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“Overcoming mental blocks about your abilities, even when you have your own business can be particularly difficult. You've got to keep reminding yourself that you are running your own race and constantly reflect back on how far you've come.” Claire Robinson of Basic Tech
“I know that volunteering will always take precedence over money for me. So it's not always easy to find the balance again.” Claire Robinson of Basic Tech
A podcast for business owners who don't believe in cheat sheets
I Made a Thing started in Season 1 as a collaboration between Rachel Kurzyp and Sophia Colquhoun. Season 2 sees Sophia interview businesswomen to find out how they are carving their own path in business and life.
We discuss topics that impact small business owners and creatives in a fresh, honest, practical and evidence-based way.
Each podcast will unpack your assumptions, push you to look introspectively, supply you with practical advice and leave you feeling like you’ve got this.
You went into business to do things differently. That’s why we’re here to help you carve your business path (cheat sheets not included).
Transcript
Season 2: I Made a Thing Podcast
Episode 7: Claire Robinson of Basic Tech
Sophia Host (00:00):
Hello, I'm Sophia. Welcome to season 2 of the I Made A Thing podcast. This project is all about helping those interested in business and in owning their own thing in creating and doing something different and figuring out just how you can actually do that. When I wanted to do something different, I could only find American male role models. So here's something different made by Australian women, featuring Australian women. Welcome to the I Made a Thing podcast. Today we have joining us Claire Robinson. Claire is a technology expert and founder of the Small Business, basic Tech. Now Claire, can you tell us a little bit more about Basic Tech, what it's about, what's your purpose and how you started this business?
Claire Robinson (00:46):
Absolutely. Thanks Sophia for having me on. It's, it's really an honour to be here and I appreciate you doing this for all of us out there, all the small business owners. So just a bit of history about me, I've always loved tech. I'm a bit of a geek at heart, still play games on my phone, much to my children's horror. I'm originally from South Africa, so I studied a communications degree from Unisa, which is the University of South Africa. And my first job was in public relations back when getting coverage in newspapers and magazines was big Deal. Now it's like what you read a newspaper?
(01:23):
And then from there I applied for a PR and marketing role at Electronic Arts and they're probably still the world's largest publisher of computer console and online games. And that role was my first real introduction to the tech industry and I absolutely relished every minute in it. In 2007 we immigrated to Australia and I was lucky enough to be offered a position with Google and that role was initially focused on educating retail stores on the Android operating system. So if you don't have an iPhone, you've got an Android. And then followed by Chromecast and then followed by their own phone the Pixel. And then everybody knows Google assistant enabled smart devices and speakers that almost everyone has in their home today. So that's what we did. And although incredibly demanding, I think it was hands down, one of the best roles and work experience yet it was fast paced, fun environment, obviously a little bit stressful.
(02:26):
And then by the time Covid hit, I think everyone was, and myself included, feeling pretty frazzled. And the way things were changing was really taking a toll on me. Had a 10 year old and a 14 year old at the time and I kind of said, oh, I've got to do something. I have got to make a change to my life. I'm not enjoying it anymore. And one thing I did notice was how so many of the elderly in our society were being forced to embrace technology despite the fact that so many of them did not grow up using the internet. Probably a lot of them didn't even own a smartphone, but they were now being forced to do things like make myGov account and find your Covid vaccination certificate, which was pretty complicated for most of us. And even to say not staying isolated and wanting to video calls while we're all in lockdown was a real challenge for them. And that's really what inspired me. I wanted to make a difference in people's lives that we're really finding tech challenging and share my love of it with them and really just dumb it down if you can say that.
Sophia Host (03:28):
Yeah. And I love, I guess your slogan, which is Bridging the Digital Divide. And so that's really tapping into that I guess. Is that a bit of a play on the generational gap there with technology? Can you tell me a little bit more, I guess about focusing in on the specific niche or the people that you wanted to work with?
Claire Robinson (03:49):
Oh, definitely. So I think that, and I've had this own, my own experience with my son who's 16 now. I've asked him to show me some video editing, editing software on his phone. And he got truly annoyed with me cause I was actually quite tired and he kept on grabbing his phone and quickly editing something and then showing that's how you do it. And I say, Hey, can you slow down? I actually dunno what you're doing. I'm quite tech savvy. He said, oh Mom, come back when you're not so tired. He got really annoyed with me and I was noticing this is a recurring theme.
Sophia Host (04:14): Oh the cheek of it!
(04:18):
Do you know how much time I have for you? And to start, yeah, I was noticing a recurring theme with every single one of my clients. And even talking to friends of mine who had elderly parents, which just saying, they're driving me insane. Honestly, why can't they just get it? I've showed them a thousand times. And it really is until you're sitting with them and you've got the patience like I do, and you're taking the steps and explaining it slowly and it needs to be learned a couple of times and you need to show them that you are being patient. You have to bridge that divide between generations really as well.
Sophia Host (04:58):
Now you've talked about, in previous conversations we've had about your passion for volunteering and how volunteering actually inadvertently, I guess led to some business opportunities for you. Can you tell us a little bit about that volunteer work that you were doing and I guess now that the business is up and running, balancing the two, those commitments to a growing business and some volunteer work that you're doing?
