Three weeks ago, Yay!Starter’s Managing Director – Yana Lapitskaya received a call where she was told the agency has won a Lloyds Bank’s Small Business of the Year competition! Amazing news, we thought! Until things got even better!

The main prize is the best conversation an agency owner can dream of – a mentorship session with Steven Bartlett – the founder of Social Chain, the newest dragon on Dragons’ Den, and the author of ‘Happy, Sexy Millionaire’ and today, we would like to share with you some of the insights we gathered during that conversation.

You may ask us what is Social Chain?

Social Chain ​​is an award-winning and hugely innovative social media marketing agency, with a collective reach of over 200 million millennials across their platforms and a global client portfolio that includes Apple, McDonald’s, and the BBC. Social Chain was set up in 2014 by two young entrepreneurs – Steve Bartlett and Dom McGregor – who dropped out of university to pursue their business venture. And 2 weeks ago, Yay!Starter team had the incredible opportunity to have a conversation with Steven Bartlett where we got the chance to pick his brains on establishing such a successful business on the back of a student-oriented Twitter account!

Tip No. 1 – Treat Your Business As a Client 

Oftentimes, business owners make a mistake of concentrating on client tasks only and this, in Steven Bartlett’s opinion, is not the best approach. He advises treating your business the same way you would treat a client: creating timelines, sticking to the strategy and providing the best service you possibly can for your own business without compromising. 

Tip No. 2 – Have An Expert Opinion in Your Industry

We have all resolved to Google when looking for Top 5 Best XYZ, so why not become the voice that shares these opinions in your field? After all, if you can’t find some information, you should do the research and put this data together on your own. Trust Steven – people will thank you for it! This exercise will not only attract more interest to your brand but will also drive more traffic and establish you as industry experts in no time!

Tip No. 3 – Always Tag Industry Leaders

Have you recently partnered up with a well-known name or have you shared a blog piece that you found interesting? Either way, always tag industry leaders! This will not only help your business look more reputable but can also potentially help you get noticed. It might not work overnight but it is worth practising religiously – you never know when someone might come across a post your business published! 

Tip No. 4 – Follow What Works For You

Do you think a 4-day workweek is enough for your business to grow? Then, go for it! Do you think an informal atmosphere at the office is what works best? Why not! Want to work fully remotely? It’s up to you! What Steven was trying to get at here was that no business is the same. When you’re establishing your brand, place your beliefs at the core of things and make up your own rules – don’t just follow the rule book because it has worked for someone in the past. Instead, create the environment where you would want to work yourself.

Tip No. 5 – Know Who Your Dream Clients Are

One of Steven’s main tips is to always know who you want to work with. He suggests making a list of dream clients and working out a strategy on how to approach them whether it is the events you need to attend, people to meet or introductions to strike. As a business owner, you should always make your best attempt at working with the people and companies that you know you would love to work with. 

Yay!Starter’s conversation with Steven Bartlett was extremely insightful and we hope you came across some useful tips too! Once again, our team would like to thank Lloyds Bank and Steven for giving us this opportunity!