From Losing $750,000 to Building One of the Fastest Growing New Marketing Agencies in Australia and Aiming to Become a B Corp

On Episode 60 of the?“Future of Australia”?podcast, I speak with?Amber Bonney , the Founder and Head of Strategy at The Edison Agency ,?which?grew 38% last year, to do over $2.6 million in annual revenue.

This made?The Edison Agency, on the Financial Review list of 100 fastest growing new companies in Australia, one of the FASTEST GROWING new businesses in Australia.

[Click Here to Listen to the Podcast in SPOTIFY , or?Listen in iTunes , or?Listen in SoundCloud , or search 'Future of Australia' or 'Derek Stewart' in your iPhone or Android podcast app]

We Discuss...

• Studying Communication Design, and going to University Open Days at 14 years old, knowing exactly what she wanted to do, focusing mainly on working at smaller companies
• The difference between commercial design and art, and learning the audience, budget and time frame
• Struggling to be taken seriously by UK companies who thought she was a young backpacker and not a professional

• The psychology of people, and how clear communication can take big organisations through change, dealing with fear, impact, communications and culture management
• Returning to Australia, having her first child, working at a boutique strategy agency, pivoting from being a Senior Designer to being an Account Director
• “Learn what you can from other people first, build up your tool kit, before starting your own business”
• Having income from large blue chip companies that allowed for pro bono work and unique industries
• Having 18 team members now, the right people, with the right cultural fit, some people coming up to their four to five year anniversary
• “The people side of the business is the hardest part”
• Asking “What am I here for?” in her late 40s, and focusing on the type of projects that she won’t work with, and the down time in COVID that allowed for self-reflection
• Wanting to become a B-Corp and acknowledging people, planet and purpose, and focused on “transformative design to create transformative change”
• Everyone can make a positive difference, even small businesses
• “Enjoy the journey a little bit more, congratulate yourself, be kind to yourself, and know your worth” as her advice to her younger self
• Being under-valued or exploited in certain situations, working for clients or projects that felt uncomfortable, such as working on a tobacco account
• Wanting to publish books and start a podcast, do a PhD, grow the team

[Click Here to Listen to the Podcast in SPOTIFY , or?Listen in iTunes , or?Listen in SoundCloud , or search 'Future of Australia' or 'Derek Stewart' in your iPhone or Android podcast app]

Podcast Episode History:

Episode 1:?"Family Business & Real Estate: How Husband and Wife QLD Entrepreneurs Found A Gap in The Market "

Episode 2:?"Law & Accounting Firm A.I and Automation + Doubling Revenue TWICE in 12 Months "

Episode 3:?"Expat Entrepreneurship & Maximising Your Marketing Dollars "

Episode 4:?"Turning a Hobby Selling Quirky Gifts Online Into a Multi-Million Dollar Business "

Episode 5: "Owning 20+ Properties In His 20s to Buying 40 Per MONTH for Clients "

Episode 6: "Engineering Entrepreneurship and Managing BILLION Dollar Assets "

Episode 7: "One Day Away From Shutting Down to 1000% Annual Growth "

Episode 8:?"From Losing Your Co-Founder to 59% Growth the Next Year "

Episode 9: "Female Entrepreneurship And Starting a Business 11 Days After Giving Birth "

Episode 10: "From Door-To-Door Salesman To $11 Million Annual Revenue Within FIVE Years "

Episode 11: "From Podiatry Intern to 60+ Employee Health SuperCentre "

Episode 12: "From Selling Burned CDs to $350mm in Annual Revenue "

Episode 13: "Developing a Growth Mindset and Perth Entrepreneurship Going Global "

Episode 14: "From Army Officer to $23mm Annual Revenue Canberra Consultancy in 3 Years "

Episode 15: "How High School Best Friends Created One of The Fastest Growing Media Agencies in Australia "

Episode 16: "Creating Entrepreneurs, Corporate Innovation and Helping 10 Year Olds Make $1000+ Per Month "

Episode 17: "From $200,000+ in Credit Card Debt to Seven Figure Annual Income "

Episode 18: "How Construction Consulting Became a Multi-Million Dollar Niche Success "

Episode 19: "Why A Fast Growth Law Firm Embraces Tech and Teaches Its Entrepreneur Clients How to Negotiate "

Episode 20: "From Neuroscience PhD to 70 Employee Fast Growth Consultancy "

Episode 21:?"From Inspirational Facebook Posts to the Fastest Growing New Apparel Business in Australia "

Episode 22: "From Sleeping on the Factory Floor to 3rd Fastest Growing New Business in Australia with $40mm+ Annual Revenue "

Episode 23: "From Graduate Finance Job at 18 to Growing Revenue $55 MILLION in 12 Months "

Episode 24: "Paying Drivers MORE The Secret to the Fastest Growing New Logistics Company in Australia "

Episode 25: "From Kicked Out Of High School to Published Author Running A Multi-Million Dollar Digital Growth Agency "

Episode 26: "From $1,000,000+ in DEBT to 6th Fastest Growing New Business in Australia

