Author, entrepreneur and blogger extraordinaire: Q&A with Naomi Simson

Naomi Simson is a world class boss, blogger and believer of big ideas. Through blending her mistakes and triumphs, she has created two successful businesses: RedBalloon, designed to "aggregate" the gifting industry and Redii which brings focus to positive workplace recognition. This entrepreneurial mastermind offers Industry Moves a world exclusive into her hidden talent and tells us about who inspires her and why we should all get moving this 'Steptember'.

Q&A with Naomi Simson

What was the impetus for you to set up RedBalloon?

I was looking for a flexible lifestyle so I could play with my kids during the day and work during the night. I thought that running a dot-com would be a good way to do that but as it transpires it wasn't about that at all, it was about aggregating the gifting industry.

What was the greatest challenge for you in the early stages?

There were many. One of them was about getting great experience suppliers on board. Another was just building a brand and the other challenge was about putting a team around me.

How did you overcome these challenges?

With building the brand, it was about having a consistent voice. With regards to putting a good team together around me, that continues to be an ongoing challenge. Which brings us to Redii, which was designed to solve that problem.

Can you tell us a little about the benefits that Redii provides?

What we do here is support other businesses who are growing and we help them recognise and engage their team. So, what was originally my Achilles heel, ended up turning into a business opportunity because clearly other business leaders were going through the same thing that I was.

Who has been the greatest influence in your life/career?

My mother has always been a great influence on me, given that she worked on the first computer in Australia way back in the 1960's at Monash University. I was also influenced by one of the the very first people that my mother employed, a woman by the name of Lyndsey Cattermole, who was a great female entrepreneur. Then there is also Carol Schwartz, who is a long-standing entrepreneur and advocate in our community. I have a great deal of respect for the work that she's done.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in suburban Melbourne. I went to the local school and had local friends, we went camping for two-weeks of the year. It was just a very normal middle class life.

What was your very first job?

My very first job was working in a toy store on a Friday night and a Saturday morning. I was paid five dollars and ten cents for six hours of work. I've still got my first pay packet. If that's not going to motivate you to start your own business...

Apart from your obvious entrepreneurial talent, have you got a secret skill/hidden talent?

I do have a gift of the gab, so I can put a few words together which has really served me well. I love to cook and I love to paint, I'm actually quite a creative person. One thing that people don't know about me, I've actually never told anyone this, so you're getting a bit of a world exclusive...I love numbers. I love maths, I love spreadsheets and I love pivot tables. So while I have this creative side, I also love the beauty of how numbers can work and I love it when they do work.

Do you have a favourite charity?

I'm a governor of Cerebral Palsy Alliance and coming up really soon is Steptember, which means people can log on to the website, register a team of four people and walk 10,000 steps per day. In doing so they are raising money which goes towards research into finding a cure for cerebral palsy.

To find out more about Naomi's blog you can head to naomisimson.com and subscribe to her weekly newsletter.

Naomi Simson is a speaker at the SuperRatings & Lonsec Day of Confrontation Conference, DOC16, in Sydney on October 18.
To register or find out more click here!

Industry Moves is a proud media sponsor of the event.