Transcript Episode 123

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DAY ONE intro

You're listening to a day one FM show.

00:00:08:06 - 00:00:31:05

Simone

I made disinfluencer because I've got a child with a disability, and I want him to have, opportunities and employment. So Disinfluencer is a creative talent agency. Think stock photos, influencer marketing and inclusion training. When we do this and work with brands, we can give people with disabilities like my son opportunities in the workplace.

And yeah, people with disabilities and people just like you and me. They love your products and services. So market to them.

00:00:38:17 - 00:01:03:20

Lucy

Welcome to another episode of ambition, the podcast by Mums and Co. Today I am absolute thrilled to have the incredible Simon Iles with us. Simon is not just a mum, but she's also the passionate founder of Disinfluencer. The world's first inclusive stock library, coupled with three times e-learning modules to help businesses and brands market their inclusion. Simon's journey to business began when her son Josh was diagnosed with a rare disease, sparking a long and challenging path for her family, including a kidney transplant and countless medical treatments. Despite these overwhelming challenges, Simon's resilience and ambition has never wavered, and in the midst of caring for Josh, she couldn't leave the hospital for months. Simon started a business, a coffee app that was a total game changer.

And if that wasn't enough, then baby two arrived 15 weeks early. Simones story is absolutely amazing and a true testament to the fact that just because life throws some challenges at you, it doesn't mean that you can't chase your dreams. Today, Simon helps people with disabilities, neurodiversity, and chronic illness become entrepreneurs themselves, proving that you can work whenever, wherever and however you want. She's also on a mission to help those who are unknowingly exclusive become more inclusive. Simone, It is such a great pleasure to have us here with us, to have you here with us today on Mumbition, welcome.

00:02:14:03 - 00:02:15:13

Simone

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

00:02:15:13 - 00:02:25:06

Lucy

It's a pleasure. I wanted to first ask you if someone asked you which I am. How does your business help? Who do you help and how?

00:02:25:06 - 00:02:47:19

Simone

We help businesses and brands be inclusive. So I think, like you said, we've got our stock library, our e-learning modules. We do influencer marketing and training, and that helps us provide opportunities and paid employment to people with disabilities who have an aspiration to work as talents or creatives in the media and marketing advertising industry.

00:02:48:12 - 00:02:58:02

Lucy

Brilliant. And I explained a little bit in the intro there, but if you told it in your own words, why did you first start this business?

00:02:58:04 - 00:03:27:14

Simone

I started the business because I was tired of disability represented in the media through advocacy and neglect. Now, don't get me wrong, that's very important. But there's also a lot of light to that shade. And I started thinking, you know, why don't we see people with disabilities in the media, people with disabilities in marketing and advertising? And so that's I, I went to a few brands and I kind of asked them that, and they said, well, we want to do that. Where do we go to do that? So that was kind of how it all really started.

00:03:32:15 - 00:03:52:13

Lucy

And that willingness to just be able to ask, I love it's not everybody's like, not everybody has that ability. Is that something that came to you because of past work that you've done, or do you just felt compelled to do it? Was there any kind of special secret sauce in being able to make that kind of leap?

00:03:52:13 - 00:04:13:14

Simone

Yeah, there was a few I, I'm going to say sliding door moments. So first of all, I guess inspired by my son, who's a crazy TikTok creator, you know, I, I kind of started thinking, what opportunities does he have even to learn and study? You know, he can use TikTok. He can use capcut. No one's taught him that. He's just figured it out. He's got a Canva account. So, I started like, that. Kind of got me thinking. I do have a degree in graphic design, and I also have a background in marketing, so it's something that I really love and am passionate about. As a consumer of these brands and products, we love and use, and we are very brand specific for someone who eats a lot of food.

So, I was frustrated because I'm like, there's some really cool, creative, you could do that, but no one does anything like that. And then I guess that the real, kind of clincher was Jane Kay was literally in my car park, in Merimbula. So Jane Kay, the founder of Bird's Nest, and I literally jumped on her because, a good friend of mine, Tracey, her daughter Katie, who is the main image on our website, has down syndrome and she loves fashion and wants to work like, walk a runway. So, I literally jumped on Jane and pretty much pitch to her that we would create some content for her. Katie wearing clothes for Bird's Nest. And she said yes, she wasn't supposed to. And it just kind of all went from there.

00:05:22:23 - 00:05:49:23

Lucy

So great. I mean, that's a powerful moment of serendipity, as you say. And it also, I think what I love the most about that is it shows you that, yes, you do need strategy to build a business, but if you don't have this, which I think is a really old fashioned word, but gumption, the ability to strike when the iron is hot and take advantage of those opportunities, that alone can propel you much, much further, much, much faster.