Episode 27: "How EMPLOYEE-OWNED Consultancy Became 10th Fastest Growing New Business in Australia "

Episode 28:"From Cold Calling in a New York City Phone Booth to Australian Public Company CEO "

Episode 29: "How a Direct-To-Consumer Leak Proof Underwear Business Became The 8th Fastest Growing New Businesses in Australia "

Episode 30: "Why Helping People Lose 6kg+ in TWO WEEKS Made Shark Tank Invest "

Episode 31: "From Road Tripping Around the USA in a Van to Running One of The Fastest Growing Digital Media Agencies in Australia "

Episode 32: "How Predicting Technology Trends Enabled Vamsi to Build One of The Fastest Growing New Businesses in Australia "

Episode 33: "Becoming One Of The Fastest Growing New Recruitment Businesses in Australia While Having Two Weddings and Five Pregnancies in the Founding Team "

Episode 34:"From Making $1,000,000+ Mowing Laws at 17 to Becoming One Of The Fastest Growing New Engineering Businesses in Australia "

Episode 35:"How Tony Turned a Struggling Digital Gifting Company Into a Fast Growth Success Story Selling 400,000+ Gift Cards per MONTH "

Episode 36: "Using Automated Disinfecting Lights and Robots to Tackle COVID-19 and Becoming The Fastest Growing New Healthcare Business in Australia "

Episode 37: "Becoming One of The Fastest Growing New Management Consultancies in Australia by Doing The Opposite of The Big Four "

Episode 38: "Being The Solution to Climate Change, with a BILLION Dollar Goal and Turning That Into a Fast Growth Success Story "

Episode 39: "From Starting a Restaurant in Germany as a University Student to Creating The Fastest Growing AirBNB Management Business in Australia "

Episode 40:"Making Impact While Making Millions, With the Fastest Growing New Social Enterprise in Australia "

Episode 41:"Qutting a Dream Job at Google to Build One of the Fastest Growing New Businesses in Australia "

Episode 42:"Building The Fastest Growing Commercial Real Estate Buyers Agency and Moving Away from Residential Property Investing "

Episode 43: "From Princess Diana’s Personal Trainer to Creating the Fastest Growing Fitness Franchise in Australia "

Episode 44: "Transforming an Idea for Gluten Free Beer to 1700+ Locations, Creating One of The Fastest Growing Beer Brands in Australia "

Episode 45: "Solving BILLION Dollar Supply Chain Problems and Why COVID Changed Everything "

Episode 46:"From Wales to Sydney, Seeking Autonomy as The Motivation for Starting one of the Fastest Growing New Recruitment Companies in Australia "

Episode 47: "Creating Websites at 10 Years Old, Working in a Top Tier Law Firm, to Founding the Fastest Growing New Legal Tech Business in Australia "

Episode 48: "Borrowing $500,000 To Win His First Client, Becoming the Fastest Growing Marine Consultancy in Australia with 35 Staff in Three Years "

Episode 49: "Helping Aussie Brands Go Global, Building One of the Fastest Growing New Freight Companies in Australia "

Episode 50: "From 100 Hour Weeks In a Wine Bar, to Machine Learning Algorithms for Real Estate, and Creating One of the Fastest Growth Tech Companies in Australia "

Episode 51: "From Driving Brand and Business at Nike & Levi Strauss in Europe, to Private Equity, before Starting One of The Fastest Growing Strategy Consultancies "

Episode 52: "From Studying Philosophy and Astrophysics to Starting one of the Fastest Growing New Publicly Traded [ASX: WZR] FinTech Companies in Australia "

Episode 53: "Offering Her Staff a FOUR DAY Work Week, While Building One of the Fastest Growing New Media Agencies in Australia "

Episode 54: "From Special Forces Commando to Re-Entering Civilian Life After 24 Years, and Creating One of the Fastest Growing New Property Companies in Australia "

Episode 55: "From Being a Teenage Club Promoter to Starting One of The Fastest Growing New Plant Based Product Companies in Australia [ASX - LV1] "

Episode 56: "From High School Dropout to Published Author Running the Fastest Growing Human Capital Management Company in Australia "

Episode 57: "ZERO to $26 Million Annual Revenue in 36 Months and Becoming the THIRD Fastest Growing new Business in Australia "

Episode 58: "Giving up a Professional Sports Dream to Start a $30 Million Per Year Logistics Company, with PEOPLE as their Competitive Advantage "

Episode 59: "From Accountant to Running Pubs to Co-CEO of Fast Growth ASX Listed Personal Finance App RAIZ [ASX - RZI] "

Hi, my name is Derek.?"FUTURE OF AUSTRALIA"?is a project I am running to interview the Founders, CEOs and Entrepreneurs behind the?FASTEST GROWING new businesses in Australia.?

It has been voted one of the?top Australia business podcasts .

"FUTURE OF AUSTRALIA"?is about interviewing, celebrating and sharing the knowledge, aspirations, struggles, goals and achievements of these people with a broader audience.

If you are interested in contributing, learning more of keeping in the loop with our updates and email newsletter, email me at?[email protected] , or give me a call or text on?0404 689 897.