As a part of the Morning Lazziness series about strong women leaders who attained success with their incredible ideas, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dorie.
Helping women entrepreneurs grow their online business and attract ideal clients through social media is Dorie’s successful business mantra.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself and what you do professionally?
Hey, everyone, my name is Dorie, I’m originally from Hungary, and I moved to the USA when I was 21 and lived there for 4 years. I started my entrepreneurial journey as a small business owner with an online webshop.
I ran that business for 2 years, and I’ve learned so much about internet marketing and social media during the 2 years of running my business. I started to know all the little tips, hacks on reaching the right customers on social media and creating content that attracts the right people to my business.
When the virus hit the world last year, I lost 90% of my customers because I’ve worked with most restaurants and hotels. So I decided to close my business and help other business owners with marketing and social media. Since last year, I have helped over 50 women start and grow their online businesses using social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
What makes you become an Instagram Coach? Who inspires you the most?
I’m really passionate about Instagram, I’m a millennial, so I think that’s why Instagram is the closest to my heart from all the social platforms. When I ran my webshop, I closed my biggest deals using Facebook and Instagram, with only a couple hundred followers.
I worked with world-known companies like Marriott Hotels, Hilton Hotels, Hyatt Resorts, without any paid ads, just organic marketing strategies, and I want to give this knowledge to other women who are looking to grow their businesses.
My client’s success is what inspires me the most. I care about my clients so much, and I want to be the person whom they can count on when it comes to Instagram and organic marketing.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
Communication is number one because you are going to use communication in every aspect of your business, with customers, with partners, with suppliers, with other businesses, etc.
Marketing skills are very important because that’s how you can get in front of people; marketing will bring customers to your business. And the third one is adaptation skills. You always have to adjust to the market and the demands.
What are your plans for the future? How do you plan to grow this company?
I want to help 100,000 women from all around the world to grow their businesses; that’s my big goal. I’m planning to have a lot of media outreach, podcasts, magazines, and interviews and put my name out there in front of a big audience.
How have the pandemic and lockdown affected you or your new business?
It made me realized that everything is very uncertain, other than the trust in myself that I can help people. And that I have to do it in such a way where I don’t depend on anything, like the pandemic, governments, lockdown, or other outside circumstances. I had to move everything online and come up with a business model that works 100% online.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
I pair marketing and mindset together and help my clients with marketing strategies to grow their businesses and get over the mindset blocks that are keeping them from success.
What were the top three mistakes you made while starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
- Trying to do everything at the same time, which easily leads to burnout.
- Switching up things when I thought something is not working out. It’s better to stick to one thing and do it consistently.
- Jumping from idea to idea. I had so many different ideas and wanted to do all of them. But I learned that first, you need to accomplish something, then the second thing can come.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process; what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
I’m a social media marketing expert, so the most successful marketing form for me is Instagram. I’ve built several Instagram pages and helped other business owners to build theirs, with amazing results. Social media is the best way to market your offer because you can reach thousands, even millions of your target audience, without any paid ads.
What was your first business idea, and what did you do with it?
My first idea was an eco-friendly webshop, which I was running for 2 years, and I actually loved the idea, loved my products and the whole business model.
What are you learning now? Why is that important?
I’m always learning something and taking lots of courses, reading books, working with coaches. Most of these are about either personal development or marketing. Currently, I’m reading Gary V’s book and learning how to build a personal brand.
If you start your business again, what things would you do differently?
I would put my focus on solely one main topic and build the audience around that. But in the beginning, I was still trying to figure things out, so I just put everything out there that was on my mind. Also, I will hire a social media manager to build up a new page and start monetizing it.
What are the top 3 online tools and resources you’re currently using to grow your company?
- Canva – I use it every day to create my content.
- InShot – app. I use it to edit my videos in there.
- Trello – to keep me organized.
There is no shortage of good ideas out there, but people seem to struggle to take a good idea and translate it into an actual business. How did you overcome this challenge?
I never had struggles with this; I actually call this one of my superpowers to turn any idea into a profitable business because I see the potential in the idea and the people.
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
The freedom lifestyle that I’ve created. I would never want to lose my freedom in the sense of not having a boss, not having a set schedule every day from 9-5, not having to wake up for alarm clock, and I can work from anywhere in the world and do anything at any time. And I want other people to have this feeling as well, and that keeps me motivated that I want more and more people to experience this lifestyle.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
- Running a business can be costly if you don’t pay attention. At the beginning of my first business, I wasn’t aware of all the costs, so do the research before you start.
- First, start building an audience, then create an offer. You might have a good idea, but first, you need people who need your offer.
- It might take longer to build a business than you think. If you wish for overnight success, entrepreneurship is not for you. You have to work for the long term, not for the short-term rewards.
- You need to have a strong mindset. Lots of people have a bad mindset around money, work, and life in general. It’s necessary that you work on these before you can run a successful business.
- You need to believe in yourself even if nobody else believes in you. Your family, partner, friends might now support you at first, but if you believe in yourself, you can, and you will do it.
What is it that you enjoy most about running your own business? What are the downsides of running your own business? Can you share what you did to overcome these drawbacks?
I enjoy working with amazing people. I get to know their mission and help them to achieve their goals. The downside is that there is a lot to do when you are starting a business. Your head is all over the place. But you just need to take it one step at a time and enjoy the process.
What’s your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”?
Everything happens for a reason. Before I decided to start my coaching business, I applied to over 50 jobs, but nobody hired me. I was sad that time because I felt that nobody needs me or I’m not good enough, but what it actually was that the universe was pushing me to start my own business.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
