Hey! It’s Doone, your hype girl in business. The news broke earlier this week that TikTok is second (only to Amazon!!) when it comes to driving repeat purchases. I hope you’re not tired of us telling you to jump on the trend, because this is going to be seriously big.

Today we’re covering 👇

• A reminder that Social Media is Fake 

• The one-way ticket to growing your email list ✨

• All the latest news hot off the press

• $25K from 15%Pledge x Dream Makers

• Milk Bar is hiring!

@femalestartupclub_us

Four TikTok Shop campaigns are live RIGHT NOW! Sign up in your seller centers 🤑 #tiktokshopping #tiktokshop #tiktokshopseller #tiktokshopt... See more

Social Media is Fake:
Things I’m struggling with RN 👉

Your very real reminder that not everyone has their shit together despite the polished front we all put on 💕 here’s a few very real things I’m struggling with right now…

👉 The baby chapter: Ooof. Such a big one for women. I’m 35 this year and my career is finally reaching a really exciting moment I’ve worked SO damn hard for. It’s such a tricky thing to juggle wanting to power forward with my business but also make big decisions around whether we want to have a family. Being the lower earner out of me and my husband (software entrepreneur) the reality is that I’m the one that will have to step back in some capacity to be the primary carer. I’m the one who has to go through the impact on my body. All these things are so full on when you’re at a point where you have this amazing biz bringing joy, you’re travelling all the time, you’re happy in your day to day. Women really are superheroes. 

👉 How different the world is for women vs. men: How different the world is for women vs men. When I zoom out and think about the things that really piss me off (pay gap, funding gap, the systemic issues women and girls face at every level in life, the abuse we suffer from men) I find it really bloody overwhelming. Like why is the world this way? Why are we raped and murdered at the hands of men? Why aren’t we backed by investors when we know the ROI is there? We aren’t we seen as equal? Why is the system making men richer? Why is assault in the workplace getting shoved under the rug (*cough cough* Australia’s tech darling). The overwhelm spiral can lead me to “well what’s even the point” “when will it change” existential crisis feelings. 

👉 ADD/ADHD: Wow. I was diagnosed last year after years of searching for answers (while on a downward spiral). It’s a blessing to have more education and information that helps make sense of things about yourself but my busy brain can still be a damn shambles - especially in my personal life. 

👉 The older I get, the more introverted I am: lThe older I get the more introverted I am. I’ve always been very shy on the inside but my coping skills mean I present as an extrovert on the outside (lol). I was raised an only child with a single mum in the bush so we had a quiet existence and that means I need a lot of low key time at home to refill my cup especially after group situations, events, public speaking. All these things I’m actually kinda good at give me a lot of anxiety. The irony! 

👉 Comparison: Ahhh comparison, this one never gets easier.

👉 Money: And comparison leads to money. I put a lot of pressure on myself to make FSC a sustainable business that keeps growing in revenue and makes sense financially - it’s easy to see other businesses absolutely crushing and comparing that to where we are in the journey - which leads to “what am I doing wrong” and “why isn’t this happening for me” thinking and if I’m having a low period in the business I question what I’m doing and whether it’s worth it. If it’s worth pausing having a baby. If it’s worth the energy and stress poured into it. 

👋 No easy answers, thank you for giving me this space to share → join the convo 

The money is in the list 💌

You know how everyone's always telling you that the money is in the list? That your email subscriber list is your most valuable asset because you own that data? Yeahhhh about that… Let's be real, getting started can feel like a daunting task (never mind your other hundreds of to-do’s). 

But fear not, because I'm here to show you the simple, yet powerful strategy that has helped us grow our email subscriber list to almost 20,000 of you (from scratch) and you can use the same principles to grow your email database whether you’re pre launch or multi years into the founder journey: 

1/ Create an Irresistible (Free) Lead Magnet 😏

First things first, you need to offer something of value to your audience - something they actually want and something you can create organic content about that sparks interest and attention (= eyeballs).

Think about what your ideal customer needs and create a lead magnet that offers a solution to their #1 problem. (One of our best performing leads is serving up a curated doc of LIVE grants & accelerator for women  – saving you tonnes of time searching for relevant funding opportunities). Other ideas could look like:  

• If you’re a skincare brand; it could be an epic downloadable resource revealing the industry’s best kept routines for ultimate glowy skin 

• If you’re in the fitness niche; maybe it’s a downloadable workout plan you can use on holidays in collaboration with an influencer 

• If you’re in food & bev; it could be a recipe ebook of your fave 100 lazy girl dinners (with 30g of protein!) 

• Or simply a tried & tested incentive like early access to product launches, promotions & free shipping  

2/ Optimise Your Opt-In Process ✨ Make it as easy as possible for people to subscribe to your email list. Streamline your opt-in process by creating simple, user-friendly forms and landing pages. Keep the form fields to a minimum – just asking for a name and email address is enough. 

3/ Promote Your Lead Magnet Everywhere 📣 Once you've created your lead magnet, it's time to spread the word and drive those eyeballs to it! Promote it on your website, social media channels, and any other platforms where your target audience hangs out & emphasise the value they'll receive by downloading the goods and subscribing to your email list.

👉 Learn more about building a successful email strategy on your own 

• NCAA women beat men in final rating for the first time (but Caitlyn Clark’s salary is still 0.76% on her NBA counterparts…)

• The Folklore bags $3.4M to get brands into global stores

• Jaclyn Johnson’s angel investing platform is live in beta!

• Gen X leads the way in the rise of female entrepreneurs

• Saalt launches a period equity initiative across campuses

• Come on, let’s make the world $6 trillion richer ✊

• Hot tip: don’t use the word “delve” in your pitches!

• Stop telling women they have imposter syndrome

• Dove has made a pledge never to use AI models

• Aussie Techstars applications are ✨open✨

This week's grant...

15percentpledge X Dream Makers is awarding five women entrepreneurs $25,000 to grow their business | Apply by April 30th to be in with a chance.

This week's lineup...

This week's recommendations...

Ways I can help you this week…

REMOTE ☀️

• Christina Tosi's award-winning Milk Bar is hiring an Accountant to help with daily accounting processes and financial reporting | Apply here.

• Love + Chew Brands, baking clean plant-based protein cookies, is seeking a Finance Manager to join their fully remote team | More here.

• Affordable pet insurance brand Wagmo is looking for a Strategic Implementation Manager | Know someone for the job?

NYC 🗽

• Mom-founded kids clothing brand Primary is hiring a VP of Product Development and Sourcing to join the team | Apply directly here.

That’s a wrap! Here’s to a happy and healthy week, bestie ✨