Today on The Business Serum Podcast, Laura Lee is interviewing Lara Schmoisman, CEO and Founder of The Darl, a worldwide marketing agency. Lara is an immigrant from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Armed with her signature “Sexy Accent” and an outstanding work ethic, she worked her way up starting in the field of entertainment both behind the camera and in front of the camera as an interviewer on the red carpet. From there, as she grew her family, she began her journey to becoming the marketing guru of today, set out to empower people to achieve their best at all costs.
Lara goes into depth about what it takes to start a worldwide business with employees in different countries, and how to manage that with a family. She also discusses the importance of mentorship and the difference between being a “Boss” and a Leader.
Things You’ll Learn
Follow Lara Schmoisman on Instagram: @laraschmoisman
Check out the Coffee No. 5 Podcast, hosted by Lara Schmoisman, here.
Follow Laura Lee on Instagram: @lauraleebotsacos
For more information about the podcast, check out our website here.
Meet our brand Apollo & Artemis.
Go back to the homepage.
Today on The Business Serum Podcast, Laura Lee is interviewing Lara Schmoisman, CEO and Founder of The Darl, a worldwide marketing agency. Lara is an immigrant from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Armed with her signature “Sexy Accent” and an outstanding work ethic, she worked her way up starting in the field of entertainment both behind the camera and in front of the camera as an interviewer on the red carpet. From there, as she grew her family, she began her journey to becoming the marketing guru of today, set out to empower people to achieve their best at all costs.
Lara goes into depth about what it takes to start a worldwide business with employees in different countries, and how to manage that with a family. She also discusses the importance of mentorship and the difference between being a “Boss” and a Leader.
Things You’ll Learn
Follow Lara Schmoisman on Instagram: @laraschmoisman
Check out the Coffee No. 5 Podcast, hosted by Lara Schmoisman, here.
Follow Laura Lee on Instagram: @lauraleebotsacos
For more information about the podcast, check out our website here.
Meet our brand Apollo & Artemis.
Go back to the homepage.
Laura Lee Botsacos 0:02
Hi everyone, I'm Laura Lee Botsacos founder and CO creator of Apollo & Artemis Beauty by equality. And you are listening to The Business Serum podcast where I'll bring you stories of people who have impacted the world through their unique business experiences, and how they have utilized their past and excavated their own life story to master the art of the ever changing sales strategy, beginning with themselves, because if you can close yourself on you, you can close yourself on anyone. I'm your host, Laura Lee Botsacos and today we'll be talking with Lara Schmoisman, founder and CEO of The Darl, a marketing strategist and coach, host of the Coffee N5 podcast and an international speaker. Lara, thank you so much for joining us.
Lara Schmoisman 0:50
Thank you for having me.
Laura Lee Botsacos 0:53
I'm tickled. I really appreciate you taking the time to do this. I know that you're a very, very busy woman.
Lara Schmoisman 0:59
I'm busy. But I always make time for you. And I love to talk to you. And I know we're gonna have fun.
Laura Lee Botsacos 1:05
Yeah, we are. You know, so there's so many things about when I was reading your bio, there's so many things I find intriguing about you. But first of all, I think what's fascinating, we obviously know that you have this grit and as it says here, armed with an accent grit and true authenticity. Sorry. So I love that. So talk to me a little bit about how you emigrated from Argentina to the United States and you built this new life. Can you give our listeners just a little bit of insight into that?
Lara Schmoisman 1:36
Absolutely. First, I call it the sexy accent. That's easier that all those big words, but anyway, life happens, and sometimes you need to let it happen to you. And you just need to be open for what comes next. I don't think I consciously decided I was immigrating anywhere. It just happened. I am a Jewish Latin woman who immigrated in Argentina. I mean, if you guys see me, I look totally Russian. Because I'm Russian 100%. But I speak Spanish, not Russian, and i'm completely white. And so people don't believe that I'm Latina. But culturally, I'm Latina. Yeah, of course, it was a cultural shock. But I had to take when I first moved here, I had 9 jobs.
