Why A Marketing Expert Said Yes To NDIS
Hey guys, I’m so excited. This is my new friend, Jen Donovan. She’s from Southern New South Wales, and I just love the realness she brings.
Jen, why on earth would you have connected with someone random from a completely different industry and said, “Yeah, I’ve got something to offer the disability sector”? Why did you say yes to my request?
Oh, Michael, you’re just so good at your sales. You’re convincing! I thought, I need to talk to this guy. And just to be clear – I live in Southern New South Wales, not Western.
I don’t want people to get that wrong on a map.
Meeting On LinkedIn And Building Connection
We were just discussing on my podcast about LinkedIn, which is where we connected. If someone reaches out to you on LinkedIn, and they’re decent, chances are you’ll have something in common.
I love it. Good on you for being brave. Okay, so guys, the name of our podcast is “NDIS Provider Growth Journey” because it’s about starting a small NDIS provider business and growing it.
Setbacks, Strategies, And Starting Over in NDIS
Jen, as someone who’s grown multiple businesses, your farm, and your family – often as we grow, things don’t go to plan.
We all love telling the glossy stories, the success stories. But it’s hard to tell the stories of when things go wrong.
How do you handle setbacks? Because in NDIS world right now, there’s setback after setback. How do you brace yourself and keep going?
Yeah, I have a couple of rules. I’m 50 years old. I’ve made rules. I stick to them now. One rule is: I get to cry for a day. Then I have to get up and get on with life.
But I am allowed that one day – go to bed, cry, feel sorry for myself, mope around. But the next day, that’s done.
You need to solve the problem. The pandemic was the perfect example. Beautiful day, fully booked diary. I’m a keynote speaker. I help clients one-on-one. Boom. Gone overnight.
Clients ringing me crying because they were losing their clients. Then I got off the phone and cried too because I’d lost them.
Went to bed, had a good cry. Woke up the next morning and thought, “What are you going to do about this?” You can’t have your business fail.
So the question became: who’s got money? I’d lost all my private clients. The answer: the government.
How can I make it so simple that they can’t say no to some marketing or social media training? So I created something people couldn’t say no to. My business boomed.
I’m still riding off those leads and the community I built during that time.
My other rule is: ready, fire, aim. Get ready, fire, then work it out as you go. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just done. I don’t overthink.
You might not be the right person now, but you’ll grow into it. So yeah – just do it.
What’s another setback you’re happy to be real about? One where we can see how your way of handling setbacks works?
I was thinking about my business journey. I started in law. Did that for 18 years. Then my best friend and I bought a retail business – we just wanted to be our own bosses. After seven years, we sold it.
Then my business coach asked me to go into business with him. We ran a big conference. I walked off stage from that conference and didn’t look back. No malice – it just wasn’t working anymore.
But here’s the mistake: I didn’t let people know who Jen Donovan was. I promoted the business and my business partner as the marketing face, but no one knew me.
I hadn’t built my own profile. If I had, I’d be so much further ahead now.
In The NDIS World Word Of Mouth Isn’t Enough If Messaging Is Off
How do you deal with that sense of bitterness or failure? Because we all think, “If only I’d done this.” That’s hard.
Yeah, again, I allowed myself a day to cry. One day only. Then I asked, “What’s the quickest way to build my profile?” I needed people to know, like, and trust me.
For me, it was my voice. I wasn’t confident on video. YouTube didn’t feel right. But podcasting? That worked. I used my voice to connect.
Who says no to a podcast interview? In seven years, maybe one person – and even that was a “not now.” So I built something from scratch. Found the solution that suited me but also fixed the problem.
Wow, that makes sense. We often catastrophise. But most setbacks are just speed bumps. You slow down, go over, and keep going. There’s still food on the table. And even if not, you’ve got family.
There’s always a way forward. But catastrophising just hurts.
How Jen Balanced Family And Work
So, how did you handle your growing family – work and parenting at the same time? You can’t pay bills without work. How do you juggle both?
It’s a massive juggle. I’ve had a privileged life – I got to work from home. I structured my diary. Yes, that meant working Saturdays and sometimes Sundays. But I’m goal-driven.
