this point I had, and I started my podcast or I was starting my podcast. And John Duma was also at that vendor. He answered the same question. And one of them had said to me, get, or said to the audience, get really good at your episodes.
Teresa Heath-Wareing (15:09):
First. Like don't into few people, like straight off the bat get really good. So I'd already decided that that's what I was gonna do. I was gonna wait. And then pat said, you know, get to know people, take 'em for a coffee, you know, meet with them and, and speak to them and be human type thing rather than just going, can you come on my podcast? So I got home and I thought, so I have to take Pat's advice. I want pat to be...