Laura Lee Botsacos 2:32
No, I was gonna say, Yeah, that's one of the things I wanted to ask you. I mean, you come over? I mean, I'm assuming? Well, first of all, how would you say the work ethic is different between the United States and Argentina?
Lara Schmoisman 2:46
It's so different. My team can tell you a lot better because I have my team all over the world. And I honestly immigrated 23 years ago, so I'm my whole adulthood and my business experience is in the US. So I don't know any better. But what I can tell you what was shocking for me at the beginning, is that how you're trained in Argentina, when you go to college is you need to learn everything of what you're doing. So you had to like my degree. The first one is in screenwriting, the second one is in production and direction of television. So I had to learn, of course, how to handle the camera, how to do lighting, how to edit, I should be able to jump at any minute for anything. And when I came here and was missing someone else, I could do it. And there were no girls.
Laura Lee Botsacos 3:42
So you were obviously in the entertainment industry when you first came to the States.
Lara Schmoisman 3:46
Yes, I was in the entertainment industry.
Laura Lee Botsacos 3:49
So were you behind the scenes, in front of the scenes give us a little insight.
Lara Schmoisman 3:52
I was both actually behind the scene as a producer. But then I was doing a lot of red carpet. So as soon as I learned some English, I was doing a lot of interviews.
Laura Lee Botsacos 4:03
That's amazing. So obviously now so here you are, you're you know, you're fluent in two languages, you have this incredible background in entertainment, you know, being in front and behind the camera. And then how do you make that segue from that into creating this incredible marketing agency? I mean, what does that trajectory look like?
Lara Schmoisman 4:25
Actually, again, I never planned for it. Today, actually, one of my interns was asking me for college, like how you did it and what what are your expectations? I was like, I have none, I mean, as long as I'm happy every day that I wake up and work with my team and I have the best team in the world. And I have the best clients in the world. I'm happy and think good things will come because we have ethics and are creative. So you put all together, somehow it will happen. I think people try to hard.
Laura Lee Botsacos 5:00
I love that. I mean, I do love that. But it's interesting, right? Because you did have these you have, you know, I'm intrigued by women and men in business that have these very unique backgrounds that then take them to a different point. You know, I'm pretty sure that when you made your trip over here to in the States with this background of the entertainment industry, I'm pretty confident that you know, you didn't have to think, oh, you know, what one damn, would it be the owner of like this Worldwide Marketing agency
Lara Schmoisman 5:28
oh, absolutely not. I mean, after work in entertainment, I decided that I was pregnant. So the red carpet and high heels and pregnancy did not go well together. So I had to start over. And I started as an assistant and distribution company, for international movies. And then I climbed up at the same time, I was fascinated by the digital world. And I was learning by myself, because there were no classes back then. I mean, I'm talking about my first website in 1998. And being a woman in technology, and like people think I know how many times I have to prove myself to men, mostly, because you know, me, and I'm all about numbers and data and how we use algorithms. And so I need to prove myself that I do understand what I'm doing. And I'm here because I deserve to be here. But the truth is that I was working at agencies and hated it, because they were super toxic. I was teaching at Cal Poly Pomona, and I was teaching seniors. And I realized that these seniors were spending all this money on college and time, and they didn't know what to do with their life. And my job as an educator was to give them more than just the academics. I was preparing them for the real world, and the real world that they were expecting to go. They weren't treating them well. So how would I be part of that? So I talked to my husband and say I quit
Laura Lee Botsacos 7:04
No, you told your husband, you didn't talk
Lara Schmoisman 7:06
I told my husband And I said I quit. I'm ready to drive an Uber, I will do whatever it takes, but I'm done with this life. I want to work with teamwork. I want to work in peace. I cannot do anything that is toxic anymore. There's no more leadership, there's no more mentorship.
Laura Lee Botsacos 7:29
You know, like I love to hear. I mean, I'm sorry that you went through that. But I love hearing that because it really resonates with me so deeply, because I completely agree. And you use the word teamwork. And I know from experience, right, because obviously I also happen to be one of your clients in full disclosure, as well as a friend. But you know, I know that you have this great team. So can you talk to me a little bit about one? Well, it's kind of like a three fold question. But one, what does teamwork look like and mean to you? And then to our listeners? You know, you mentioned it, you have a teamwork of over 40 plus people around the globe? digitally.
