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[00:00:00] Welcome back to the Regional Collective, the podcast that champions small business owners and their incredible stories of resilience. creativity and community. I'm your host Shelley Cox and I couldn't be more excited to kick off season two with something a little different because this time we're hitting the road.
[00:00:29] From the bustling main streets to the quiet hidden gems, we'll be traveling across South Australia to meet inspiring small business owners in their own backyards. Together we'll explore their challenges, celebrate their wins, and
[00:00:43] then cover their unique ways in shaping their own communities So buckle up for a heartfelt conversation with practical insights and a whole lot of inspiration as we shine a spotlight on the heartbeat of our regional economy. This is the Regional Collective, [00:01:00] where small businesses make a big impact.
[00:01:04]
[00:01:09] In this episode, we're sitting down with Fallon Wook, a dynamic marketing agency owner and director of the Op Blue charity. Fallon's passion for helping small and medium businesses grow shines through in everything she does, from crafting standout marketing strategies to making a real impact in communities, both locally and globally.
[00:01:31] We'll chat about how Fallon has built her brand, the challenges and rewards of running a purpose driven business, and how her work with Op Blue is changing lives by educating children in Kenya. So grab a coffee, settle in, and join us as we get inspired by Fallon's journey and her mission to empower others.
[00:01:52] Fallon, thank you so much for, uh, for joining us. It's been great to, you know, meet outside of, um, uh, business. We've had a
[00:01:59] few, you
[00:01:59] know, [00:02:00] coffee chats, um, wine chats. So a great opportunity, I thought, to share what you've been doing in your business, um, how you've grown.
[00:02:07] you know, from a single operator to an agency size, um, but also how you've turned, you know, giving and being charitable into your business model. So do you want to just maybe step us through how you started, um, with Fallon Co.?
[00:02:23] Yeah, definitely. Well, I mean, firstly, thank you very much for having me. Um, yeah, well, I guess Fallon Co.
[00:02:29] honestly stumbled across. Small business life, I think, as a lot of people do, you get to a point where when you're trying to build something up on the side, as well as working full time, you get to a point where it's like, I either jump and go all in, um, or I stay doing what I'm doing, and I guess my philosophy in all areas of Life has always been, what's the worst that can happen?
[00:02:49] Diving in, trying to do my own business and figuring out how we went. And I
[00:02:53] I was
[00:02:54] like, well, the worst
[00:02:55] that happens is
[00:02:55] that I have to go and find another job.
[00:02:56] Yeah, there's always a backup plan.
[00:02:59] Exactly, [00:03:00] exactly. There's always a way around it.
[00:03:01] it.
[00:03:01] Yeah. Um, so I was freelancing, um, after spending a couple of years in Melbourne and Sydney, um, working in agencies over there, um, continued on freelancing and It's got, I guess, to the point that I couldn't commit 100 percent to full time work as well as driving, consulting and doing that on the side, so I took the leap of faith and honestly haven't looked back.
[00:03:22] Yeah. When did you
[00:03:23] start?
[00:03:23] Uh,
[00:03:24] so just shy of four years now.
[00:03:27] Um,
[00:03:27] Yeah, which has been brilliant. I guess, again, one of those things that you say yes, and sometimes when you try to figure it out later, it just works its own way out.
[00:03:35] Yeah, I love
[00:03:36] Different plans.
[00:03:36] Yep, yep.
[00:03:37] And
[00:03:38] And so how many people do you have working with you in your team now?
[00:03:41] Yeah. So currently a team of six, um, soon to be a team
[00:03:44] of
[00:03:44] seven in
[00:03:45] January, which is exciting.
[00:03:46] That's awesome. And you just moved premises as well. How exciting was that?
[00:03:50] Yeah. Oh, incredibly exciting. Um, again, in true me style, instead of renting an office,
[00:03:56] it's very interesting.
[00:03:57] you know, go all in and buy it. Um, in [00:04:00] Keswick in the city.
[00:04:00] So yeah, it's been amazing just having our own space that, you know, we can treat like our own and have friends come there and yeah, especially for collaboration and being able to talk very openly like we've got open plan work, um, desks.
[00:04:14] and everything Yeah.
