[00:00:00]Money sECRETS intro
This episode is one part of a series unpacking my brand campaign, Peachopoly. I cannot wait to share the behind the scenes of how we pulled this crazy thing together. You're going to be hearing from everybody who was involved in the campaign because I wanna really show what goes into creating something like this. I really hope you enjoy.
Fiona Johnston
All right, everybody, in this continuation of our Peach Ophely series that we are rolling out on the Money Secrets podcast, I'm so excited to have the star of episode two, Megan Winter. Welcome to the podcast, Megan.
Megan Winter
Hi, Fi. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to talk about this and get to the top of Cringe Mountain for my episode.
Fi
It's a pleasure. Now, I looked back through my records before this call to work out when we started [00:01:00] working together, and it was March 2025. So we've been working together, let's call that 18 months. Mm-hmm. Um, you've been a member of Good Money Club that whole time, and I think as we've gotten to know each other over time, we've realized we're actually much more similar than perhaps we realized at first. So that's been really fun to find another kindred type B, roll with the punches- Mm-hmm ... might look disorganized to others, but actually has her own style of being organized kind of gal.
Megan
Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Something like that. I didn't realize it was 18 months, but yeah, every time I speak to you, I'm like, "Oh, wow." And I think, yeah, I think we constantly say to each other, "Oh, yeah. Me too. Me too." Like, we're very similar in a lot of ways, and then we complement each other in a lot of ways. So you're my client, I'm your client. You've done a campaign for me. I've done a campaign for you. It's just... Yeah, it's very lovely.
Fi
Yeah. I feel like that's how business is supposed to be. Yeah, I agree. Yeah, like a nice reciprocal. There's things that both of us can [00:02:00] help each other with. Yeah, I really love doing business like that. Yeah. Um, s- so in case anybody hasn't met Megan, um, Megan is a meta ads expert. She's an agency owner, although she doesn't love the term agency owner.
But Megan, did you want to give people little dot points of your kind of career to date and how you got to be here?
Megan
Sure, yeah. So I mean, my career has mostly been in marketing. I did start off in a medical research institute and actually did allied health at university. Um- Did not know that. Mm-hmm. Yes.
So but, but that very quickly turned into, you know, a natural kind of progression into marketing. Uh, my first ever job was in a not-for-profit, so we worked a lot with philanthropy and making a dollar go, you know, the same as what $10 would in a private space. So that was- Wow, I like that ... that was probably the best start to my career, is starting in a not-for-profit.
Then I went [00:03:00] into working for a property developer, which was literally the complete opposite, which I think again- ... has shaped, you know, a lot of just the learnings that I've had along the way and to see all the different kind of iterations of how businesses do marketing. It's very broad. It can be- Mm ... a lot of things to a lot of people.
Uh, then I had a really boss, agency side, and I decided to go out on my own. Uh, and that was 15 years ago. Um, Ellen Hooper, one of our mutual friends, always... Well, I don't know if she does say this or if I've just made this up, but, um, you're only one shit boss away from starting your own business. So- I love it
I started, I started my own business. Uh, I actually grew up on a permaculture farm with a very hippy mum, and so I have this really deep care for the environment and people and planet, and so I make sure that I work with businesses and brands that also align with those values. [00:04:00] Uh, my businesses today, one is teaching people how to use Meta Ads, uh, because I truly believe that if we don't use it, it will use us.
Uh, and then the other one is, like you said, an agency which I kind of tend to think of more like a partnership, where we run Meta Ads for our clients, and that is called Good Kind Media. So that is a little me in a nutshell, I guess. And like you said, I've been working with you for 18 months, and I've also had the pleasure of helping you with your Meta Ads.
Fi
Yeah. Yeah, you have converted me from being someone so... I don't know if anti Meta Ads is the word, because, you know, I work with lots of agencies as clients as well, and I see the results they get. But I just... I don't know. It took me a long time to wrap my head around giving money to a company as evil, in inverted commas, as Meta.