And I'm grateful for each one of them. Oh, yes. It's one of them is an unique individual that they just fit like a glove in what we do,
by put, but I agree with you because I've interfaced with some of them. But that's a huge risk, right? Because, you know, we most people assume that in order to take teamwork. And to build a solid viable team, you have to be in the same building at the same location so that you can train them. So can you give me some insight and give our listeners some insight on that? Like, how do you go about training people? Well, that is all over the globe?
Lara Schmoisman 8:45
Well, the thing is, first of all, you need to know I mean, like I was telling you this agency happened by chance. I wasn't planning to have an agency. I had a friend who asked me for a favor to do some marketing for him and then at some point told me okay, I need to pay you. And I talked to my account at My Account and said, Okay, open LLC, so you can get paid, say, Sure. And then he started paying me, then I got another friend say, Oh, if you do it for him, you need to do it for me, for sure. And I was doing my own website. I was doing SEO myself, I was doing absolutely everything, writing blogs. And at some point, that's okay, I need some help. I got a part time assistant, virtual. And then I got a freelance writer virtual. And that was two and a half years ago. And today we're here. But I think that the most important thing is to know who you are and what you want and what you don't want to be a team.
Laura Lee Botsacos 9:44
Yeah, I agree with that. I love that. So, so one of the biggest, you know, being business owners, and actually just the other night I was speaking to an individual and PR and I asked her this question that I'm going to ask you, what would you say what is the difference between PR and marketing.
Lara Schmoisman 10:05
Actually, marketing is an umbrella. And PR is under the marketing umbrella. Like I always tell you, this is an ecosystem, everything works together. And in the old days PR was all about magazines and newspapers and press releases. nowadays PR is a lot more because of the digital world. We need those backlinks.
Laura Lee Botsacos 10:28
Right. So talk about backlinks. I know that you've spoken to me about those, Can you give me a little insight to give us a little bit more insight into exactly what you mean and why they are so important?
Lara Schmoisman 10:38
Okay, backlinks marketing is basically two things. And I always say this, I mean, I can sell marketing to you in very fancy words, or that can tell you marketing is about authority and relevance. Authority is to show you that you are the best at what you do, or you have the best product relevant to people to see it and to find you. That's it. And that's my job. So part of the algorithm is people to find you, and how are you going to be doing that creating networking. And you're not the only one it's like when you want to look to meet people, and you never know, the opportunities that they will come up with? Okay, well, backlinking is the same as networking. So you go and you interact with other publications that will give you a link back to you. And because they have authority is giving you more authority.
Laura Lee Botsacos 11:31
That's brilliant. It's like exactly what you make it sound so simple. Because you know, so many of us who have our own businesses, it seems when you talk about the digital world, and the digital landscape, it sounds completely overwhelming. So you kind of broke it down and made some
Lara Schmoisman 11:50
I know that I tend to scare people, and I think I did to you too.
Laura Lee Botsacos 11:55
Yes, that's okay. It's all good. It's all good. Because we're going to everything, it's worth it. It's worth it for sure.
Lara Schmoisman 12:02
Well, that's because there's so much little business in the digital world that people don't know. And I think that I overwhelm people, because I tend to over explain, but I believe that there is very little well done information, like for example, the backlinking of networking is really simple. Why do we need to make it so complicated that you can make it? Of course, there's a lot more if I can get into the technology of it. But if you want to know what it is, that's what it is. It's simple.
Laura Lee Botsacos 12:32
That's cool. So how important would you say, a strong social media presence is in terms of launching a business, launching a product? Because as you know, obviously everybody wants to become famous on Instagram. And not everybody can. How important do you think that is?
