WHO RUN THE WORLD? THIS SUNDAY'S SUPER SUCCESSFUL WOMAN OF THE WEEK IS ALYCE TRAN, CO-FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF THE DAILY EDITED

This corporate lawyer turned entrepreneur has transformed her side-hustle into a $30 million business, and she only just turned 30! Alyce Tran is the CEO and creative director of The Daily Edited, a retail brand that specialises in customisable and personalisable lifestyle accessories and leather goods. She is also responsible for the strategic direction, marketing, product design, brand development, and operations within Australia, Singapore and the US. Her only advice to young entrepreneurs is "just start".

Alyce Tran came from very humble beginnings. Her parents moved from Vietnam to South Australia, where they operated a strawberry farm in the Adelaide Hills. Always a hard worker, Tran graduated from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Laws and Commerce. After University, she continued to climb the corporate ladder, working as a solicitor and eventually moved to Sydney. It was in Sydney where she met her co-founder and business partner, Tania Liu, who was also working as a lawyer at the time. Together they started The Daily Edited, originally a blog, as a creative outlet from their law jobs. The blog grew an organic following and in 2014 The Daily Edited accessories line was launched... the rest is history.

The Daily Edited accessories line started with cardholders and compendiums. They promoted the first pieces on their Instagram accounts and within weeks, the line was sold out. Now, they sell everything from tote bags, to phone cases and pet accessories. Their affordable monogrammed leather goods have cemented the monogram trend into the twenty first century (we want our names on everything), and in less than five years the brand has achieved international success. However, it wasn’t as easy as posting aesthetically pleasing photos on Instagram.

Tran attributes her success to her incredibly strong work ethic. When she was a lawyer, and TDE was her side hustle, she would work at her day job from 9am until 7pm, and from 7:30pm until midnight she worked on TDE. After the accessory line took off, her and Tania would be packing orders until 2am to then get up at 7am to go to their ‘real jobs’. Although she says she was a very tired and boring person during that time, the hard work paid off and they both quit their jobs after saving a year’s salary ($200k each). The company has gone from strength to strength since. Last financial year, TDE had a turnover of $30 million and now has a team of more than 140 employees globally.

Her advice to young women wanting to start their own business is to work really hard on your side hustle and don’t quit your day job, well at least not straight away. Although her accountant was advising her to quit her job as a lawyer and focus on TDE full-time, she made sure she had enough money to live on for a year if the business was to fail. She also highlights that being a woman can be a powerful thing in today’s business climate and has provided her with opportunities that a man might not have had (as well as her ability to multi-task). The top five qualities she looks for when hiring is a can-do attitude, enthusiasm and willingness to go the extra mile, the ability to write a decent email, and confidence.

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HOW TO GET YOUR SH*T TOGETHER AND INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY, PART ONE

Find your “why”

Your why is the purpose or vision that inspires you. Anyone can achieve something if they work hard enough, but your “why” is what gives you fulfilment. Ask yourself, why do you do what you do? Why do you want to change? Why do you want to be more productive? Why do you want to get your life together? This is your purpose. Write it down. When you focus on the "how" or the "what" many obstacles seem like they're in the way of success. However, when you focus on the "why", none of the obstacles matter. 

Set short term achievable goals

A goal wields a sense of achievement and that achievement motivates you to do better. By setting short-term achievable goals and writing them down, it will trigger a domino effect that stimulates your brain to want to achieve more. Make it your goal to do some kind of physical activity for 30 minutes every day. Make it your goal to wake up an hour earlier, or go to bed an hour earlier every day. Make it your goal to work on your side hustle for an hour a day. Whatever your goals may be, start small. These small, measurable and achievable goals create habits, stimulate achievement and lead to big changes.

Declutter

Become a minimalist. Clear out your inbox and unsubscribe from unnecessary marketing emails that flood your inbox and take up precious time in your day. Make sure you immediately delete emails you don’t need and file the ones you need in labelled folders in your inbox. Regularly do a spring clean, not just in spring. Be ruthless. They’re just things. Throw out anything you haven’t used in over a year. You’re never going to use it and its taking up precious space. A cluttered workspace is an unproductive workspace.  

Wake up early, or don’t; but make sure you get 8 hours sleep

Some people have schedules that don’t allow them to wake up at 6am every day. Some people are morning people, some people are night owls. If you finished work late last night and you didn’t manage to get to sleep until after midnight. Set your alarm for 8am. However, if you work 9 – 5 and you’re a morning person, go to bed at 9pm and wake up at 5am. You can use the few hours in the morning to get so much more done. Whatever your preference, make sleep a priority. You may think you can survive on less, but you have no idea how much more productive you will be if you make sure you’re getting the eight hours your body and your mind needs. 

Plan the night before

How many times have you been running around the house before work trying on different outfits, making your lunch, packing your handbag, whilst trying to find your keys and eat breakfast all in the space of 30 minutes? That used to be me every day and it set the precedent for what the rest of my day was going to be like. Now, I spend 30 minutes before bed making my lunch, deciding what to wear to work, packing my bag, and planning for the next day. This leaves me time in the mornings to make a healthy breakfast, watch the news, check my diary and start my day slowly.