Claire Robinson (05:23):
Yeah, absolutely. So I was an avid volunteer in South Africa, but that was before I had children and I think I had a little bit more time on my hands and always my mom was a volunteer, so we naturally just, we accompanied her. And those days I don't think was as strict as the rules weren't and guidelines were weren't as strict as they are now, but we could go with her to the various organisations where she volunteered, for example, in the school holidays. And so that's I think where my love of volunteering came in. And for many years in South Africa I would volunteer at Cotlands Baby Sanctuary and with children and babies who are HIV positive who had been abandoned, abused. I fostered children from the Johannesburg Children's home for a while. And yeah, it's just something that I really truly enjoy. And I think when I looked at the seniors and what was happening to them, I really needed to find some way to, once I decided to quit the corporate world, the tech corporate world, and have a little break during Covid, I had the luxury of taking some time off and I found a programme called the Be Connected Programme.
(06:28):
So it's actually an Australian government programme funded by an organisation called The Good Things Foundation. So if anyone's listening and you have elderly parents, it's an Australia-wide programme that delivers free lessons to anyone over 65 and all to do with technology. So I applied to become a network partner for this programme and I have been hosting free seniors tech lessons every week for the past two and a half years. And once I'd been doing that for a while, I realised there were plenty of other people who actually physically could not get to the classes themselves. And so my husband said to me, you probably have to going to go back to work at some stage. And I decided to start Basic Tech and it was a huge sort of wake-up call for me because I'd come from this technology background and got thrust into the aged care space.
(07:23):
It was a huge learning curve for me, but slowly but surely I was able to become a preferred supplier to various aged care providers like Anglicare Care, Blue Care, Ozcare, and start providing those in-home services to their clients and whatever they needed in terms of assistance with technology. Whether it was a mainstream device like your smartphone or a computer, even to assisting with setup of mobile personal safety devices like fall alarms and that kind of thing. Yeah, and I guess it's that balance that you asked about at first definitely is something I have to control. And luckily my husband frequently tells me, you're not running a charity. So he's an accountant, so he keeps me in check when I need it. And I know that volunteering will always take precedence over money for me. So it's not always easy to realise, okay, you need to find their balance again. But if someone can't afford the assistance, I'm always trying to figure out a way that we can actually get them what they need, whether it's a phone or a device, some one-on-one assistance. So yes, it takes a lot of space up in my brain and sometimes I've just got to say, there's only so much you can do. So it's definitely a fine balance there.
Sophia Host (08:42):
Yes. Yeah. Well it sounds like though you wouldn't be able to do what you do in your business and you wouldn't have the same passion if you didn't have that other facet to what's going on in your life with that work. So it's just, I guess as probably hubby is reminding you, making sure it's not shifting too far one way or the other.
Claire Robinson (09:04):
Yeah, absolutely.
Sophia Host (09:05):
Yeah. Now I want to sort of go back a little bit and talk about your work in tech and now and then I guess thinking about doing some consulting and then in the education space, and I guess thinking about the fact that tech can be such a male-dominated space and then that can lead for us women trying to start our own business in this space to some imposter syndrome. Has that been a factor for you? Has it been something you've struggled with? And if yes, how have you sort of overcome that or are you still struggling with that? Because I think this imposter syndrome topic is a big one for us women in business.
Claire Robinson (09:41):
Oh, absolutely. I couldn't agree more, but I think I was working with EA probably back in the early 2000's. And even though both EA and Google, they embraced inclusion and diversity in the workplace and that working in that space can definitely be daunting, particularly when male team members initially discredit your abilities, which they have, some of them have a tendency to do. I think especially if they're more on the nerdy side, they kind of think, well, you are a girl, you don't really know what you're talking about, which is can be a pity, but I'm added my mission always and especially at Google to ensure that I would outperform anyone. I'm a little bit competitive and not necessarily just the men on the team. And I would make sure that either myself as the team leader as well as my team, always made it sort of into the top three spots each quarter.
(10:35):
And I know that it really used to get on some of their nerves, but then people would just be like, oh, this is good, this is so good. So I guess that's one way that I could do that in that space, but then have your own business. And even now, I still doubt myself. I think tech is easy, but overcoming some mental blocks about your abilities, even when you have your own business can be particularly difficult. You've got to keep reminding yourself that you are running your own race and constantly reflect back on how far you've come. I think it also is really important to have supportive people in your life who can remind you about this and remind you what's important to you and are you achieving those goals because that's it. You're running your own race and as long as you know that you are doing this, you're passionate about it and you can reflect back on how far you've come. I think that's definitely one way that I overcome it when I do start doubting myself.
Sophia Host (11:37):
And I have a similar thing that I tell myself, and it's not a sprint, it's a marathon.
Claire Robinson (11:45):
It is.
Sophia Host (11:46):
and it's easy to say, but it's hard to implement sometimes in that mind when, particularly if you start comparing yourself to other businesses when if you're starting to do more on social media and
Claire Robinson (11:57):
Yes, so much so. Is that the phrase that you use for yourself when you're feeling a bit like that?