Lara Schmoisman 12:54
Right now, actually, the trend is changing. It's completely the opposite we want to have, first you need to have a strong website. You cannot have a strong social media, many people do. And they're influencers. But think about this, what happened is their account and Instagram got hacked. They lost everything. So you cannot be in one place. You need to be where your audience is, but you need to have a home that everything will take to that home.
Laura Lee Botsacos 13:30
I love that. I love that. So then would you say because the way I'm kind of hearing you is that regardless of what your business is, right, or regardless of what your product is, and actually really regardless of what your demographic is at your, your website is kind of like that home base.
Lara Schmoisman 13:47
Yeah, absolutely. And think about this, it is not a popularity contest. And that's what a lot of people think that it is social media. It's not. That's what many people buy followers. And the algorithm today is you prefer to have less followers, and more engagement than have a lot of followers and no engagement. And at the end of the day, you want followers engagement, but then you want conversions. If you sell a product, we want them to buy a product if you have a million followers, but nobody will buy your stuff. What for?
Laura Lee Botsacos 14:24
That's true. I mean, that's really that's that's really really true. I mean, when you when you say it like that sort of like okay, you know,
Lara Schmoisman 14:32
so that's why I don't panic given I don't have a lot of followers and I don't care. It's like, it's fine. And my podcast is doing great, because it's just I get interesting people and the people are interested, keep listening to it. Otherwise they won't. And you know, let me tell you something. I have one client, who is not really a client is my son, but he has a niche and he has a podcast and we Almost never did any advertising on his social media. He doesn't even have a social life, we don't do anything. And his podcast is amazing and insanely great. Just because he has that niche.
Laura Lee Botsacos 15:14
That's so cool. So if somebody came to you, you know, if somebody came to you, you know, came to the darl, your incredible, you know, marketing team was like, Oh, I have this concept, or I have this business and I have this project, and this is what I think that niche is. And based on your expertise if you didn't necessarily agree that was their niche, do you find that to be sometimes challenging to communicate to your client?
Lara Schmoisman 15:45
You know me, I don't feel sorry for those things.
Laura Lee Botsacos 15:50
I just, you know, just make sure if it's just me or everybody else,
Lara Schmoisman 15:54
you know, me, I you know, that I cannot do that to my clients, I felt like, for me, there is something that authority, and that reputation is so important. And I will fight even with my client for their reputation.
Laura Lee Botsacos 16:09
I love that. I think that's why you do such a good job. That's why you have so many clients. And that's why so many people rely on you. So, I mean, one of the things that was so let me ask you a question. So here you are, you have this team. So what would you say makes a team function? You know, effectively,
Lara Schmoisman 16:29
collaboration, communication, and happy hours.
Laura Lee Botsacos 16:38
I love happy hours. How do you do? How do you do happy hours?
Lara Schmoisman 16:42
Actually, we have one today. I mean, we celebrate every birthday, we celebrate Cinco de Mayo, we celebrate everything. We also have a monthly challenge. We have a channel that is only for chatting. So we had lipsync challenge lunches, we had murder mystery challenges. We had the most crazy things, a memes challenge, and it goes throughout the whole month. And then on the last Friday of each month, we all get into happy hours. And we all vote for the winner and the winner gets pizza that night. And then that is a Friday. So Monday, by the end of the day, the winner needs to give us a new challenge.
Laura Lee Botsacos 17:32
Wow. That's I mean, that's amazing. I mean, I know. I mean, I'm genuinely saying that that is amazing. Because you're creating this culture and this ethos, and this team via wires via the internet. I mean, that's astonishing to me, because most people think that all of that has to happen person to person. And I think that I think that's amazing that you're able to do that that speaks to you.
Lara Schmoisman 17:56
I just broke up a fight in a messenger, there was a whole team fighting. So I had to say stop fighting.
Laura Lee Botsacos 18:05
Well see, yeah, just because it goes to show you that there's, we adapt humans, we adapt quickly, whether it's a person, right,
Lara Schmoisman 18:12
we're big family, my doors are open to any one of my team, I adore each one of them. And, and it's very easy when someone doesn't fit in, and many people try to fit in, and sometimes they don't. And it's not about that they're bad people or that they don't fit. We have a very strong culture, we have very strict logistics, you know that you because otherwise, it's very difficult to work with so many clients offering affordable prices, and, and time management. So we have to have strong logistics and communication.