So obviously, you’re a mum and the point of this particular podcast series for us was to really have a bit of a deep dive into the way that people practically combine being a mum and running a business, because they're two distinct things, but they interlock into interconnecting overlap so much and they need to. When you look back to the start of the business journey for yourself, was there any mindset kind of shifts that you had to push yourself through in order to think that you could actually move forward with everything? Was it a consideration?

00:06:25:19 - 00:06:45:03

Simone

Yeah. There's something here I'd really like to talk about. I actually didn't want to do this for so long. It was an idea for so long. And as a mom, he lives this life like I've got a child that's got a chronic illness and a disability. Like, every day I'm advocating every day I'm battling the system. I'm dealing with that. So I, I kind of sat on it for so long because it's my life. It's my day to day life. So it's hard to be it and live it and then make a business out of it. And I guess I, through Mums and Co, I was introduced to Jen Howard, who became my business coach at this start, and she really helped me go from an idea to something I was dabbling with, too. She really supported me and encouraged me like I knew it was a good opportunity. I knew there was a massive gap, but it was all me, right? It was all in my head. Can I do this? I was like really burnt out. I had, you know, had these two kids that I've had that both had, you know, not the best starts, medically entering the world. So I was a bit jaded and, Jen really helped and supported me to clarify the opportunity and then kind of not separate it. But think of, you know, as a mum, I can do this and as the business I can do this and how it can work together to make it something that I could do and not let it overtake my life or implode me emotionally when things got hard.

00:07:56:10 - 00:08:19:08

Lucy

Yeah, 100%. I absolutely love, like, shout out to Jen. Thank you for mentioning her, because, yeah, absolutely I adore her. And what I think is important to reiterate here is that, like being able Jen built her business as well. I think she was telling me of the day she was in her living room and she started Happy Hairbrush. And now it's like a global business. So it's that point not everybody has access to people with that kind of experience. And I think that's why we created that expert program here at Mums and Co so that you could tap into people like that and you know, you get 30 minutes with Jen. That's not forever. It's not a whole day. But what that allows is for that instant connection to be made and for her to kind of jump through those hoops. So I'm so I'm so pleased to hear that. And you gave us some wonderful feedback on that already. I know, but, yeah, she's a, she's a force Jen and has been through her own challenges. So super important to mention that. And also I think it's important to mention, you know, you said there that it was yourself that was in the way. And that's so common. We're all in our own way. And I think it really takes often that right person to have the conversation that kind of sits in your head to, to, to push forward as well. Now, I'm sure this question is probably multi-layered, but has anything surprised you on this, on this journey in business?

00:09:33:00 - 00:10:07:19

Simone

Yes. I guess, initially, like, when you think it's a good idea and when other people think it's a good idea. And then when people back you and support you. So, I guess another pivotal moment for me was, Disinfluencer is a social enterprise. So I went down the social entrepreneurship rabbit hole. And, you know, my business is all about impact and providing opportunities for people with disabilities and paying them, paying them what everybody else gets paid. So, I was shocked by, you know, I could we could spend half a day and I could show you the DMs I get from other families and mums who told me that they kids love the camera, and they've got a lot of personality. And, you know, could they do this? And I'm like, yes, like, this is for you.

Like, we made this for you. It's for aspiring artists, have an opportunity to explore that and be supported with that. I know business and I know disability, so I can kind of bring it together. Like I said, at the start, I'm still surprised by the people that come to me and say thank you, like we needed this. Like we've been waiting for this, like so many brands actually do want to be inclusive, but where do you go to get disabled talent? So that's probably been the biggest eye opener and just yeah, the people we've worked with and the things we've done has been, you know, really cool. And we've just, you know, I kind of I do a few different things, but it's all one in the same to me. And it took a while to get there. Which ultimately would have been super impatient about. But I've been really patient and surrounded myself with really great people. Like I said initially with Jan and I'm in a few business groups, because it's really hard work and it's a really tough economic climate at the moment. So, yeah, just, you know, really, I guess the, you know, probably my if I could pick one thing that stands out, it's when I go to workplaces or I work with people and the staff pull me aside and say, you know, I've got a child who's autistic or thank you for showing us the website widget because my son's dyslexic, and now I can put it on his computer for school and it helps with the school work. Those conversations where it's okay to talk about disability, in a way that's exciting. And with opportunity, I think, is what I'm grateful for. Like the other moms and parents and carers out there, I'm grateful for as well.

00:12:10:17 - 00:12:42:01

Lucy

I absolutely love that. And. And the getting that feedback just must be so I was going to say validating, but even probably more than that, energising for you to know that you've you've followed through on this path. So thank you so much for sharing all of that with us. So you've touched on this a little bit already, but relationships are really key to creating a business and that you've mentioned, you know, mentoring relationships and business group relationships. Who is it that you confide in for your business the most, do you think?