[00:04:15] Big plans for that space
[00:04:16] and
[00:04:16] doing some co
[00:04:17] working. Yeah.
[00:04:18] Awesome. Bring smart people into the business. So watch this space.
[00:04:21] Because do you find that, yeah, even though you're an agency, you collaborate with lots of other small businesses or freelancers.
[00:04:27] A hundred percent. I mean, I think that's probably what I love as well. One of the things I love most about what we do, there's a lot, um, but working with other passionate and talented people like it's, you can't do everything yourself.
[00:04:40] So it's finding other people that are good at their niche as well and working with them to deliver something that's beyond ordinary and exceeds expectations every time.
[00:04:48] Yeah, um, And how that's, you know, there's, I mean, most people be maybe identify with what a, you know, in a marketing agency would do, but you've added another element to [00:05:00] your business.
[00:05:00] Can you
[00:05:01] tell us about the charitable side, um, of your business?
[00:05:04] Yeah. Yeah. Look, um, I guess through a twist or completely, um, when I started out in.
[00:05:11] business. I
[00:05:11] always said that I wanted
[00:05:12] to
[00:05:13] donate a portion of profits to charity or something close to my heart. Um, I went to Africa in 2018 and 10 on my heart, while it sounds cliche and like a stereotype, it changed my life completely and changed the direction I was on.
[00:05:27] And was that a holiday?
[00:05:29] That was that a holiday or working holiday or
[00:05:31] a bit of a, um, I don't know if you
[00:05:34] want
[00:05:34] to call it
[00:05:34] quarter life crisis or whatever. Um, yeah, essentially three months overseas. Um,
[00:05:39] Africa,
[00:05:39] spent a month in Africa traveling by myself, um, did a safari, but then spent a month volunteering in Zambia, in the middle of nowhere, um, in a school there, and then a month in
[00:05:49] Madagascar,
[00:05:50] um, volunteering off of a research vessel, yeah, top of the coast, and just what I guess people from Africa and what I learned from that trip, like that's something [00:06:00] that, yeah, money can't buy.
[00:06:01] So for me to be able to actually give back in some way to people
[00:06:04] that
[00:06:04] gave
[00:06:04] me so much is. For me, it was really the least I could do and felt like a natural fit in business.
[00:06:11] And who have you partnered with for that? So how do you make that work in your business model?
[00:06:15] Yeah. Yeah. So I guess through twist of fate, um, very small charity, um, I stumbled across called Op Blue, um, through a friend of a friend of a friend, really.
[00:06:24] Um, yeah, I reached out just wanting to support a small charity, um, and
[00:06:28] donate to it. them.
[00:06:29] Um, yeah, a couple, fast forward a couple months from starting to donate to them, um, was managing or helping manage, um, some of their marketing as well. Being, it was one guy based in the Adelaide Hills
[00:06:41] who
[00:06:42] had done
[00:06:42] incredible job of,
[00:06:43] I guess, getting it to where it was at that point in time with a team over
[00:06:47] Kenya as well.
[00:06:48] Um, but, um,
[00:06:49] yeah,
[00:06:49] Just needed to, I guess, elevate what he was doing
[00:06:51] terms
[00:06:51] of getting the name out there, um, which is where we decided. And getting fundraising going and things like that and other interested people to, to help contribute. A hundred [00:07:00] percent and that's where we got involved, um, just helping like volunteering some marketing time, um, me personally, um, and then, yeah, I guess fast forward a couple more years and I'm director and coordinator of Off Education, so our education program where we sponsor children from, yeah, I guess some of the poorest Yeah, and which I didn't know about your business until I emailed you to be on the podcast.
[00:07:21] You said hang on I'm just overseas at the moment. So what was that last? Trip like and what did you do on that trip? Yeah, so the trip to Kenya We've
[00:07:29] got
[00:07:29] a beautiful team
[00:07:30] um,
[00:07:31] based over in Kenya who run all of our operations on the ground They're all
[00:07:35] locals, so in
[00:07:36] terms of being a charity that's run by Westerners but having people that are on the ground that know cultures We're not coming in and dictating different things.