Laura Lee Botsacos 18:51
Right. So with that being said, how do you keep yourself grounded with all of that? Because obviously, when I speak with you a lot, you know, we're both in our offices, how do you maintain and keep yourself grounded with 40 members of your team? And then all these clients? You know, how do you do that?
Lara Schmoisman 19:12
Sleep little? No. Again, we have processes and if everything is in place, and everyone is doing what is supposed to do, there shouldn't be an issue.
Laura Lee Botsacos 19:24
I love that. I love that so much because I know that you're not being flippant, I know that you're being genuine and sincere and I love that. So processes. So do you as the leader create those processes?
Lara Schmoisman 19:35
I did originally, but if you don't trust your team, why do you have them? So I welcome that they challenge me in the process and we always improve like right now, for example, they're not liking me very much because I'm changing software's and I know I know something is going to be much better in the process. And for me too, because right now the software that I cannot manage for so much there is for me, this new software makes me see everything much easier. And it's a way that I don't like to do. I mean, one of the things that I hated about working in agencies, I said, I had people breathing on my neck all the time,
Laura Lee Botsacos 20:16
micromanaging?
Lara Schmoisman 20:17
Exactly. And I'm not that person. And I'm, I prefer to go into software. And if they're doing what they are supposed to do, I can see the software, I can see what they did and what not. And I don't have to start asking, What did you do today? Everyone knows that they can reach out to me and any given time, and I'm there for them? And if they don't, I don't answer because I'm busy. Try again later. And it's not. And that's, I think, a little something shocking for many people that come to The Darl that I'm accessible all the time.
Laura Lee Botsacos 20:49
Well, I love that. And like you and I talked about that, you know, me being the owner of the founder of Apollo and Artemis beauty by quality, I feel the same way. I think it's really important that the owners and the founders and the CEOs, whatever you want to call, whatever, whatever title you want to use, need to be accessible to not only the people that they work with, but also that the people that they work for, and their clients. I think having an open door policy is really, really important.
Lara Schmoisman 21:16
I think that's the difference between being a boss and a leader.
Laura Lee Botsacos 21:20
I was just going to ask you that. It's interesting that you said that. So talk, I love that there's that there. I love that you said that there's a difference between being boss and a leader. Can you tell me a little bit more about that?
Lara Schmoisman 21:30
There are many people that are bosses, not many people that can be leaders. In order to be a leader, you need to have followers, a boss, anyone can be a boss, and to have those followers and people that they are interested to be mentored by you. Because I feel like being a leader is my responsibility to mentor my team. And I'm always that I need to give more, of course, everyone that I hire, needs to bring something to the table because that's what they're getting paid for. But also, it's my job to give them the opportunity to grow in the company. And I feel so sad for those people that they tell me that they want to change jobs, because they found they hit the ceiling, and that they don't have the opportunity to grow. Of course, I had someone that I love that worked with me. But she said that she wants to become a preschool teacher. That's not something I can offer. I have people that I adore also that they decided that they want to have their experience of working for the corporate world? And I support them And so that if that's what you want, I did it. And I decided I don't like it. But obviously it's for a lot of people who love that.
Laura Lee Botsacos 22:42
Well, you're right, because I you know, I think what you're saying is that yeah, a leader teaches a leader guides, you know, a boss does exactly what this kind of sounds kind of just kind of like, you know, moves people around like it's like it's a chessboard.
Lara Schmoisman 22:56
don't get me wrong. Sometimes I need to be a leader. But also I have to be a superior and I have to make decisions. And I need to make executive decisions. Because not everyone has all the information that I have. I was talking with someone in the business world the other day, and he was telling me to be an entrepreneur, to be a business leader is basically to be a risk manager. You're always assessing risk. I mean, if I take this into account, how many more people would I need? What would it have enough ROI? Can I offer this is always a negotiation. And you're always taking risks, because at the end of the day, who needs to pay a team, and you have all these responsibilities. So there are many situations where a lot of people cannot see the big picture. And you can. And of course, as an entrepreneur and business owner, you're always going to be judged. Always. But you need to make tough calls.