I wanted to build a profitable business that supported the life I wanted. I didn’t want nine-to-five, five days a week.
Anyone who knows a farmer knows there are big ups and huge downs. We’ve had horrific droughts. But that’s where community, family, and strong relationships matter.
My kids? I won’t know if I did a good job until they’re in therapy in their 30s! They’re well-adjusted now, but who knows what all my work did to them.
What You’re Missing By Ignoring Other Platforms
You’ve had a good run. But most farmers I know don’t talk like that – it’s your mindset: adapt, improvise, overcome.
Yeah. Back in the early 2000s, we had one of the worst droughts. I was in law, breadwinner, commuting, young kids. Then, when the drought broke, my husband said, “Go do what you want.”
So I bought the retail shop with my best friend. We built something that worked better for our family. I did what I had to do to help the farm survive. Then I got to relax a bit, which led me to where I am now.
That makes sense. And through all your marketing, I see how good you are. Jen Donovan is a Jedi at word-of-mouth marketing.
But I always say, word-of-mouth is great – until it dries up. What are your thoughts?
Word-of-mouth is still one of the most powerful strategies – if you’re telling the right story. I’m a marketer, social media coach, and keynote speaker.
But if someone comes to me saying, “Can you do my social media?” Then something went wrong. I don’t do people’s social media. I build the strategy.
Word-of-mouth let me down. Now I have to say, “Sorry, I don’t do that.” And they walk away thinking they’ve wasted their time.
So yes, it works – but only if your messaging is right. People need to understand who you are, what you do, and refer to the right people. They learn that through your content – LinkedIn, TikTok, PR, social media.
The Advice Jen Would Tell Her Younger Self
Thank you. You’re throwing ideas at me I haven’t thought of. I usually say: go LinkedIn, go website, be a subject matter expert. I kind of ignore Instagram, Facebook, TikTok. What am I missing?
Oh my lord, how many hours have we got?
There could be two sides. You might have enough. People on LinkedIn are also on Instagram and Facebook. They just hear your message where they want to.
I’m also a big fan of email marketing. You don’t own your followers on platforms. If they shut down tomorrow and you don’t have an email list? You’re left with a headache.
So you might be missing nothing – or a whole realm of clients who don’t go near LinkedIn.
LinkedIn has an image problem. I do LinkedIn retreats. I love it. It’s my favourite platform. But it still calls itself a job network in the app.
They haven’t fixed that perception. It’s actually an amazing social media platform that doesn’t have an algorithm trying to kill you.
The Real Reason Jen’s Not Scary - Just Helpful
If you could go back and give yourself advice when you first started – when confidence was low – what would you say?
“This too shall pass.”
You’ll grow. You’ll get better. Sometimes you need to live in the season you’re in. If you want to start a podcast but don’t have time – fine. As long as that’s true, and not just an excuse.
Understand where you want to take your business. Set goals – big ones, small ones. But back yourself more. You’re a subject matter expert even if you’re only two steps ahead of your audience.
That lesson keeps coming back. I talk about AI a lot. It’s everywhere. I don’t know everything. One of my best friends just wrote a book on it. She knows heaps more than I do.
But I know three to five steps more than my audience. That’s enough. Keep learning. Ask questions. Grow community.
I love this. One last thing – there’s this arrogance in NDIS. If you’re not in NDIS, you’ve got nothing to offer. Sounds crazy, right?
Anyone can see you know your stuff. There are things in marketing that you know way better than I do. I might be great at NDIS marketing, but your toolbox is massive.
If someone wants to reach out – should they? Or are you scary? And how?
Not scary at all. Yes, please reach out.
I’ve got a podcast: Small Business Made Simple. My business goal is to help make marketing simpler. My website is socialmediaandmarketing.com.au. There are heaps of resources.
If you’re thinking, “Is there more to marketing than LinkedIn?” – my book has 107 strategies. Marketing is endless. You’ve just got to find the bit you love doing that fits the people you’re trying to attract.
Definitely check out Jen – Small Business Made Simple. We’ll have to cover the other 102 strategies another day!
Let’s Keep The Ideas Flowing
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