
Naomi Simson Blog
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I'm Naomi. I am an Australian entrepreneur, blogger, speaker, founder of RedBalloon, and co-founder of Big Red Group. I started my entrepreneurial journey with RedBalloon in 2001 from my front room with just $25,000 and a second-hand computer. Redballoon.com.au is now considered one of Australia's online business success stories and has proudly served more than 3.6 million customers...
Naomi Simson Blog
9M ago
There is so much conversation about how marketing professionals are using AI to augment their productivity, but it takes time to get it right. Whilst we are loving NLP – NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING we still need to become familiar with what works best for us (and our need).
Here are five of the best ways to use AI for marketing. And then below I have provided a list of sample prompts to help you get started.
Write prompts as short as possible
Be specific – is it an email? A blog post? How my words do you want it to be?
Offer context – who is the audience, where will it appear, who will read i ..read more
Naomi Simson Blog
9M ago
Next week I have a speaking engagement to share with a room of professionals about ‘AI’. It is such a big subject and everyone seems to be talking about it. It reminds me of back in the day when the Internet was in its infancy. All talk but not so much action.
I thought it would be interesting for my readers to learn a little bit about what I have learned and how I am using AI to massively improve my productivity. I will split my presentation into sections on particular business functions. I will be focussing on:
“How do I grow my business cost effectively when I just don’t have enough hours ..read more
Naomi Simson Blog
1y ago
The job of Shark Tank is to deliver customers, audiences and excitement to budding entrepreneurs, and of course the Sharks invest their time, energy and money in helping them be ready for their ‘moment in the sun’. However with only 237,000 viewers for the first episode of this current series I am disappointed for all concerned. Smart Company asked me to write a piece of advice and reflection as the show moves to a different phase. I have re posted here.
On the cusp of a new season of Shark Tank it has given me a moment to reflect on Angel Investing in Australia. What works and what doesn’t wo ..read more
Naomi Simson Blog
2y ago
I was asked in a panel last night, ‘How are leaders navigating change?’. The answer for many may seem overwhelming.
It has been a while since I posted and, in that time, there has been much change. But somethings do remain constant. You cannot grow an enterprise or be an influential leader without continually reviewing the tools and strategies that you apply. There is much written about leadership (and I read a lot) but from all of that I wanted to distill some key ideas.
Here is a list of tools to help leaders navigate the complexities of what business we are currently facing. The good news f ..read more
Naomi Simson Blog
3y ago
Announcement: Experience Oz joins Big Red Group
Unity is a powerful thing, particularly in business. Partnerships, alliances and acquisitions can create significantly more value, deliver new opportunities and bring much stronger offerings to the market for all stakeholders. When each partner brings a specific set of skills and expertise to the table which complements the other, it makes for a dynamic union.
Such is the case with Big Red Group acquiring Experience Oz and Experience Oz Local Agent from holding company TicketMates Australia.
In line with Big Red Group’s ethos to support local, th ..read more
Naomi Simson Blog
3y ago
Growth Funding for entrepreneurs
If you are looking for funding or finance for your online business the this could be the answer..
This podcast is 17 minutes and might be the your access to growth funds.
I had the good fortune to meet Michele Romanow who is a Dragon on Canadian Dragons Den some years ago. (Same concept as Shark Tank in Australia)
Michele and I discussed the challenges faced by many innovators, start-ups and business owners in accessing much needed funding. Much of the ‘angel funding’ (including that provided on our respective shows) is often used for working capita ..read more
Naomi Simson Blog
3y ago
Looking to grow? It’s all about the cash flow
Every business owner knows cash is king. But many find themselves on the back foot managing their cash flow just to keep their head above water.
What if you have growth ambitions? How do you set the business up financially to make strategic investments or seize opportunities?
Educate yourself. It is not enough to say, “oh, my accountant does it.” No matter how much we value their input, it is really up to us. Only we can make the decisions of how we allocate cash (and time) to what projects.
Make sure you take advantage of the myriad of cours ..read more
Naomi Simson Blog
3y ago
How to lead leaders
I have been working with the Airwallex team to bring the startup, business and entrepreneur community resources to assist growth. When there is so much to do, often what makes the difference is not what you do, but why you do it. For years business educators have spoken of working ‘on’ your business rather than ‘in’ the business. But that is easier said than done.
As part of this wonderful content series called ‘choose growth’ I wanted to break down the steps on ‘how’ to do it. In practical real terms.
In this most recent post on the Four Steps to Leading Leaders. (ie we wa ..read more
Naomi Simson Blog
3y ago
Choose Growth Content series with Airwallex
Having worked with many business owners over many years, I’ve found there’s a key differentiator between achieving incremental versus exponential growth. True business growth requires a mindset shift and a simple question –
What are you doing today to create growth for your business?
I’m so pleased to announce my Choose Growth partnership with global fintech Airwallex, to bring fresh and creative content to business owners looking to scale. As part of the Choose Growth partnership, we will explore key growth challenges facing businesses, includ ..read more
Naomi Simson Blog
3y ago
A start up kit for business growth
If you are like me, you have read a hundred business books and a thousand articles and posts. Most of them with incredible gold and great value as you look at how to start, grow and scale your business.
Then it comes time to planning.
You know you need to adapt, be agile, and customer responsive. And all those business books swimming around in your brain seem to illude you.
This is why I LOVE Plan.D (not sure about the name but I get what the creators Lucy Gilfedder and brother Sam Gilfedder are saying…
“Plan.D was first realised whilst Lucy was studying for ..read more