Laura Lee Botsacos 23:58
Yeah, I agree. And I think sometimes, you know, so talk to me a little bit about that. Because I think some people, especially sometimes women, think it's difficult for them to make tough calls. So like, do you trust your instincts? Or do you go with like, how do you do that? Like, do you listen to your instincts? Do you look at all the facts? I'm curious.
Lara Schmoisman 24:17
I mean, talking about women's, I found that you know that now there is all I'm not that young anymore. I just have that. So I come from a generation where there wasn't so much woman's support, and I had to make my space as a woman. So I really don't need those women's empowering groups and all that because I'm self made. And I had to compete with men, so I'm not afraid to have to do it again. But I found out that there are a lot of women supporting women's business, that the only way to do it is to take advantage of other women.
Laura Lee Botsacos 24:58
Oh that's really that's Interesting. What do you mean by that?
Lara Schmoisman 25:02
That I mean, there are a lot of people, they do it really because they want to support other women, but also, okay, because I'm a woman that I can give them this deal and shortchange her there. It's like, that's why I, I think I'm, of course I'm a woman. I love to work with other women to support their businesses but business is business, it doesn't matter if you're a woman or a man.
Laura Lee Botsacos 25:28
That's a good point. Of course, yeah,
Lara Schmoisman 25:30
I will treat to You exactly the same, I will talk to you exactly the same.
Laura Lee Botsacos 25:36
Now, I love what you do. But you know, even based on what you said earlier, when you are a woman, quote, quote, in a man's world, it's a challenge, because you know, I was in the car business 150 years ago. And you know, and you're right to use those. It is, yeah, it's a different dynamic. It's a different way of interfacing with people. And it definitely is a different way of how you have to kind of like, what's the word I'm looking for? To present yourself
Lara Schmoisman 26:05
Totally, but I'm at a point in my life, thank God, that it's okay. If you don't like it. I know my shit. I know that I know it. I can speak without having cliff notes. I don't even need to be prompted to talk for what I know, I keep training and confident I don't need people's approval, or people clapping to let me tell me Oh, you did a good job. I know how to do my work. So if you don't like it, too bad.
Laura Lee Botsacos 26:36
Yeah. You know, that's a really good thing. Because, you know, a lot of people do seek recognition, you know, and so some. So I think once again, that's a difference between also being a leader, the leader doesn't really need to seek recognition, but you certainly have to be able to recognize and give recognition. Right?
Lara Schmoisman 26:53
I mean, I love to give that recognition like I'm a gift giver. I love to give gifts,
Laura Lee Botsacos 27:01
Feel free to give me whatever you'd like.
Lara Schmoisman 27:06
Y'all get it. And I love to give gifts. But also, I love to give kudos or praise. And people get shocked. Like the other day I talked to one of my friends, at night, I felt Oh, I wanted to say this for days. And I didn't have time. So I sent her an audio message, because I want her to hear it from my voice. And I was, you know what? I'm really proud of the work that you've been doing lately.
Laura Lee Botsacos 27:30
I love that, I mean, because Don't you think that recognition goes a really long way?
Lara Schmoisman 27:36
Absolutely. And I feel like that's what we were talking about before that this lack of mentorship of guidelines, it doesn't exist anymore. It's like they take you to, this is how I see it. And I have teenage kids that they're going to middle school or high school. And the whole way. And even in college, they're giving them rock rubrics, or how to write and like I was teaching seniors and I was like, I don't care, even if you draw, just show me that you understood that. I don't care at what point and what format. I mean, after me, you're getting a boss, and your boss is not going to be telling you how to do your job. But it's like we are holding people's hand and telling them exactly how to do it until the minute they graduate. And then we make them jump into a business world without giving them mentorship and I think that that's unfair.
Laura Lee Botsacos 28:29
Well, yeah, I mean, I think it's opening us up to an entire generation of individuals that are not prepared. That sounds terrifying.