[00:07:45] We're really trying to build a sustainable model where we're working with communities. Yeah, exactly. Um, so the trip over there was really, I guess, to see how everything's operating. Um, yeah, meet with different communities, uh, ramp up, well, essentially start the [00:08:00] education, um, department, my little baby. Um, yeah, so it was a very intensive, kind
[00:08:07] two weeks,
[00:08:07] Um, we literally booked it three days before we left. So, you know, there's nothing like in
[00:08:12] business,
[00:08:12] you can't plan for anything. We were
[00:08:14] like,
[00:08:14] all right, let's make it up as we go. Let's do it. We'll make it happen. There's no time like the present. You had a long plane ride to plan for things.
[00:08:19] Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
[00:08:21] You
[00:08:21] it work. I just couldn't believe that you were
[00:08:23] at
[00:08:23] emailing. You said it might be a bit late on my email or something. but you actually were, you were pretty good time compared to most, you know, a lot of other people.
[00:08:31] yeah. So, yeah,
[00:08:32] you're very organised in that respect
[00:08:34] what
[00:08:34] sort of results do you hope to see from that?
[00:08:36] You know, what you've set up in that trip? Yeah. Well, education wise, we've gone, um, yeah, from sponsoring a couple of kids. We now partner with four schools. And we sponsor over
[00:08:45] over
[00:08:46] 60 kids now. That's just within the space of a few months. So yeah, looking like, Goal wise, like the sky's
[00:08:53] limit. I'm
[00:08:54] hoping in
[00:08:54] couple of
[00:08:54] years we'll be sponsoring thousands of kids
[00:08:56] all
[00:08:56] of Africa.
[00:08:57] to watch this space.
[00:08:58] Um, but yeah,
[00:08:59] off the back [00:09:00] of that trip
[00:09:01] really seeing
[00:09:01] how things are operating and how we can actually optimise it and take, I guess, different ways of working from like all Western society to bring them and, I guess, blend them and
[00:09:12] develop
[00:09:12] our team over there
[00:09:13] well. Yeah,
[00:09:15] excellent. Well,
[00:09:16] very
[00:09:16] inspiring and I think that's, you know, um, You know, one of those things that maybe we've sort of spoken a bit before, a lot of people are very, when they get into business, a lot of it is that it's to, you know, be profitable and make money for them.
[00:09:29] So how is integrating that social good helped with your business, you know, and business success so far? Yeah, definitely. Um, I guess two kind of sides to that. For me, it was never about Business
[00:09:43] boosting, like found
[00:09:45] and co. What we did for me, it was that I feel so incredibly blessed with the opportunities that I've had in life and the start in life that I go, what way can I
[00:09:53] back?
[00:09:53] Yeah. That's through I guess the work
[00:09:55] do with Found and Co
[00:09:56] and the small medium sized businesses that we work with. But then it's also on the [00:10:00] other arm, like it's how I get
[00:10:02] to.
[00:10:03] my tools and my opportunities to actually help benefit people, like benefiting people from other countries that might not be quite as fortunate.
[00:10:11] And yeah, for me, I've said it a couple times, but like Falun Ko is my passion. It's what I love a hundred percent, like wholeheartedly, but then Oblue and that side of work and charity is my purpose. And bigger picture, that's how I give back. And I guess. Helps keep you motivated, I guess, as well. So you've got.
[00:10:28] Completely. There's a lot of selfish. outcome. Yeah. It's sort of, it spreads it, it spreads it around. Yeah, it's a whole other level of purpose and pattern behind what you do it. I guess it kind of fuels like it's those 11, 12, one o'clock nights that you're kind of
[00:10:44] up going like
[00:10:44] by the hell am I doing this?
[00:10:46] And it kind of underlines like there's actually a bigger reason. Like it's not just in it for your own gain. You're actually trying to do something bigger picture that's outside of your own little pocket of the world. Yeah. And also to inspire other people or other businesses to look at how they can.[00:11:00]
[00:11:00] make some other contributions, whether it's in their local community or further afield, it's sort of giving that to them.
[00:11:05] Yeah,
[00:11:08] it's giving back, isn't it? Yeah. To help build communities around us. Definitely. And I guess I've been fortunate with, like, the Blender
[00:11:15] PhalanxCo and OptBlue
[00:11:16] that I can actually leverage or talk to people in my network and help grow what we're doing with Ockblue.
