Your Name: Saija Mahon
Business Name: Mahon Digital Marketing Ltd., a digital marketing and social media firm
Type of Business: Marketing & PR
Business Location: Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Website http://www.mahondigital.co.uk
Twitter @mahondigital
Facebook www.facebook.com/MahonDigital
Pinterest http://pinterest.com/saija/
Reason for starting
I founded Mahon Digital Marketing back in 2010, in order to pursue my life-long dream of being a business owner, and also in order to have the flexibility in my life that it offered. Especially as I had just started a family, too. Taking the plunge and signing off from someone else’s payroll, didn’t scare me at all, and the idea of having my own company seemed just right. I knew I could always return to the job market if things didn’t go the way I had visioned them to go.
How do you define success?
Success can mean so many things, to so many people and entities, however to me personally it means happiness in life, financial well-being, healthy work and family-life balance and most of all, the loving environment that I am surrounded with. All the points above apply to both, work-life and personal-life in my case, as a business owner. Business and pleasure are more or less combined all in one, hence I need to be even more vigilant in terms of ensuring the right balance in all aspects.
Biggest Success
Biggest success so far in my career as a business owner and entrepreneur has been the ability to expand Mahon Digital overseas (Scandinavia) and also move into more spacious office premises in the United Kingdom, where our flagship office stands. I’ve also found great success in finding a great team around me and my company, there are 8 of us now, and I could have not found more intelligent, talented and creative people to work with! I truly respect them all and they are like part of the family now to me.
What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it?
The top challenge so far in the business has been the financial management. Not that it’s unheard of that some clients can pay their invoices late, however as we’ve grown from a one-woman band to a team of 8, there hasn’t (yet) been a clear accounting team in place. It’s been, at times, hard to be the person who chases for invoices, and at the same time, deals with the client on the marketing campaigns side of things. This is something that is now being addressed and we have an accounts manager in-house which enables us to keep clear division between the marketing team and the financial team and their respective tasks.
Who is your most important role model?
My father, who is also an entrepreneur. My mum, who’s incredibly talented and has always been there for me, day or night.