Lara Schmoisman 28:37
And it happened in my life. I mean, did you have any mentors?
Laura Lee Botsacos 28:43
I mean, yeah, my father was honestly my dad, my dad was and my dad is my biggest mentor, I learned, I learned a tremendous amount. And I still do for my father. in my opinion. My father is truly one of those men that is, you know, nickel in his pocket dream in his heart kind of guy from the you know, from the street from the Bronx. He doesn't make people, they don't make men like my dad, my dad learned how to sell. My dad is a businessman.
Lara Schmoisman 29:14
That's amazing. My parents are lawyers and are self employed. I learned a lot of things from them, too. But I had tons of jobs in my life. And I cannot say that I had one person who mentored me.
Laura Lee Botsacos 29:27
Well, you know what, when you break it down like that, I'm reflecting upon the different jobs that I had. I think you're kind of right. I mean, really if I have to think of the biggest influence in my life, business wise, and entrepreneurial spirit wise, without hands down, that's my father. Hands down.
Lara Schmoisman 29:46
But in every job that I had, I went there and it's like they expect me to do my job. And of course, I was paid to do my job and it was great, but that was it. They didn't give me the opportunity to grow in the job.
Laura Lee Botsacos 30:01
So how do you offer that to your team?
Lara Schmoisman 30:04
Oh, we offer that in many ways. First of all, sometimes I just go a little crazy. And I stop the whole group of working or the whole company. And I say, Hey, guys, I feel like this knowledge is not very clear, let's have a class. So I stopped the call to 40 people, and we have a class about something, so everyone is on the same page. Second, we offer people who stay for X amount of time that I don't remember how much is at this point. Even though people all over the world and there are freelancer contractors, we, first of all, we give them paid vacation days, even though I just want them to feel appreciated. And I think that's the way that they do it. And then another thing that I do is if they want to study something that is going to be good for their career and good for their career in the company, we offer to pay a percentage of that. And also, we buy books, we have to buy libraries for them. We buy software's we buy online training for them to do.
Laura Lee Botsacos 31:15
So if somebody wanted to start, you know, and they wanted to start? I don't know, I guess building? How would you help? What would be the first piece of advice you would give to somebody starting out their new business? What's the first piece of advice? So they have the business? They have the product, They have all that. Where do they begin?
Lara Schmoisman 31:38
Hmm, depends on what product and what price point, but the first thing that I will tell you, if you have all that First, identify where your audiences are and then we can make a plan?
Laura Lee Botsacos 31:51
great. That's great. And I totally agree with that. I think that really getting that being very specific about the audience is absolutely clear. And I think sometimes your audience can change. Would you say that it's true?
Lara Schmoisman 32:05
Absolutely. You can have different audiences in different places. Yes, you just need to identify them. And the good thing about small business, and I understand that small businesses, they don't have all this money to spend. So you need to decide where you're going to compete. Like if you know that everyone is running the sale on Fourth of July, find another niche to run a sale, not when everyone is competing. Because if you're putting advertising you're fighting for the cost of advertising and a time that everyone does. So try to find different ways. And I know what you're gonna ask me next, because everyone asked me, this when I thought is one of the mistakes we will make. Yeah, so the biggest mistake I see people making is trying to copy someone's else's strategy. Like, for example, you have an amazing line of products, your product, and I love your packaging, I love your product, I cannot speak highly enough about them. but Also, you need to know that it is a small company, you need to know your reality. And there are other small companies that look at your competition, or people that you admire, the worst thing you can do is to try to copy what they do. Because you're competing in the same space. You want to take what they do and do it better, or how you can do something different to be unique, and not be competing exactly in the same space. That's why Coca Cola and Pepsi can compete, and they're both alive. If they will be doing exactly the same for the same target audience. Absolutely the same. One of them wouldn't be there.
Laura Lee Botsacos 34:06
That's true. And I think it's also knowing exactly that's true. Not only knowing your target audience, but knowing your niche. And you know, you're right, especially when you talk about Pepsi and Coca Cola like that, you're right, because one could say, Well, they're both sodas.