[00:11:23] And similarly, like, the people that I've been exposed to from the work we're doing with Ockblue, um, yeah, indirectly, I guess, helps feed the community. Fuel what we're doing. Creativity. Yeah. Work intertwined, isn't it, as well. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Dual benefits there. Yeah.
[00:11:37] Um,
[00:11:39] I was just gonna say, you know, um, going back to the, to Mallon and co, what kind of, um, I guess different industries or businesses have you helped and what kind of outcomes have they
[00:11:49] you know,
[00:11:49] Do they come to you with? So from a marketing perspective or a brand perspective? Yeah. And, yeah, how can we, um, yeah, how have you helped them? Yeah. Yeah, look, we offer [00:12:00] quite a mixed bag. Um, we, being a small team, we're very nimble, so fortunately we're able to work with clients across so many different industries.
[00:12:08] Yeah. really tried to focus on small to medium sized businesses. Um, big reason for founding and doing what we do is that when I was working agency side in Melbourne and Sydney I guess I saw how many like businesses were having to fit into kind of a cookie cutter agency approach and for me I go like so many businesses are
[00:12:26] just in a
[00:12:27] different stage.
[00:12:27] So unique, they've all got their strengths and weaknesses or
[00:12:30] areas
[00:12:31] of opportunity haven't they? Yeah exactly and there's, Yeah, they're at a different stage in their life cycle,
[00:12:36] it's how
[00:12:36] do we actually reverse the brief and actually go like this is what we can do to help you where you're at now and that'll grow and evolve and changes your business changes but we can pivot with that we're an extension
[00:12:47] your team rather than
[00:12:48] like kind of being that removed marketing agency that sound completely different to what you do.
[00:12:54] That's it,
[00:12:54] that they you have you know people might have that um they might have a perfect campaign which [00:13:00] actually doesn't match. Their brand or their brand voice or, you know, that then we've talked about this with brand identity. It creates distrust because you're like, well, you're not the super polished person that we saw on that ad or whatever.
[00:13:14] Um,
[00:13:14] You want it to be like, start at the source and be a reflection of that, you know, those people. Yeah.
[00:13:19] Um, and the,
[00:13:20] And then usually in small and medium businesses, the people build the brands, don't they? Like it sort of has
[00:13:25] to start
[00:13:25] there, especially with families like business. Yeah, exactly. It's really trying to get to know the business owners or the people that are driving it and get to know it on a deeper level that we're an extension of their
[00:13:36] but
[00:13:36] we're extending their thinking.
[00:13:38] Like we're adding our services to what they do, but we're
[00:13:40] understanding
[00:13:41] their goals and aspirations on a
[00:13:44] level
[00:13:44] so that we can actually help and drive. Real change, not just, we're not just trying to create a pretty beautiful thing that marketing and unfortunately agencies can often get known for.
[00:13:56] It's really trying to go that one step further. Not just top level stuff, is [00:14:00] it? Exactly, go that bit deeper, drive actual results and yeah, create something brilliant. How do you find What challenges do you come up against? We, you know, have very,
[00:14:10] uh,
[00:14:10] passionate small and medium sized business owners who really love what they do.
[00:14:15] How do you approach that? Oh, look, it can always be fun. Um, I mean, fortunately we work with beautiful people that have beautiful businesses. So it's really, you do
[00:14:23] do
[00:14:23] as a consultant, it's a lot of fun. I know you would do as well. You've become a bit like a chameleon that you can flex your personality.
[00:14:30] That's it. Yeah, how you talk to different people and make sure they And sometimes they need more time to come around to a way of thinking sometimes, don't they? Definitely. If they're challenged,
[00:14:38] Yeah,
[00:14:39] and look, there is always challenges, but it's really trying to find that middle ground of like, we're trying to add and benefit what they do, but they also know their
[00:14:48] best
[00:14:49] and we need to like, give credit to what they've built it to, and it's Trying to find the happy medium of
[00:14:54] yeah,
[00:14:55] different ideas and different backgrounds and new results, but also honoring the yeah The [00:15:00] way that they've gotten there in the first place.