00:12:47:06 - 00:13:09:18

Simone

I have a mentor, Adrian who, I speak to. We only speak for, like, maybe 15, 20 minutes. It's really low key, but I think, he he understands marketing as well. I guess I'm working in the. I have to market myself to marketers, which is a real challenge. You know, you have to really be on your game. So, Adrian, you know, just keeping it simple. So I guess a lot of the work I do is around networking. So having those networks and those introductions and, you know, putting yourself out there, corporate sales, enterprise sales is not something I'd ever done before. So it's really new to me. So I guess having, a mentor, like one person that really looked at it's all about one person, but not going to all these different people and getting all these different things because people will tell you so many different things. And I guess you really need to be careful, because what people say and do is different. And what someone might say to you is off the cuff might not be relevant to your industry. So it's about really knowing who your ideal customer is and backing yourself and having those people around you that will hold you accountable. Or for me, even just the business groups, was just about networking and having people that I could connect with because, you know, I work from home and I don't really like working from home, and I'm working by myself. So I want to have, you know, some kind of relationships, like business relationships with like minded business owners and not necessarily someone that can help me with the business is someone that I can, people I can connect with and we can talk about, you know, like what's happening in the world or whatever. So, yeah, I think that really is what helps.

00:14:32:16 - 00:14:44:12

Lucy

It's so good. So good. And with the mentor that you mentioned, how did you go about finding him? Because I think some people I'm not clear on. Was that something that you could reach out to a service that provided that?

00:14:44:12 - 00:15:11:19

Simone

So my mentor is through a network. He's from AMP, so I'm part of the AMP Foundation. So, he has been with me gosh, I don't know, maybe a year and a bit, and he's. Yeah, he's just always really, helped me, I guess, initially, like you know, I worked with Jen, I think a great mentor. This is me personally. And this is why it's so hard to find and to have networks, are non-paid relationship. So it's not and, and I guess a business coach, you can pay for one. But a mentor is someone who can have a coffee with you have a virtual catch up with you so there's no necessarily like it's not their business or job. Say I feel you get a different vibe. And I guess Adrian's been with me for a while now because, it's just like, we both, like, have that click. I can just be myself with him, and he, he's just pretty straight with me and can be pretty direct and can cut through. So, yeah, I think that that's really helped. And he's, I guess he's always really believed in what I'm doing and what I do. So that obviously helps as well. So he just gets it and knows where I'm at and can kind of give me a really high helicopter view of my opportunity and like the way to get there.

00:16:16:16 - 00:16:40:19

Lucy

It's great. It's fantastic that you found him. Something else of mine that I love, that you do is. You're great on LinkedIn. You write really compelling insight into. There was one that you wrote the other day. I think you'd had a particularly challenging day, and you were able to articulate that so well. We're always encouraging women to jump on to LinkedIn to promote themselves and their business. Is something that comes naturally to you yet to work at that? What do you like about that platform? Is there anywhere else that you would recommend women start to sort of create that, because you're creating that awareness of the brand obviously, by sharing what you're going through.

00:16:57:00 - 00:17:01:20

Simone

Yeah. LinkedIn. I do like a bit of an overshare for my own selfish reasons. It’s like therapy. What I find really frustrating, and this is the core of what I do is when I'm the mum of a disabled kid, I'm not being invited on a podcast, to have an interview. I'm being I feel like being treated rather poorly. And I'm treated like I'm a disability person. So I'm in the disabled box over there. I'm less than. I'm like, you know, I'm not seen as an entrepreneur or anything. So when I have those experiences and those challenges, I share them because that's kind of the stigma I'm trying to break. But as well as, you know, when I speak to businesses, people think it's all about people with disabilities. People with disabilities don't sit in silos. They belong to families and communities. And because of the stigma around disability, you have people in workplaces that have kids that are autistic or chronically ill or whatever, and no one is talking about it at their work because they don't feel safe and comfortable that they can talk about that because they don't want to be treated different, because they know when they go to the school or to the thing, they're treated different. So I'm trying to say that that I'm a person and I'm an entrepreneur and I'm doing this work, but I'm also treated very different, just like I see how my child is treated different. You know, because he's got a disability. So I want people to know that and to see that, that's the biggest challenge we have to get over, like, you know, what's the saying? Same, but different. And I guess I'm trying to have a discussion about that too. Remove the stigma. Like, let's have a conversation and I'll share my challenges because, I can tell you the flip side to that is, as a mom with a child with a disability, you know, he goes to a support school. He has all these systems in place. I am a machine. I can do anything quicker, faster, more efficient than anyone else and any mum can, I guess. Let's say all the mums have that superpower and it's so untapped and underrated in workplaces, you know, and I think we need to talk about that. Like I would do a full day's work in four hours. I can't do a podcast interview, but, you know, I can do a day's work in four hours. I don't muck around. I do deep work, and it's just, you know, I don't say that to brag or to be like, look at me. I'm over working like a crazy person. I'm efficient and fast and, you know, get stuff done and get rid of any of the fast that, doesn't need to be done. I just don't have time. And there's people in workplaces doing the exact same thing. So, we need to recognise that and reward that and not shun people because they're not, you know, putting in hours as in over time or working more, you know, coming to an office because they might be working from home because, you know, they've got other things they're going to do. But that doesn't mean to be based on a time frame of getting whatever needs to be done.