Lara Schmoisman 34:21
Yeah, right. Or, I mean, we had a client that had a great product, a fantastic product, but she was convinced that her target audience were millennials. And they weren't, the numbers were proving us that they weren't. So it was really hard. And we had to prove her. There were a lot of but because there wasn't a study of the persona that you know, that will always be at the beginning. This person was so convinced that they had the middle manuals that they brought to me. This is our target audience. I don't need it. I don't need to study personas, I don't need absolutely anything. I don't need them. This is what I need you to create the strategy based on that. And also, okay, if that's what you want, if you had that information again, and that was in my early days, I don't know if I will do it again, after that experience, to just take client work for granted.
Laura Lee Botsacos 35:27
because it doesn't do it doesn't do you any, it doesn't, it doesn't really represent your integrity, right? Because you want to really be able to give the full experience to somebody,
Lara Schmoisman 35:37
I also am very, very respectful of my clients. Yeah, I'm very respectful of that. So I will feel like I wouldn't be being respectful and make them spend money on something that is not right.
Laura Lee Botsacos 35:51
Right. So Lara, let me ask you, so what do you have any new, exciting projects ahead, anything that we can that we can look forward to?
Lara Schmoisman 35:59
Well, we have so much first of all, I launched my coaching programs. A lot of people who cannot afford the agency, we, I created a coaching program that is helping them with the same strategies and the same products, I give them a lot of things that I used in the agency every day to create a strategy and also is I help you how to set up your team and work with outsiders, so
Laura Lee Botsacos 36:27
and people can find out all that information on your website,
Lara Schmoisman 36:31
That's in laraschmoisman.com And also, I just another one of the biggest mistakes that I found is people not understanding they know what they want, but they don't know how to communicate it when they work with freelancers, or they don't know where to find where the people are. So I created an online training, actually, I'm gonna give you to put in the notes, a special discount code for you. And for your listening listeners, and for people to understand this ecosystem, and to understand, find where their people are and create content for them. You don't have to go to every social media site, you only need to go to only what you can sell it really to create a conversion. And so we tried online training for that. I just want to help you know, there's so many people and so many talented people that they don't have those opportunities. And a lot of people also make mistakes, like I was telling you I a friend hired someone to do their Instagram ads. So why are you in Instagram ads? If you don't have a website to sell your product? Right? You're spending money for what?
Laura Lee Botsacos 37:45
For what? For nothing? There's no target. Yeah, that's and
Lara Schmoisman 37:48
brand awareness is great, but it's only part.
Laura Lee Botsacos 37:51
I agree. So where else can people find out more about you? And all of these wonderful things?
Lara Schmoisman 37:58
laraschmoisman.com All my handles are laraschmoisman, and thedarl.com is my agency. Or you can ask Laura Lee
Laura Lee Botsacos 38:08
Okay, so one of the things that I like to ask everybody as part of this, as you know, it's the business serum. And as you know, we represent, you know, because of Apollo & Artemis Beauty by quality. So one of the things I often ask people is if your business were a beauty product, what would it be? What would that look like? What would it do?
Lara Schmoisman 38:31
Definitely retinol. Yeah, because Retinol is high potency. It works hard and fast. And take your wrinkles away. And I mean,
Laura Lee Botsacos 38:52
literally, it literally works overnight. So I love that
Lara Schmoisman 38:55
That's what business is to work hard, fast and don't do things halfway. What retinol removes you cannot get it back.
Laura Lee Botsacos 39:05
That you know what, we're gonna end on that but retinol removes you can't get it back. I love that. Yeah. Laura, thank you so much for joining me today. I mean, I yeah, I think that this is a wealth of knowledge, and I'm looking forward to continuing our conversations. Thank you so much. And thank you everyone for joining us today. And thank you so much for listening. If you like the show, please remember to subscribe and leave a review. If you want to learn more about the business serum or follow me at Laura Lee Botsacos you can also find me on the worldwide web at WWW.lauraleebotsacos.com . Thank you so much and continue closing yourself on you