[00:15:01] Yeah, exactly And most of the time it's baby steps because if you start to feel like I'd say for so many if
[00:15:07] you
[00:15:07] start to feel
[00:15:08] feel traction and
[00:15:09] start to feel like there's a benefit coming or more sales or brand awareness, that's when it's a snowball effect. And then you go, okay, this is working. Listen, it grows from there.
[00:15:17] So it's really trying to just meet people where they're at and work with what they've got. And if it goes too quickly, too soon, they can be overwhelmed and can't, can't keep up. So again, you know, it's not, they're not going to be in their best interest to go all out there and suddenly grow. And you go, wow, I've got 2000 orders.
[00:15:32] You're like, But I can't make 2000 orders. Yeah.
[00:15:34] can't cater
[00:15:35] for this now, . No, you've
[00:15:36] got to match
[00:15:37] it up. So, no, I think that's awesome. Um, and you know, particularly being able to tailor it to. every business. Like you have your way of working, I guess, but really understanding that
[00:15:48] Each
[00:15:48] one's, each client's going to come with their own unique set of needs and also where they've been and their skill sets, but also their goals as well.
[00:15:56] So, yeah. And look, that's also what makes it fun because there is [00:16:00] The different industries that we work with, like you've got everything from NDIS to health and beauty and viticulture through
[00:16:06] to like. Potato growers and lettuce and
[00:16:09] hyponics and all these random things
[00:16:11] that you go
[00:16:11] like I never thought that I would know these random facts about these industries.
[00:16:14] You're learning so much. Oh 100
[00:16:16] 100%. I'd be great at a trivia night, but That's it, right. That one's
[00:16:20] Salon's on our
[00:16:20] list for Wednesday
[00:16:21] trivia at the pub.
[00:16:22] the pub.
[00:16:23] Um, but I guess, yeah, and
[00:16:26] um,
[00:16:27] tying everything up, so what sort of tips
[00:16:29] you
[00:16:29] have for businesses maybe starting to, to look at that, you know, going from one to two people, sort of that bit of growth.
[00:16:36] What kind of advice would you
[00:16:38] perhaps
[00:16:39] give? Just take the first step. Yes, the first step is always the scariest, but as soon as you do, I mean, would you, did you feel that, that you go, I think I need more people to help me. I think we're going in this, like, was that, Kind of a gut feel for you? It
[00:16:53] definitely,
[00:16:54] it was a gut feel, it was uncomfortable, it
[00:16:55] scary.
[00:16:56] Um, it definitely felt like a massive, like, [00:17:00] leap of faith to go from like, it's just me and now all of a sudden I'm bringing other people and their livelihoods and their
[00:17:05] families.
[00:17:05] it. There's responsibilities there, isn't there? Yeah, exactly, for me it was just like, oh gosh, like, employment is a big thing, like, you've got to make sure that you take care of people.
[00:17:13] Yeah. Um, yeah. But the first person was the scariest from there. It's really just been, okay, how do we get ahead of the curve? How do we find the right people that fit the culture that we're trying to build and who are going to look after our clients? as well. And
[00:17:24] And
[00:17:25] yeah, the first one's the scariest, but it really is, it's just that whole one foot in front of the other.
[00:17:29] Taking one step, isn't
[00:17:30] 10 weeks, 10
[00:17:32] 10
[00:17:32] years down the
[00:17:33] track. Just actually go, right, for now, I actually need support. Let's get that support. And we'll see how that evolves from there. How that goes.
[00:17:39] Well,
[00:17:41] thank you so much for all of your, um, insights and hearing about, you know, what you've been able to do in that giving back part of your business as well.
[00:17:49] I think that's really unique. Um, but yeah, thanks for joining us today. My pleasure. Thanks. Anytime.
[00:17:55] [00:18:00] Thanks for listening to the Regional Collective. We hope you've picked up some great ideas to help your business thrive in your regional community. Ready for more? Join our membership for weekly support and resources tailored just for small businesses like yours. Stay in the loop, subscribe to our YouTube channel or follow us on Spotify so you don't miss a thing.
[00:18:27] Keep growing, keep thriving and let's build stronger regions together. See you next time.
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