Interview: Julia Falci, Digital Marketer + Business Coach

By Angela Tai

You moved from Brazil to Canada. As a professional and entrepreneur, how did you manage to adapt to a new culture as well as a new audience? And, what obstacles did you face? 

I came to Canada over 12 years ago. I was quite young and I think that made it easier to adapt; at first, I didn’t know I was going to stay here. The original plan was to be in Canada for one year and then one year became three years and the rest is history. I didn’t see the challenges as discouraging, I actually saw it as part of the journey. My background is in graphic design, but moving to a new country allowed me to consider a new career and try something different. I started in social media marketing, which really helped me to get my foot in the door. When I started working in an agency setting, I started meeting lots of people who wanted to hire me as a freelancer and I did that for 4-5 years. I decided to switch to business coaching and now I like using my knowledge and skills to support female entrepreneurs and small business owners to launch and grow their businesses. 

As an entrepreneur, how important is it for someone to have existing connections before they start a business? Should someone be discouraged from starting a company if they don’t have the necessary clients? 

Well, we all start from zero! We need to put ourselves out there and trust the process. It may help to offer some services for free for a couple of people as a starting point. It's also a good way to test your offer and learn about the demand, while you get your audience to learn more about what you do and the value you can provide. 

Congratulations on your Instagram for Business Bootcamp! Businesses are always looking to increase social media engagement and adopt new strategies. What is your advice for attracting new followers and converting them to customers? 

That’s a long process! In terms of attracting new leads, I love to work with strategic partnerships, you can reach other peoples’ audiences through a number of tactics; you can interview someone, or be interviewed in someone else's' channel. You can do takeovers on stories and you can have guests over on your stories, it’s about trying to formulate partnerships and get visibility from that person's audience. To transform followers into customers, I see Instagram as an education platform and I see it as a seed that you are constantly watering. Feeding that, showing people your knowledge, your skills, and making them desire to work with you. When they are ready, they will reach out.

What emerging marketing trends have you identified that could both positively as well as negatively affect your industry?

I see how some people will post unexpected things in order to get attention and grow engagement. From weird dances to provoking poses or odd outfits. I don't really resonate with this. I mean, if you like dancing, by all means, do it. But I am not a dancer, and I won't force something that doesn't resonate with me for the sake of impressions and likes. It’s important to be authentic to yourself. 

It appears that people have shorter attention spans. Can you tell me how you’ve had to account for this in your own marketing strategy? 

While you may get more eyeballs on short content formats, like TikTok or Instagram, your conversions may be lower, because the content is more superficial. Long content format means you have more opportunity to dive deeper into a subject. Those who are interested will watch until the end and there’s a higher chance of conversion as well, because they are ready to listen about the deeper stuff. So I think there is room for both short and long content formats and they fit different parts of the content strategy.

You mention that you feel most energized when helping small businesses grow and in turn causing a positive impact on people's lives. How do you establish and maintain long-lasting relationships with clients? 

I try to keep a pretty open channel with my clients. We DM each other, send messages on What'sApp, support each other on social channels… It feels like we are still part of each other's lives, even long after we have finished working together. 

The speed of the economic downturn due to the COVID pandemic is unprecedented. How has your own business strategy as well as your coaching strategy changed due to this “new normal”?

All of my content plan was thrown out the window and I had to change everything. The first few weeks in March were still so uncertain; I was just observing everything happening in the world and how people were reacting to it. I don’t think I had much fear but it’s more or less just trying to make sense out of it. Then I started seeing people who were being creative and pivoting, which I found to be very inspiring, and I felt an urge to foster this creativity and share it with my audience. In April I created lots of free content to help people to pivot in a creative way, I ran a webinar, a series of Lives and IGTVs and free coaching calls with some small businesses that needed help to pivot. 

What advice would you give to others who want to explore entrepreneurship due to job loss?

There are so many people who became entrepreneurs because of this crisis; I think finding other inspiring stories can give some much needed motivation and inspiration. On the practical side, this could also be a good time to stop and think, “was I even happy at my corporate job?” What skills do you have that you could share with the world; what can you put out in the world to make it a better place? Maybe this could be a good time to find (or re-define) your purpose and try something new.

You are now hosting your own private one-on-one coaching sessions and Mastermind group coaching classes. How do you empower small business owners when they may be feeling defeated or aimless right now? 

As entrepreneurs, we go through a lot of ups and downs. One day, you feel like you’re on top of the world and then the next week you’re feeling down, doubting yourself, and maybe thinking about giving up. The first year of entrepreneurship, especially, can feel like a rollercoaster. Having a support system can be really important at times like this. Talking to people who are going through the same experience and can show you are not alone, that these feelings are normal, that we go through phases and it will be ok if we just keep going. Surround yourself with inspiring people and people who believe in what you are doing. 

What are some of the biggest mistakes people make when they first establish their brand whether it’s through social media or other channels? 

I think that relying on one social channel is a big mistake that I see a lot. I see people relying on Instagram for all their business needs and yet, they don’t have a website. We don’t own those contacts or followers on Instagram, if your account gets hacked and you lose all of your followers, then what happens to your business? Having a website and an email list, in addition to your social channels, will make your business much stronger. 

This question is brutally direct and not something small business owners want to think about. When is it time to call it quits?

Wow. That’s tough, I’ve actually never encountered that. I never came across any client that I had to go through this experience with but I think that we definitely need to be self-aware of our situation. Only you will know when it's time. Know your financial situation, how much you can bear. Maybe getting a part time job could help you keep going for a little longer while trying to make ends meet. Make a target and if that can't be reached in a fair amount of time, maybe it's time to let it go. 

Who’s your confidant? Who do you go to whenever you’re feeling uncertain about your own business decisions? 

I get a lot of support from my coach, counselor and partner (three different people!). Being a solopreneur can feel lonely at times, I love bouncing ideas and brainstorming with others, but that's why I count on these other professionals for support. Having a supportive group going through similar experiences can also be very powerful. I was a part of a Mastermind group before my very own program and that was actually my most successful year because I could count on those people and we could rely on one another.