But one of the things that kind of helped me think through it was like, well, what's the [00:05:00] alternative? Like- Mm ... what other medi- paid media out there is there for a small business owner that isn't, in inverted commas, evil? Yeah. And that's kinda how I sort of reconciled with it, that, yes, I'd love to give my advertising dollars to some amazing organization doing great things for the world, but I don't know of one.
Megan
Yeah. And the other thing as well is that there are all of these brands that are advertising on Meta, and so if we're not there, then our clients won't have an alternative. They won't know that we exist, and so therefore they won't be able to actually find us and spend money with us, which is a really good kind alternative- Mm-hmm
to all of the other, you know, brands out there who they're using it, and, you know, Meta's using us, so we might as well use it for our benefit and actually do it in a way that's making our little pocket of the world, but also our community [00:06:00] and ultimately the world, a better place. So, yeah, I, I had a little bit of a existential crisis maybe 18 months ago, or maybe a little bit more, where I just thought, "I hate Meta." I actually hate Meta. I hate the values of the company. I hate how they target people. Like, it's just, ugh. But then I realized, well, you know what? If I'm not going to help people use it- someone else will, and they probably don't have the same values as I do. So, you know, it's all about making sure that we weave our values, and make sure that we're working with brands that actually care.
Fi
Yeah. It's like, um, you know, we all operate inside capitalism, and none of us has the power as an individual to remove capitalism, even though there's a lot about it we'd probably like to remove. But it's like we can carve our own little space within this world of capitalism, which I suppose is what my mission is, is like- Mm let's get more money into the hands of people who are gonna [00:07:00] use it for good. And- Mm-hmm ... I think it's interesting that you and I have that similar desire to wanna work with kind, purpose-led, impact-led businesses. And I remember when I started Peach 16 years ago, and I had that mission from the start, and people just had no idea what I was talking about. They were like, "That sounds good, but there's not enough companies out there doing good things for you to be able to make a living from." And I was like, "Watch me." Yeah. And I have stuck by that for 16 years, and it's interesting to see the landscape change so much now, and that there's so many brands out there wanting to work with other purpose-led brands, that it's just a thing now. So yeah, was it like that for you when you started too?
Megan
Yeah, I think there was... I mean, I tend to exist in a bit of a bubble. Like, I don't really look at my competitors too much. I tend to try and stick to my lane, or within my lane. [00:08:00] But there definitely was this idea that money or income and impact were different things. Yeah. And I've always said money, like income and impact go hand in hand, and I definitely did have some really bad clients along the way. I said yes to lots of brands that I definitely shouldn't, shouldn't have. I've learnt to trust my intuition a lot more. And so, I mean, purpose, purpose-led brands has kind of become a buzzword now.
It has, yeah. Uh, so that's definitely changed, but the way that I want to work with businesses has never really changed. It's just that I've learnt to, I guess, sift through the ones who say the right things and the ones who actually do the right things. Yeah. And yeah, that's... You can tell when somebody's like, "Oh, we have to, we have to partner with a [00:09:00] charity, or we have to plant some trees," because that's- Yeah that's, you know, making purpose. That's, that's-
Fi
Yeah. We're a, we're an oil company, but we're gonna plant- Yeah ... some trees, and that's somehow gonna offset... No, it's not. Yeah, no, no. Yeah.
Megan
So yeah. True. It has changed. Um, but it also, there's a lot of brands who profit is more important than people, planet, purpose. Like, and that definitely still exists. And you know what? This is a little sidebar. You probably know more about this than me. I've just got this thought. Like, there's so... We get taxed so much. All of the small purpose-led- Businesses who are just trying to do the right thing. And then somehow the big businesses, gas, coal, like how do they not pay proper tax? I don't understand this, like blue- I know. I know Yeah, that's a whole nother.
