In less than four years, a young woman has turned a business she ran for free in her home office into two $2.2 million media agencies.
Melbourne woman Talia Datt, 26, is the founder of The Social and Content CliQ, two agencies specializing in digital marketing.
But in 2018, she found herself in an impasse many young Australians face and didn’t know what she wanted to do.
Ms. Datt started working as an insurance administrative assistant because she thought her future lay in business, but she quickly realized that something had to change.
“Within about two months, I hated my position. I realized this probably wasn’t the path for me,” Ms. Datt told NewsWire.
Camera Icon Social and content-driven CliQ founder Talia Datt’s $2.2 million businesses started from her home office. Delivered Credit: Delivered
For advice, she borrowed her father, who told her to take the opportunity to go any path she wanted when she was young.
Around this time, she noticed that Instagram had changed its features to monetize shopping, prompting her to “take the plunge” into digital marketing.
She founded her first company, The Social CliQ, from her home office and worked for three boutiques for free.
Ms. Datt said that while she was not afraid of failing at the time because her costs were low and she lived at home, she did “feel pressure to succeed”.
“I did feel the pressure to succeed because I thought, ‘What should I do if this doesn’t work?'” she said.
“At that time, all my friends were getting internships and graduations and following the path you should be on. I felt like I missed those opportunities.
“But those questions pushed me to push myself a little bit harder.”
You have this opportunity while you are young and have no other major responsibilities to bring yourself out.
Ms. Datt admitted to having a “fake it till you make it” attitude as she navigated the ever-changing digital marketing landscape.
“There were many times when people would ask me questions or ask me about various topics that I had no idea about,” said Ms. Datt.
“I would go home, Google what I could, and enroll in the next online course to continue learning.”
The “most pivotal moment” in her career came when one of the boutiques she worked for sold ten chairs in less than a day after an Instagram post she did for them.
“I knew I could make someone else’s money, which meant I would have had to pay for my services,” she said.
Since then, The Social CliQ has become one of Australia’s most popular digital marketing agencies, helping to transform the digital footprint of several Fortune 500 companies.
It has worked with major brands such as Sundae Body, Dita Von Teese, Sistema, Fujifilm, and Made by Fressko, with customer sales of $1.5 million last year in last year’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend alone.
Camera IconThe Social and Content CliQ have collaborated with brands such as Made by Fressko. Delivered Credit: Delivered
Ms. Datt founded her second company, a sister agency called The Content Cliq, to focus specifically on TikTok to capitalize on the app’s skyrocketing popularity.
Its agencies are projected to have $2.2 million in income for the fiscal year 2023.
She plans to expand her businesses to other states later this year and hopes to expand abroad within five years.
For all these achievements, Ms. Datt was named in this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list for media, marketing, and advertising.
“It was such an honor to be named; I still can’t believe it. I check the website daily to make sure my name is still there,” said Ms. Datt.
Camera IconTalia Datt plans to expand its businesses domestically and abroad. Delivered Credit: Delivered
“I’m among some incredible entrepreneurs, and it’s a huge honor to be on that list.”
On what advice she would give to other young Australians who don’t know what they want to do in life, Ms. Datt said, “try everything”.
“If there isn’t a huge loss, just try everything,” she said.
“You have this opportunity while you’re young with no other huge responsibilities to put yourself out there.”