00:18:40:20 - 00:18:43:15

Lucy

So well said. So well said. I feel that one. I completely understand that. And it's so true. Mums in general can get stuff done a lot more efficiently. And that's why I find these conversations that are happening about the moment, at the moment with people needing to return to work and into the office and have this quote marks visibility, but they're not taking into any account what's going on behind the scenes where most people and, as you say, how that could actually serve their business. So, so well said. Is there anything that we can do to further support that for you?

00:20:56:17 - 00:21:14:09

Simone

I think my key message is to ask people what support they need. Don't make any assumptions. You know, the meltdown I had the other day. Like I said, there was a lot of assumptions. Like I had to go to a school meeting, and I had to rearrange my whole day, and I didn't have to be there. And it's because no one just said, hey, it's own way up. How do you feel about this? How can we support you? They didn't ask me that. They dragged me into school, which is like, you know, 30K's away, sat me down and spoke to me like I was an idiot. And I really resented that because I'm like, just ask people what they need. They will tell you. I can tell you what support I need, like working from home or, you know, I might do a few hours during the day and I'm like, jump on. I usually jump on actually really early in the morning and do stuff before everyone's up into the day. My brain's too frazzled, so ask people what support they need and they'll be able to tell you and then support them with that to do the work that works within whatever they've got going on. And you'll get incredible results.

00:22:00:12 - 00:22:03:02

Lucy

So true, so well said. Beautifully said.

What advice? Probably our final question, but would you give to a mum who is standing on the edges of her own business at the moment and thinking of taking that leap, but she's a bit afraid of the what ifs? Is there something that you could say to her that you think would be helpful?

00:22:19:18 - 00:22:42:03

Simone

Yeah, I think you need to start as soon as you can, just with what you have. You know, I started with a random podcast that had a completely different name. It was called gosh, what was it? It was called unplug, and I wanted to make a marketplace. So what I started with and like I said, where I'm at today is very different, but I only landed here today because I had to go through all of that. Like I pitched to brands to do photoshoots and they all said yes, they weren't supposed to, but then they said, look, we can only do 1 or 2 shoots because I kind of like do photo shoots for major brands, but I can provide the talent so that agencies can do the TV commercials, which is what we do now.

I got some coaches, like I started doing influencer marketing, didn't know anything about influencer marketing, got a talent coach and learned all the industry things. So I just start with what you have, do the thing, let it evolve based on what, you know, the market says and needs and then, you know, give it some time and you'll land with like I said, I feel Disinfluencer does it feel different things, but it's all one and the same to me.

But it took me a while to really define these kind of, products and offerings for different people in the marketplace. But at the end of the day, no matter if someone buys one of my eLearning or books an influencer, my talent, my people with disabilities are getting supported and getting opportunities for work. So it doesn't matter how we do it. So that core mission is there. Yeah. But I like I said, I've done lots of really random things, a bit of like crazy gumption. Like if you see Jane Kay in a car park, don’t jump on her. Or maybe you should. Make some magic happen. Opportunities will present themselves. I assumed everyone would say ‘no’, but I haven’t had a ‘no’ yet.

00:23:55:11 - 00:24:00:03

Lucy

Wow. Look at that. So good, so good. It's like someone was sharing with us yesterday about how you are responsible for taking for making the opportunities that you want. People are not going to come around and hand them out to you. I mean, they might, but you can't take that risk. So yeah, really powerful share. Thank you so much. Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

00:24:39:04 - 00:25:09:23

Simone

I just think, you know, people with disabilities, are your clients and your customers and their families, they've got money to spend. Market to them, include them. Make your digital spaces inclusive. Make you. You know, I talk about disability in the workplace and, you know, there's nothing scary about disability at all. Some people will say, work, be this, give us opportunities, and you know you'll reap the rewards of that within your workplace through the social capital.

You know, there's so many untapped opportunities out there. So, you know, it's definitely an untapped market opportunity. So here I am, come work with me.

00:25:19:19 - 00:25:22:07

Lucy

So good. Thank you so much for mine.

00:25:22:07 - 00:25:23:00

Simone

Thank you.

00:25:26:12 - 00:25:41:22

Carrie

Thanks for listening to today's episode. Don't forget to subscribe via Spotify or Apple Podcast. Mums and Co is a network helping business learning women to start, connect and grow. Join us today at mumsandco.com.au

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