Fi
The short answer is they have better accountants than we do, and they know how to scoop through all the loopholes. I mean, in a very simplistic way, essentially what they do is they make all this profit in Australia, but then they [00:10:00] have another company that's in a tax haven that doesn't- Yeah pay tax, and that company invoices the Australian company, and now the Australian company has no profit because it's all gone to this other company. That's a very simplistic way of explaining how it happens. But yes, agree. We're in a time right now where ta- small businesses are really being kind of squeezed from all of these angles. And- Yeah ... then yes, I mean, if, if they-- There's an organization called the Australia Institute that has really great thought work and kind of thought leadership in this space, and one of the things that I heard them talk about once was that, I'm gonna get the country wrong, but let's say it was Finland or somewhere in that kind of area of the world. Mm-hmm. That in that country, they tax fossil fuel and the higher education system is free. Mm, uh-huh. Whereas in our country, Mm-hmm, yeah ... the government makes more money from higher education than it does from [00:11:00] fossil fuel. Like, let's just say that again The country makes more money from selling higher education than it does from taxing fossil fuel companies. Like, we are so backwards, and I could get really fired up- I know ... and probably talk about that for hours, but- Who's making those... Yeah. Who's making those- Yes ... decisions? People who had free higher education, like- Exactly ... it's not, it's not making any sense to me.
Megan
Yeah, I actually had a client who was based out of Sweden when I first started, so maybe about 12 years-ish ago, 10, 10 years ago. And I used to travel to Sweden. Uh, we had, like, we had a global team. So there was Sweden, there was people in London, people in Australia, everywhere. And it blew my mind how business was run over there. Mm. The differ- Like, the everything about business was done in such a thoughtful, considered way. Mm. Everybody stopped at 11:00. Everybody sat around a table and had rye bread and cheese and, you know- Wow ... it was just like, [00:12:00] it had a name. I forget the name of it. People who know what I'm talking about probably- Like that pumpernickel bread or something ... name the... It's like- Yeah ... the morning tea has a name.
Fi
Like, it's a- Right, like the ritual of getting together. Yeah.
Megan
Yeah. And you ha- Like, it's basically like it's just part of, part of it. Everybody, like, sorts out their own recycling. Everybody takes so much responsibility for the bigger picture, and that's, I, I just, I, that's how I wanna work.
Fi
Yeah. Megan and Fi for Prime Minister in the future, I say.
Megan
Yeah. Or we could just move to Sweden.
Fi
Yeah, true. Um, all right. So we have very similar philosophies, and maybe that's another reason why we work so well together. But I wanna take the listeners on a journey of you being part of the campaign that has ended up being called Peachopoly, you know, inspired by another board game that shall not be named. The concept was brought to life by Steph Hansen, who is a mutual friend and client of ours, too. She does- Yeah ... stuff for us, and you and me, and [00:13:00] we're all in a soup of working together. So a couple of months ago, I came to you on an email, and I said, "I've got this crazy idea that I'm putting together. Would you like to be involved?"
So tell me about your perspective from there through to now.
Megan
Yeah. I mean, yes, of course, I just said, "Yes, whatever you wanna do, count me in." Uh, I knew that Steph was involved, so that is always going to be fun, crazy- ... cinematic. Very cinematic. Yes. With coffee. Um, everything Steph does is just, just amazing. So of course, I said yes, and the more people who can work with you, again, the better. Like, I think, like, your philosophies and the way that you help businesses make money is amazing. I... Over the time of working with you, my biggest, I guess, struggle was really [00:14:00] understanding cashflow projection. So I was very good at budgeting, very good at bringing money in. I'd always used profit first from the very first day that I started my business. So money, uh, wasn't so much the problem. It was more like, can I afford to do these things that are going to- Mm ... help me grow? Uh, where should I be spending my money? I think I have a bit of a cycle where I had spent money on, like, coaches or programs and things, trying to learn more, whereas actually, like, that really wasn't my ar- like, that wasn't my blocker. I, I didn't really need to learn anything more. I just needed to do and grow my team and grow my capacity. So working with you, it became really clear that, one, you reinforced that actually I was quite good at money management, whereas, you know, I had no benchmark. I didn't, I didn't know. I just did what I did. And [00:15:00] then you were also able to help me see that I could afford to spend money on the things that were going to drive my business and what that looked like and projecting forward and working out a, a cashflow plan. And so yeah, I was on the money management
Fi
Yeah. So we, we had four worlds in Peachopoly. We had money psychology, money making, money management, and impact making. Yeah. And money management is what I chose for you because that is a lot of the stuff that we've worked on together, and also I know that this is a really common issue for agency owners and service providers that are growing a team. Getting the money to come in isn't the hard bit. It's what to do with it once you've got it. So that's why- Yeah ... I chose that for you. Yeah. Then we went on a journey into the world. We stepped into the world. Um- Welcome to the world of Peachopoly. Which is so fun. Oh my gosh, it was [00:16:00] so funny that day. It was just like, uh, so funny.
