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SPIN Ideas

SPIN Ideas

by Sofia Simeonidou

Veronica Guguian

Business Story

October 2018 | Sofia Simeonidou

This is one of the last interviews for New Stardom with the old concept and process. I’m glad it’s with Veronica because she’s very much to the point, no fluff, just straight forward answers. Powerful conversations are the ones you instantly understand.

Tell me about your work? What’s your company about?

My company’s name is SPIN Ideas and I do marketing strategy for entrepreneurs and start-ups. Before that, I was working for a media company here in the Netherlands and I also had my own company back in my home country, Romania. The thing I noticed was that many entrepreneurs and start-up companies put so much energy and money on the wrong type of marketing, without having a focus. So what I do is taking their story and their product or service, understand the audience they need to target and transform this into a rewarding marking strategy.

Who are your clients?

They’re mainly small business owners and start-ups but I also have clients with a corporate background, clients who are leaving their corporate career and want to start their own company.

What was the reason for you to start your own company?

I used to have my own company back home in Romania and when I moved here in 2010 I realised that I can’t start a company without a network, without knowing the working culture of my new country. So the first logical step was to get a job and figure things out. I worked for a media company, in a very international environment, which gave me a good perspective and helped me grow my business network with clients all around the world. So I realised I wanted to work again for myself. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, this is who I am.

When was that?

I moved in 2010 and I left my company in 2016.

What’s something good about being an employee?

Being an employee you have the security of a salary and everything else is arranged for you. And if you have good colleagues, you can have a lot of fun as well. A not so good thing is that you need to follow a given structure and you are not the decision maker. Or at least not the one that has the last word.

Would you go back into being an employee?

No. If I can help it no.

What would you be if you weren't a marketing strategist?

I would still have my own business. I used to have an e-commerce business selling designer french clothes and owning a concept store. All my life I came up with ideas so I know I’d be working for myself, but I don't know in what industry.

Tell me something market-y about where do people need to focus on?

The authenticity. They need to focus on being authentic. And on creating strategic partnerships. You don't have to compete, you can work together with other companies and offer bigger and better services or products to your clients.

What about your own company’s marketing?

What I do with my marketing, if you follow any of my company social media accounts (and I invite everyone reading this to follow), is educating people about marketing. My content is all about guiding people to create and implement a solid marketing strategy.

Do you invest a lot of time in your company’s marketing?

Yes, I do invest time.

I like your brand identity. Did you work on it or did you hire a professional designer?

It’s my work and I had some help from my boyfriend, who is in IT.

Don’t become an entrepreneur if you are…

If you’re afraid to be out of your comfort zone on a daily basis.

Do you read any books?

All the time.

Marketing books?

I’m trying to read a bit of everything.

Books or Netflix?

Books without hesitation.

Where’s your office?

My office is in the co-working space TSH Collab, I love the vibe here. When I first visited I instantly wanted to take my laptop out my bag and start working.

Any advice for new entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs to be?

Just do it. If you want to try it, try it. But be warned, being an entrepreneur isn’t only glamour. It is hard work and you need to be prepared for it. Everyone is talking about the freedom you have and how you can do whatever you want, but that comes with responsibilities. It’s rewarding but requires a lot of time and commitment.

Do you have any future plans? New collaborations?

I am very excited about the future. There are a couple of big projects happening now:

In collaboration with 3 other entrepreneurs, I'm organizing a conference for SMEs and startups ready to scale up. The name of the conference is BASE, Straight Up-Scaling and I am extremely excited about this project as we believe it will bring new levels of awareness and benefits to anyone attending.

And the second project I am working on is partnering with different freelancers, to be able to offer any type of marketing service under the SPIN Ideas umbrella while making sure everything is in line with the client’s marketing strategy.

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