The one minute rule

Any tasks that take less than one minute, do them immediately. Most of the time the long list of jobs you have to do are actually made up of many one minute jobs. This rule separates the small tasks from the larger tasks, decluttering your to do list so you can focus on the larger tasks when you have more time. Whether it’s cleaning the kitchen bench, washing the dishes, sweeping the floor, emptying the trash or writing a grocery list. Set a timer for 15 minutes and do as many tasks as possible. You can get 15 one minute tasks done in 15 minutes and you will be surprised how much burden this takes off of your to do list.  

Write things down

Shopping lists, appointments, ideas, mental notes, everything. I put a notebook and a pen in every room of the house. Someone who makes appointments and then turns up a day early, or forgets the appointment all together, doesn’t have their shit together. Someone with a hundred good ideas in their mind is less productive than someone with 50 good ideas written down. Making lists and converting your mental notes into literal notes, declutters your brain and increases your focus and productivity.

Listen to podcasts 

Listen to podcasts while you do your tasks. Listen to podcasts while you commute. Listen to podcasts while you exercise. Listen to podcasts while you cook. Listen to podcasts while you grocery shop. It makes menial tasks actually seem enjoyable as it feels like you have good company with you. In addition, it's a really productive use of your time as you're filling you brain with new knowledge and ideas whilst ticking things off of your to do list. Check out my podcasts label for my favourite podcast episodes. 

Set aside ‘junk time’

If you’re someone who loves to watch Netflix. Allow yourself one hour before bed to watch Netflix. If you’re someone who has to scroll on social media every day, set aside an hour a night to scroll on social media, to check twitter, or to reply to messages on Facebook. If you love online shopping, set aside an hour to browse online. After the hour is over, stop and do something productive with your time. You will be surprised at the number of hours a day you waste when you don't set a specific timer on your 'junk time'.

Even socialising can be considered ‘junk time’. Socialising may be a human need; however, it’s not necessarily using your time productively and that can make some people feel extremely guilty. I know I feel terribly guilty setting appointments and dates because I know that is an hour I have to spend getting ready and commuting, an hour or two with a friend, and then an hour to get home and get back into work. However, by planning my day, setting aside 'junk time', and listening to podcasts while getting ready and commuting, I’m spending that 3-4 hours of my day way more productively. Limit yourself to an hour, or two, of ‘junk time’ per day and no more. I can guarantee you will be spend the 14-15 hours of your day that you’re awake way more productively.

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WHO RUN THE WORLD? THIS SUNDAY'S SUPER SUCCESSFUL WOMAN OF THE WEEK IS ROXY JACENKO, PUBLICIST AND CEO OF SWEATY BETTY PR, SOCIAL UNION AND MINISTRY OF TALENT

As controversial as she may be, there is no denying that Roxy Jacenko is the OG Australian girl boss. Working her way up from receptionist to marketing and PR director of Diesel in just two years, Roxy left to start her own PR company at the age of 24. Fourteen years later and Sweaty Betty PR now boasts an impressive client list including high profile local and global brands, celebrities and sports personalities. Although it is not public information, in 2016 Roxy’s rumored turnover was more than $13 million. A self described 'useless student', Roxy attributes her immense success to her strong work ethic and determination to succeed. She is now owner of four businesses, including her daughters hair accessory business Pixies Bows, author of three books, brand ambassador, and Instagram star.

Roxy’s strong personality, tendency to overshare on social media and her husbands high profile court case has led to a misrepresentation of her in the media. However, this woman has built a multi-million dollar company from the ground up and there is no denying she is an exceptional business woman that we can learn a lot from.

Often criticized for flaunting her luxurious lifestyle and expensive taste, Roxy maintains that she has worked extremely hard to be in a position to be able to afford every thing she desires and she is proud to showcase it. Starting as a McDonald's employee at age 14, Roxy flunked school and managed to secure a receptionist job at Diesel. In a quest to make her parents proud she sought to learn every facet of the business and quickly worked her way up to marketing and PR director. Realising she had a talent for public relations, Roxy started her own business. As a 24 year old entrepreneur Roxy says she spent her twenties sleeping in her office, hustling seven days a week, and doing every menial task herself. As her friends were out partying, socializing and travelling the world, Roxy was working 24/7 to get her business off the ground.

The blood, sweat and tears she put into her business may have paid off, however Roxy still hasn’t taken her foot off the pedal. In the No Filter podcast episode she admitted she genuinely loves to work as she says her work has never let her down. This is evident in the massive success of all of her businesses. In addition to the most lucrative public relations agency in Sydney, she is founder of Social Union, a content creation agency, and ministry of talent, a global talent management agency.  Roxy has truly re-written the book on public relations, communication and talent management, and is the poster girl for Australian female entrepreneurs. Also an accomplished public speaker, tickets to her seminars are the most sought after in Australia.

In addition to building her empire, Roxy was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 while her husband and father to her children went to jail for 12 months for insider trading. Roxy is a survivor and a force to be reckoned with. She has written three books, built a further three successful businesses and is the sole bread winner for her and her two children. There is nothing that can stop Roxy Jacenko from achieving success and growing her business. 

Roxy is well-known for her ‘never stop’ rule and explains her life motto is, “why walk when you can run?”. Her advice to young women wanting to succeed in business is to “do as much as you can for everyone you can. You never know where you might need a favour or who you might cross paths with later”. Send Roxy an email and you’re sure to get a reply. She has an open door policy when it comes to emails and prides herself on responding to every single one within minutes. “Work hard and show people you are enthusiastic and want to be there." She says, "Don’t be afraid to break the boundaries. Just start, no matter how small that first step is. Don’t think, do.”

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