Megan
Um, yeah, and just really lent into the, the fun of what it's like to make decisions of your money management and where to spend your money, and I mean, the video is just hilarious. I haven't seen it in full screen, so- We'll watch it in a sec ... I'm looking, looking forward to that. But yeah, just the... All of the, the choices of where you can spend money.
You can spend money on a brand awareness campaign. You can spend money on meta ads. You can spend money on a coach. You can spend money on, I don't know, an office. Like all the different- Mm ... things. And in the end, what I was really nervous about, because all of the other coaches and consultants and advisors that I'd worked with had said, "You really need to build up your employees." And that's kind of what a lot of other agencies that I look at, that's what they do. Yeah. And it just... [00:17:00] I had... I have done that before. I was much younger. I definitely made mistakes, but I still, even if I did it again and did it well, like based on all the learnings that I had from all the mistakes that I've made, it's still just not really my style. I want to work with people who are very good at what they do. I mean, I train them in my way technically, but I have very high expectations for my clients, for the work that we produce, and so I love working with contractors. And you were like, "That's fine." Right. "Do that." Perfect. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, "Oh, I'm allowed to do that. Okay." So you kinda gave me permission, uh, to do that. And I mean, that still has its challenges for sure. Yes. Uh, but I'm learning every day about that and getting into the rhythms with that and working with Ellen, [00:18:00] who we mentioned before, to really, like, she- she's got a background in HR, and just working out how to- Uh, manage my team- Yeah, how to lead and how to kind of become- Like how to lead your business. Exactly. Mm. How to become a great leader, because I've always had this thought that I'm not a good leader, and so that's not helpful. Um, yeah, that was... It was very fun and very... A very fun and very silly way of actually talking about quite a complex and serious issue.
Fi
Yeah. Yeah, I'm glad you said that, and I think that is what we are trying to do with Peachopoly at its heart, is to say, look, money and business is scary. It's, it's, it's hard. It's like sometimes it feels so hard that we actually just avoid, and that just makes things worse. But actually it's also really fun, and I really love this idea of saying money and small business can be fun even when it's [00:19:00] hard. And I feel like that's what we're trying to convey with Peachopoly, is, like, you can make really difficult decisions, but they can actually still feel fun. And, you know, when I'm helping you do it, it's gonna be much easier because, you know, you're getting support from the right person, just like somebody partnering with you on meta ads is going to have a great experience because you know what you're doing.
Megan
The other thing that I really love with the concept of Peachopoly, I mean, there's a few things. One is, like, I put my marketing hat on, and it's all about world making and experience and this year and next year and probably 2028 as well. It's all about- Yeah ... immersive experiences and getting into worlds. So the fact that- Mm-hmm ... you had four worlds was just like, mm, uh, so good. But then also, like with the game analogy. So business, it is a game, but there are also... There's rules of the game, but there's also price of admission to play. Yes. Yeah. And that is that you have to pick your hard. There's always gonna be- Mm
something that [00:20:00] is hard. And so whether that's- Managing your money, working with the right people, working hard. Like, there's... It's just you've gotta do something that's gonna be uncomfortable at some point. And if you wanna play the game, then you have to do that sometimes. Yeah. And as a payoff, you can get to the end, you can collect Go.
You can, what is it? Collect... Pass Go, collect 200 or whatever. Pass Go, collect $200. Yeah. Um, you know, hopefully a bit more than that, but yeah. It's, um... I just love the... There's so many little analogies. I love an analogy. Yeah. My- most of my marketing is analogies, so yeah. Yeah.
