Women of Penrith - Winsome Barker

What is your job?

I am a dance teacher, and I also run Castlereagh School of Performing Arts.  I teach some of our drama and singing classes and I run the choir at the local public school.

How did you get it?

I was born into it.  Castlereagh School of Performing Arts was started by my mother in 1977 or 1978 before I was even born.  I grew up in a very dramatic or artistic family, my father worked as an actor (and a school teacher) and my mother ran the dance school.

Why do you love it?

I get to have a very strong positive impact on young lives, particularly young women.  I provide a safe space for them to be able to develop and grow in a way where they are valued for who they are.  They also get to express themselves in a way that they wouldn’t get to in other areas of their lives.

What is your connection to Penrith?

I grew up here, I have always lived here.  I went to Newtown Performing Arts for a few years but apart from that all my schooling was in Western Sydney.  My children go to local schools and I run a business in the local area.  My husband also runs a business in the local area.

Winsome Barker owns and runs Castlereagh School of Performing Arts. You can check out their Facebook page here, their Insta feed here and their website here. If you are interested in sending your children to a school that is truly focused on developing your child in a sport in a way that is safe for their bodies, and in a bully free positive environment, then you should check out Winsome’s dance school.

I don't need marketing, I get business from word of mouth

I hear this a lot, marketing isn’t relevant to my business because I get most of my business from word of mouth. Let me ask you though, if they used you two years ago and haven’t interacted with you at all in those two years, why are you so sure that they are coming back?

I think many people who say this conflate marketing and advertising. Are you utilising your very valuable existing client database and marketing to those potential future customers?

Advertising

Call me a lawyer, but I generally start by defining things. Advertising is very much grounded in ads, doesn’t sound too revolutionary right?

Advertising is about presenting your business in a publication, traditionally a print publication. It is a specific part of marketing, it may work for your business, but it is only part of marketing.

Marketing

Marketing is broader than advertising. Marketing is about promoting you and your business with a view to selling your services.

Marketing could use advertising but often doesn’t. Marketing is about a strategy to sell your services. Marketing is about promoting your strengths and in the context of this article, reminding your existing client base why you exist and why they need you.

I don’t need to do marketing to get word of mouth

Do you know how many adds people see per day? If you Google it you will get a lot of different answers, 2,500 or 10,000 for instance. This is just advertising. We cannot put a number on how much other input a person’s brain is being exposed to and having to process every day.

If they saw you two years ago are you really front of mind? Even if they were very happy with your services do they understand your full range of services and how you can help them, today?

How do you compete with all this noise?

By communicating with your clients in a concise, relevant fashion. By communicating something to them that is valuable to them. By being a source of authoritative, trustworthy content.

This authoritative, relevant and trustworthy content will also help you with any Google algorithm, and valuable interesting content will help you with your social media marketing, but that is another topic.

If you are front of mind because you are communicating with your client base in this fashion then they might pass that information on to a friend even before the friend asks for a referral. Furthermore if you are front of mind then they might be aware of your full range of services, and areas that you can help that they don’t normally associate with your profession.

The trouble is, who has time to create this content?

Creating and maintaining a client newsletter is fiddly and time consuming, I am not going to lie. Running a business is just a long to do list of important things, and while you might acknowledge that a client newsletter is important are you actually giving time to doing it, and doing a good job?

Yes you are busy, it is important though because you have a database of people who are interested in your services. You don’t need to pay Google or Facebook to find these people you already have their information. But what do you do with that information?

You can’t just spam them and you can’t only sell at them or else your content is neither valuable or interesting. A badly planned newsletter is probably worse than none at all, and will result in Google sending all of your emails (including personal emails) straight to junk mail.

Talk to me about a helpful, interesting and relevant newsletter for your existing client base, how often you want to send it, and how I can help you with that.

Women of Penrith - Katie Mitchell

What is your job?

I work as a Digital Communications & PR Coordinator for an electrical manufacturer and supplier, Legrand Australia.

How did you get it?

I was working as a Marketing & Communications Coordinator at Western Sydney University’s LaunchPad when I was approached by Legrand Australia through LinkedIn.

While I have been working in the field of Communications for about seven years, I decided to undertake a Bachelor of Communication, majoring in Public Relations at Western Sydney University. My previous work experience and formal tertiary education were traits which instigated the initial dialogue between myself and my current organisation. After the first interview, I knew I had found a place where I could further my career and continue to grow.

Why do you love it?

My profession is empowering. I am responsible for generating conversation about our brand, technologies and products and have the freedom to develop my own strategy. I work in an environment which enables me to manage my working relationships so I can achieve real results. I also love seeing my work published.

I am a true believer of providing educational, informative content which is compelling to an audience - sometimes it’s not so easy! When I see an article of mine published, it creates a sense of achievement that others value the content I produce and as such, share my vision of connecting with people through rich content.

What is your connection to Penrith?

I was born in Camperdown, Sydney. My mother moved to the Hawkesbury after a accepting a position in the area and I attended St Paul’s Grammar in Penrith. After living in the ‘fast lane’ in Sydney’s CBD for 10 years after high school, I decided to move back to the area and have been incredibly happy ever since.

I was also an Academy student at Western Sydney University, having completed a Bachelor of Communication at the Penrith campus.

I love travelling, but essentially, I am a mountain goat at heart – from rock climbing, to abseiling, kayaking and swimming in the river among cliffs and bushland; Western Sydney is my true home.

What did you love about Western Sydney University?

My time at Western Sydney University has honestly been life-changing. I have grown up with entrenched hard-working values, but was never confident enough to explore my academic ability through university studies. The idea of ever participating in tertiary education at this level was merely a distant thought.

In my late 20's, I finally decided to bite the bullet and enter the 'big scary world' of university. I soon discovered that it was not scary at all; in fact, it was quite the opposite! Each campus had its own uniquely rich and vibrant culture. I also appreciated the wonderful support from the lecturers and tutors while I was undertaking my Bachelor of Communication. If I ever needed guidance, they would always go above and beyond to help me.

The support extended far beyond the academic staff, as the university has an array of programs in place which help you grow personally, professionally and academically. For example, in my first year of studies, I obtained an internship with the careers service. This was an incredible learning experience, which propelled my career. I was approached by Legrand, a multinational organisation that specialises in electrical and digital building infrastructures, where I now happily work as a Digital Communications & PR Coordinator. The Communications degree at Western Sydney University greatly facilitated my way of thinking when carrying out various functions in my current role.

My key take-home message is this: We all have a story. Regardless of your background, age or academic ability, if you show the drive to grow and learn, the university will always be there for you. I cannot recommend Western Sydney University enough for the opportunities it gave me.

What is Women of Penrith?

An opportunity to take those negative comments that girls and young women hear and turn them into a positive reflection of their personality and skill.

I have so many more female ambassadors lined up, join my mailing list (click here) to make sure you get the bios for these inspirational women to your Inbox.