Meet the Bs behind BLL – Ruby!
Welcome to the second post in our two-part series (two blog posts makes a series, right?) where we pull back the curtain and show you who we are!
In a nutshell, we are Ange and Ruby – the co-founders of Biz Launch Lab. We wanted to share a bit about us (personal and work stuff) so you can get to know us better. So we’ve interviewed each other and here’s part 2. (Part 1 was Ange and you’ll find it here.)
Introducing Ruby
Ruby is a copywriter, editor, journalist, content strategist, amateur designer, maker of things and builder of brands. She’s worked with some of the world’s biggest brands – and plenty of smaller ones too.
Needing variety like air, she has experience working with clients across industries as diverse as education, technology, health and wellbeing, travel, food and wine, transport, finance and legal.
She’s lived in Melbourne and on the Sunshine Coast and is now based in Sydney.
Here’s what she has to say.
Hi Ruby! Describe yourself in 10 words.
Empathetic, ambitious, creative, anxious, hungry, sensitive, wanderer, dog-less dog mum.
How did you end up in content and copywriting?
The term ‘content creator’ is a bit of a gross buzzword right now, but that’s really what I am. I’ve always been a writer. As a kid I was constantly writing stories and poems. When I was 14, my friend Kylie and I founded a magazine (from my bedroom) called Shapes & Co.
I studied Journalism at Monash University in Melbourne and worked at The Big Issue magazine for a short while. I liked magazine journalism and feature writing (as opposed to news reporting) and thought I might work for a food mag. (I was a freelance food writer for about 10 years on and off, mainly for Fairfax.)
But I also didn’t want to struggle in an industry people told me was dying. So soon after uni I joined the ‘dark side’ and worked in communications agencies doing copywriting (and editing and proofreading), strategy and client account management. My whole career has been a blend of corporate marketing communications (with lots of brand-building work, which I love), journalism and doing marketing, brand work, design and copy for my own projects.
I guess I’ve always been a bit entrepreneurial. And I love making things. When we were about 6, my friend and I tried to sell seeds (from a tree) to passers-by (standing on stools so people would think we were adults). Shapes & Co was slightly more successful, though may have only run for one edition. In 2015, I co-founded Death Dinner Party – a series of events that bring people together over good food and wine to talk and learn about death and life.
Making LaunchKit is one of my favourite things, personally or professionally, I’ve ever done.
In the work you do, what makes you roll your eyes?
All. The. Marketing. Jargon. Urggghhh… It’s so off-putting and I swear half the time people don’t even know what they’re talking about. It’s like office jargon. Synergy and innovative solutions and taking things offline and closing the loop. Gross. The language people use can make marketing sound more complicated or daunting than it actually is, and like something that’s completely disconnected from humans.
‘Lead magnet’ is one that really makes me roll my eyes. That’s the freebie you offer people who visit your website in exchange for their email address, so you can build your email list. But where’s the human element in ‘lead magnet’? There’s just something about it that makes me feel yuk.
It’s no wonder people think marketing is ‘icky’. It really shouldn’t be. It’s essentially about connecting with the right people and helping them get what they want and need. (Actually we wrote a great blog post on that a little while ago – about rethinking your whole approach to marketing.)
Bad spelling and grammar on websites is another one. There really is NO EXCUSE for it. A few typos: sure, it happens to the best of us. But anything other than that makes your website look sloppy and unprofessional and it will turn people away.
There are online tools to help you with this. If you know someone who’s good with their English, get them to read your copy. Or pay someone to edit or proofread it for you. It’s worth it.
Last one (but there are many others, trust me) – some of the language used by life and health coaches. I love coaches – they do great work and they’re one group that we specifically created LaunchKit for.
But some coaches have a tendency to use language that they like but that just doesn’t resonate with the average person. Things like “stepping into your truth”, “living in alignment” (with what?!), “reclaiming your power” and “shining your light”.
Look, if that’s the language your target clients are genuinely using, then absolutely go ahead and use it. But chances are, that’s not what they’re googling or saying to their friends. That’s not how they describe what they want and need. Instead, try to find a balance between your language and the language your ideal clients actually use. You’ll find it much easier to connect with potential clients that way – and, as a result, to grow your client base.
What’s something weird or surprising about you?
I lived with my mum in a commune in the Blue Mountains for a year or so, when I was 3 or 4. (It’s where she met my stepdad.) I loved it and hung out with a woman called Moon Swan. Also, for some reason I’m surrounded by psychologists in my life. My mum, uncle, brother and two of my closest friends.
Outside of Biz Launch Lab, what occupies your time?
I’ve been self-employed for more than 5 years now, so when I’m not working on Biz Launch Lab, I’m working on various projects for various clients. I work from home, which I really like most of the time. Though I can easily go an entire day without speaking to another person (until my soon-to-be-husband Jack gets home. And then I have to re-learn how to interact with humans.)
Outside of work, I spend a lot of my time with Jack. I never get sick of that guy. He’s a consultant chef and our lives revolve around food. Lots of cooking, sometimes eating out, talking about food, etc. We also dog-sit!
I like to be in nature when I can. The beach is my spiritual home. I catch up with friends, usually over food. I watch too much Netflix. I listen to podcasts (lots of health and wellbeing). I often go to Queensland or Melbourne to visit family and friends. Ground-breaking stuff!
To be honest, my anxiety can also occupy my time. In 2016 I started having really severe panic attacks and developed panic disorder. I don’t experience that anymore, thankfully, but it’s been a pretty long road to recovery, involving plenty of hard work. Feeling the best I have in years though.
If you could suddenly have any talent in the world, what would it be?
Singing! There’s a running joke in my family about how bad of a singer I am. It’s true. I’m the worst. But I would LOVE to be able to sing. I’d become one of those annoying people with who sings all the time just in day-to-day life. And what a dream to be able to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to someone without having to do it in a super soft voice so I don’t ruin the harmony. (Aim high, right…)
Cheese is life. Agree or disagree?
Agree x 1,000. If I could eat cheese for every meal every day, and not get sick from it, I would do it. If I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, I’d choose cheese and accept my shortened life span.
What makes you laugh the most?
Aside from my own jokes, probably Jack. He’s truly hilarious. (But don’t tell him that.) We crack a lot of jokes to each other and have a very similar sense of humour, and that’s an absolute joy for me.
Also sometimes when my family is all together (mum, stepdad, younger sister, younger bro) or some of us are together, we’ll get the giggles about something and set each other off and do that hysterical laughter that feels more like torture than anything funny and you don’t stop till everything hurts. I love that. (Except those times when it’s really inappropriate to be laughing, which just makes it even funnier but more stressful.)
If you’ve read this far – congratulations! You now know more about Ruby than you ever realised you wanted to know.
If you haven’t already met Ange, the other half of Biz Launch Lab, read her interview here.
Join us in the comments
Who are YOU? Say hi! Tell us what your idea or business is. Tell us what talent you wish you had. Or how much you love cheese. Or what you want to know more about that will help you launch and build your biz. We’d love to hear from you.
Are you starting a new business (or recently launched one)?
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