Fi
Yeah, it's like it gives people a bridge to something they already understand, which is a board game. Okay, I understand a board game. There's rules, there's chance, there's luck, there's bad luck, there's, you know, collaboration, blah, blah, blah. There's strategy. Yeah. So everything about a board game really sits perfectly as an analogy for small business. Yeah. Should've done Jumanji where people, like, get [00:21:00] eaten and... By boa constrictors and stuff. That would've been fun. Maybe that'll be the next one. Yeah. Don't tell Steph that idea or she'll already be dreaming up, how do I make a giant boa constrictor? How, how do we get some jungle cars going through the studio? That'll be fun. Oh. Well, let's watch your episode together and, um- For sure we'll keep recording it and, um, and then we'll talk about it a little bit. But here we go. The episode two with Megan Winter
Peach-opoly episode#1:
Those dice were so funny.
So good one. I'm ready, I think. Am I? Oh, I don't know. Fi, what do you think? Ooh, your next hire. Maybe. I'm just not sure that's what I should be spending my money on right now. Mate, you are [00:22:00] great at managing your money. This is definitely the right move. Let's go shopping. Look, you're a great marketer, so bringing the money in is kind of easy for you, yeah?
I mean, yeah- I love that setup ... revenue is great. I love our clients, and we've got a steady flow of leads. Spending the money is where things get a little bit tricky though, yeah? Yeah, I mean, we have the money. I just don't know where to spend it because I've made bad decisions in the past. Look, I get it.
Let's make a really good decision together. There's so many things- And now Megan goes wild with the shopping ... we could spend your money on, a campaign, coaching- ... a new website- There's one of our mutual clients Living Better ... paid media, meta ads, or a marketing s- Whoa, you can buy any of these, but what makes the most sense right now?
I think you need help with your client delivery. To me, that is your next hire. Steph's like, "Less angry."
Okay, makes sense. I mean, what I really want is a contractor, but what everyone keeps telling me [00:23:00] is that I need an employee, but I've tried that before and it really doesn't sit well. Who cares? Hiring contractors suits you and your business model. So what you're saying is that I can actually afford to find a contractor with all the right ingredients to suit me and my business?
Absolutely. Okay, let's ring it up. Ding. Ding. If you keep doing what you're doing- ... and managing your money well, there's always- Mm ... gonna be money for the things that matter. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Wait, have you guys got chicken here?
Megan
So funny. So good. Oh, Steph. Steph would love that. Um- Mm So I love the world that we built there.
Fi
Thank God for Kate Forsyth and her amazing set design. Um, we had the supermarket and- So fun ... like, it's, it's all very fun and playful, but this is what actually happens is like you have money in your bank account, and then you're like, "Oh my God, oh my God, I want a campaign and a new, new website, and I want coaching, [00:24:00] and I, I'm gonna buy a new car, and I'm gonna do all these things." And then three months later, "Ah, I've got to pay the BAS, and I've got no money." So- Mm-hmm ... it's like- Yes ... this is, this is what I love about really having a plan for money management. It, it's not about trying to make you spend less. It's about making sure that you've got money for things at the right time. And so, you know, legitimately, your next hire is another ads manager because you have an agency that is growing, and you have no trouble bringing in clients because what you do is in demand, and you're really good at it. But the interesting thing about the contractor versus employee conversation, I feel like a lot of advisors and coaches, as you have experienced, they tell agency owners that the best thing to do is to get a team of employees. And sometimes they do calculations of like, "Well, this is how much a, a employee will cost across the year, and this is how much a contractor will be for the same thing." But [00:25:00] in my opinion, the number is irrelevant. We're not comparing apples to apples here. And I love how you said before that you love working with specialists, and I think that most of the time an employee is going to be a generalist, and a contractor is going to be a specialist. And either way, you're still gonna have to train them into your proprietary method. But when you work with a contractor, it means that you don't have to spend time, you know, sort of mentoring and managing and growing and developing their career and... Like, you, you're doing all of that for a contractor too. The contractors that work for us, we want them to feel like part of our team and that they're developing. But it's such a different proposition to have an employee versus a contractor, and the money side of it, to me, is just a tiny fraction of how we make that comparison. Yeah. Yeah. It also works really well for me from my money management.
Megan
Like, it works well from a lot [00:26:00] of things. I think the advisor or the advisors that tell me... And I worked with a specific coach once because she had built and sold an agency, and so I was like- Mm ... "Okay, teach me." And she said, "You have to build employees to have a, a company of value." And to me, it just doesn't make any sense. I get it, like, that if somebody was to come in and buy my business, maybe I would convert them into employees. But, like, an employee is only four weeks away from leaving- Exactly ... being their own- They're only one shit boss away from- Exactly ... creating their own business Starting their own. Yeah. Exactly. So, uh, it just doesn't make sense from that, in that argument. And, and, like, employees suit other business owners. That's- Yeah ... you know, I'm not saying that it, it works for everybody, but it works for me because contractors are responsible for their own time management, which suits me very well 'cause I'm not a micromanager. I imagine some agency owners would probably have heart palpitations when they c- like, [00:27:00] leave their team to their own devices. But for me- Mm ... like, I, that just works so well. Mm. And then from a money management side of things, my contractors get so much flexibility, and they have so many perks because they also get paid per client that we have, so they're not guaranteed a wage, you know, unless they keep their clients, unless we bring clients in. And so, you know, there's, there's payoffs on both sides. And then I also... The contractors that I bring in are all working moms at this point. That- Mm-hmm ... you know, it's not to say that I only look for them, but that level of flexibility actually really suits them. And if you want something done, give it to a busy person, because- Yeah they can always work out how to do it, so. Yeah. It's just, it's such a win-win for everybody at my level of business. Like, I've only... You know, I've got three contractors in the ads management space. I've got other contractors who [00:28:00] do other things. Uh, but, you know, it might change down the track, but for now, it just works so beautifully for me.
Fi
Yeah. Yeah, same. I've had big teams of employees working for me, and it just didn't, it didn't work for me. I love having specialist contractors and, you know, I have my two that work with me all the time, which is social media and, and my assistant, and then I have lots of contractors out there, design, photography, videography, you know, marketing, and I can call on them when I need them- Yeah not all the time, because I'm not gonna need those contractors all the time.
Megan
Yeah. Why would you ever bring someone into your business that's not better at you than the thing you're p- you're hiring them for? Yeah. So, I mean, unless you want to... That's your business model and you wanna train them and teach them, and that's a whole different thing.
But if you want somebody... Like, we partner with businesses who are amazing at what they do- And but they don't, they're not good at meta ads. So, you know, we come in and [00:29:00] we do what we're really, really good at, and I think that makes a lot of sense for any business hiring somebody. It's if, if you want somebody to add value to your business, hire somebody who's better than you at the thing- Yeah that they're there to do.
Fi
Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, I love that. That sounds like a really good segue to ask you, what does your business look like at the moment, and how could somebody listening work with you? So tell me about the two different things that you do and, and what that looks like at the moment.
Megan
Yeah. So the two different sides of the business, one is where I teach people how to run their own Meta ads that don't suck the life from them. So- ... working with brands who want to actually take their ads in-house, learn their ads, I always think it's a good idea to understand, if you have time and the propensity to want to learn, bringing it or bringing that knowledge to in-house or to [00:30:00] yourself just helps with understanding when you are ready to outsource and when you grow, uh, you'll be able to spot the BS, the red flags.
Like, there's so many bad agencies out there, honestly. Like, having that understanding yourself even just for that from that point of view makes so much sense. But I've got... So I do four cohorts a year where I teach people in a very hands-on mentorship program. We have some mutual clients in this round. Shout out Fipe, the amazing Living Coco. Uh- ... have just, yeah, lots of amazing brands come in and learn how to run their own ads through my program called Take the Wheel. So, um- What I love about that program, sorry to interrupt- Mm-hmm ... is that you're actually running their ads with them- Yeah ... during that time, and I don't think people realize how powerful that is. You're not just training them on some pretend thing. Like, you're literally in their Meta Ads account with them, looking at what's [00:31:00] happening, giving advice, and they basically have you at their disposal for a couple of months to actually get their ads working properly. I think it's genius. Yeah. So I set their ads up for them at the start, and then we run them together for eight weeks. So I'm literally opening up their ad account, we're looking at their data, we're making changes. They're asking me questions about their ad account, and they also get to see some peer, you know, that's w- there's some peer learning involved there, so they also get to see other ad accounts because theirs might be going in one direction, and the person sitting next to them is going in another direction.
And just when you get it, when you get the platform, it doesn't matter what product you're advertising or if you've got a launch in six months' time. Once you understand it, you can really use the platform to your advantage. So that's why I truly get people to understand the platform, not just how to set up an ad, but, like- Mm how to read the data. So that's why- Yeah ... [00:32:00] I developed that program. There's also an on-demand version because people were asking for it, and I was like I just, I have this thing with courses where I think you need to be able to ask questions, but people wanted to buy the on demand. Mm. So I opened it up, and the amount of feedback that I got from that where people were like, "Look at my ads now," um, I just went, "Okay. Well, this is working," and so people can just buy the content. Mm. Like l- consume the content without, uh, having me there. I also have a free podcast, Meta Ads Under the Hood, which- It is so good ... teaches... Yeah, I just, I just share knowledge. Like, I share... I interview people, uh, on how they've used meta ads. I share stories.
I share information on how to make meta ads work or how I use meta ads so that people can do the same. So that's the training side. And then my done-for-you side is Good Kind Media, [00:33:00] and that's what we're talking about with the contractor side. So I do all of the strategy. We work out a plan to really take the business to where their goals are. We reverse engineer the strategy. We reverse engineer the budget. Then we have specialized ads managers who help with the setup and the execution. And then, yeah, we work with our clients. We give them weekly reports, monthly meetings, and then a 90-day full holistic strategy, uh, which is more than just ads, and to make sure that their business is actually on track. And so that's Good Kind Media, and that's where we work with brands to become part of their team. And what kind of brands do you love working with the most in that business? Yeah. Well, at the core it's good, kind, conscious brands, so purpose-led brands who actually care. But then we really work well with personal brands who have something [00:34:00] to make their little pocket of the world a better place. So we work with- Like an author or a sort of speaker- Yeah ... or something like that? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So some of the, like, people that we work with are Taryn Brumfitt, who was Australian of the Year in '23; Rebecca Sparrow, who is known in the parenting space. Um, we work with Dr. Justin Coulson, who's another parenting expert; Caitlin Merwehar, which is a, uh, a stylist and has a, a really big style membership. Lots of just amazing people who are doing amazing things, but don't know how to make ads work for them. So we work- Or don't have time to run their own. Don't have the time, don't have the know-how. So we work with personal brands. We work with e-commerce brands. Again, e-commerce brands who are doing kind, good things, care about the planet, care about people. Um, so e-commerce is our other one. And then- Experiences and events. So things like disco club and- Mm-hmm ... [00:35:00] things like Queensland music festivals and the Reef Tour, and yeah, just experiences, uh, who again, are doing amazing things but just need more people to know about it. So personal brands, e-commerce, and events and experiences, and then that tends to be who we kind of, who I then train as well in my training program. So I take the learnings from our agency and teach them to our students as well. So yeah, it's just a beautiful little ecosystem that all works very nicely together and yeah, we've got some amazing clients. We only work with brands who we truly align with and who we truly think we can help Yeah, I love that.
Fi
Before we wrap up, Megan, I'd love to know what's the best advice that you've been given about money or business? Doesn't have to be from me, I'm not that kinda gal, but is there anything that has really helped with either making money, managing money, [00:36:00] taking care of money, or just your business in general that's something that has made a really big difference to you and might make a difference to someone listening?
Megan
Yeah. I think if, if people aren't doing the profit first, which you do teach and you talk about, then it's gonna be hard. Profit first or just, just having a system that works for you to manage your money and your cash flow so you don't have an unexpected tax bill, or you don't spend money that you don't have. You can always pay your team, you can always pay yourself. Pay yourself first. That, to me, I'm so glad that I've done that since- Yeah ... basically day one, but I've never had a bill with the ATO ever. I've never had a- Yeah ... payment plan with the ATO. Yeah. And I've had some pretty big-
Fi
You would be- ... pretty big- in the minority ... pretty big bills. And you would be very much in the minority there. I think almost every small business owner at some point has owed the ATO money, and so it is amazing that [00:37:00] that system, which is not... It's very simple. It's, it's not easy to use all the time, but it's a simple system of separating your money into the right envelopes. So yeah, I love that. Any- anything else come to mind?
Megan
Just simpl- like, anything that is simple works for me. So I don't like- Yeah ... to overcomplicate things, so that's why I think that works really well. Um, the other thing is, yeah, make sure you pay yourself first, which I didn't always do, because otherwise you just go get a job. If you're not paying yourself and you just got a hobby, like it's, it's a hobby, but sometimes not even a fun hobby. It's an expensive- ... painful, sad hobby where you're just making everyone else money. So pay yourself first. That's what business is here for. And yeah, keep it simple. Just that simple sort of system that you do teach, uh, has been, yeah, really helpful for me. And then, I mean, obviously as you progress, uh, going into the projections and forecasting [00:38:00] for... You know, we've got our forecasting done till the end of 2027 now. And, um, you just gotta- Actually to the end of 2029, but yes Yeah. But I mean, like, I've actually got all of my, my a- activities, like how- Yeah ... to make that happen really- Exactly
like fully mapped out. Yes, it's... You make the plan, and then you do the plan. So. Yeah. Yeah. Doing it is the hard part, but- And it can be re- it can be rewarding, too. Like, a lot of people think that having a plan makes you rigid or something, but it's, it's the opposite. It's freeing to know, okay, all I need to do to get to this result I want is to bring on X new clients a month, or sell this many books per week or- Mm whatever it is. I think that- Yeah ... you know, planning is actually really freeing once you've got the right simple plan in front of you. Yeah. I agree with that, and I think the other really important thing that a lot of business owners forget is to really specialize in how you make your money, [00:39:00] and then diversify in your investments. So I have always paid myself super, thank God. Like, I'm 40 now and my super is very healthy. Um, I've always paid myself super. I've always invested in, like not just back into the business, I've invested- Yeah ... in shares, I've invested in property, and those assets are going to then make money, that my money is going to make money.
My money is working for me. And so specializing in how we make our money, but then diversifying in how we spend and invest our money, I think is something that we just, as business owners, we, we have to do because we can... We're not gonna work forever. Um- Yeah ... there's gonna come a point where we're going to stop working, and if we don't have our super paid because we're business owners, we don't, you know, necessarily have to, unless we, you know, unless we're paying ourselves- Mm a wage, which a lot of business owners don't do either. Yeah. Um, the, the highest percentage of, or the highest [00:40:00] cohort of homeless people in Australia are women over 50. Yeah.
Fi
Yeah. So just- I love how you explained that ... I really want that to stop. Yeah. Specialized business, diversified investments. Absolutely chef's kiss advice.
I love it. I'm obsessed.
Megan
This is not financial advice. Please seek financial advice. Um, this is just what I've done. But yeah, I, I think that's really, really important because it just breaks my heart that we have, you know, so many women... And, and this is a whole another tangent, but when I got divorced, you know, I tr- my ex-husband tried to control me with financial control, and- Mm thank God I could earn my own money because so many women can't, and then they're stuck in marriages that they hate, that are abusive or whatever. And, uh, yeah, so that's another reason why I think it's so important to have your own investments, and to manage your own, your o- your own money.
Fi
Yeah. Amen. [00:41:00] Hallelujah. Something, other words. Love this. Obsessed. Thank you so much for coming on the Money Secrets podcast, Megan. We'll put your contact details in the show notes, and anyone who's looking for either training or, you know, meta ads done for you, just, just go straight to Megan and her team at Good Kind Media.
Megan
Thank you so much, Fi. I have loved chatting with you, as always, and I'll talk to you again soon.
Fi
Been a pleasure. Thanks, Megan