Sophia Host (12:05):
Yeah, yeah. And I have it written a few different places. I'm quite visual, quite a creative person, so I need to see it and remind myself, yep, it's a marathon, not a sprint. And I've never completed a marathon, an actual marathon, but it looks very difficult and takes a long time. And I've had friends that have trained for it over many, many months and grinded away at it and talked about the mental strength that it actually takes more so than the physical strength. And so I think definitely applicable to business and business ownership and trying to carve out a living from our own businesses. Which leads me to my next question, which is diving a little bit deeper into what your business looks like on a day-to-day practical level in this tech space, what is an average day for you in business?
Claire Robinson (12:59):
So my days are quite varied because I obviously still see clients as well, but the majority of our business currently comes from aged care providers. But in order to have that, you know, need to have various insurances in place and complete all the necessary checks, so I spend quite a bit of my morning making sure I've checked emails, dealt with any of the clients that they've passed on to us, contacted the clients, made sure we've decided on an appointment time for them, understand what their needs are because everybody is different. Every single client has different needs and they would need to be explained before I get there. I would need to understand what I'm coming into. And then obviously once that's sorted for the day I would see the clients. But having a small business means you're also obviously scheduling anyone who works for you, you're doing their appointments for them, you are checking on your bank, you are running doing invoices, you're checking your social media, you might be liaising with your staff throughout the day doing a bit of marketing.
(14:04):
I know networking was a huge part of what I initially did just because obviously aged care, being aged care, I made sure I attended all the seniors, exposed, upskilled my knowledge as much as I could. I got in touch with people in the industry and asked if I could be part of a round table. And so really that's still something that I actively pursue. And I think for any business it's really important if you've decided that this is the area or the particular market that you want to be in, it's really important to try and network as much as possible. And I was listening to another podcast the other day, actually, I think it was Tim Ferris, and he was interviewing somebody and it was absolutely hilarious what the guest said. He said, be careful of the toe you step on today because it might be connected to the ask you have to kiss tomorrow.
Sophia Host (15:02):
That's brilliant. Yes,
Claire Robinson (15:04):
I thought it was pretty funny. Not that I'm particularly that way inclined, but yeah, networking. So that's really the day is, and my days are really varied because some days I'll be delivering lessons, whether it's the free be connected classes or at retirement communities, and then I'll be seeing clients one-on-one as well.
Sophia Host (15:21):
And you've talked about seeing groups of clients and one-on-one is one-on-one an area you feel like you want to grow the business?
Claire Robinson (15:29):
Absolutely. And so what I have tried to do in the past month or so is partner with various organisations. And so one organisation who's very forward thinking is an financial services company called RFS Advice, and they have gotten their senior clients in and I spend two hours delivering a tech hands-on tech class for their clients. And those would be private clients. And so obviously there's plenty of people who aren't with an aged care provider who would love to have that assistance in their own homes. And of course, we're not limited to providing services only to the aged care providers. We also have our own private clients, which we love to see too.
Sophia Host (16:12):
So thinking back to when you started this business, and obviously that's a big choice to, and I'm sure you had more than one idea when you were figuring out what this business would look like, how did you actually say, no, this is the business, this is the one that I'm going to go with. I'm not going to let anything else distract me and I'm going to, apart from maybe be a volunteering, I'm going to try and focus and build basic tech as my business, as my future income source and survival.
Claire Robinson (16:41):
Correct. Survival, definitely. You have to have a passion for it. I just knew that once I started working with seniors, I absolutely loved it and I still, I always think, oh, what's my favourite part? Is it being with the clients? Was it delivering the classes? And I can never choose. So I think if you're going to spend all day doing something, if you are not passionate about it, it's not going to work. But then of course, does it make financial sense? So you've got to do all those other things to make sure that you're not just pursuing something that you love doing, but it's not really bringing in the income that you need. And so yeah, I guess the passion for it was really how I chose the business idea of other ideas and just the fact that the more people I spoke to and feedback, I frequently hear from the aged care providers, they just say, there is nobody doing this and there's geeks to you or nerd on site. I'm not too sure which companies are around, but they just don't provide that one-on-one caring kind of slower service to seniors.
Sophia Host (17:45):
Yeah, service that's actually designed with them in mind, tailors to their needs. How refreshing. Yes. We like to just pretend that this group of human beings doesn't exist and they don't have needs that should be met. So yes, Bravo. Sort of mentioned a little bit about the money side of things there, but I think we should tackle that a little bit further. How, from practically speaking, did you, I guess as yourself and as part of your family unit decide, okay, let's pursue this and get the finances together? How did you go about that to start your business and do you have tips for people about starting out in business from the finance side of things?
Claire Robinson (18:23):
Definitely. So I think one of the things you need to do is do a bit of research before you start. Make sure you understand your target market, who they are and exactly be quite specific about what it is you're going to do. And then I was really fortunate I found, I had a friend who is a business coach and she gave me a lot of advice and one of the things she did introduce me to was the Business Basics grant. And so the Queensland government are frequently giving out grants to small businesses. And so if you can do one thing, jump on their website and look if there are any grants available, because it was a lifesaver to me and it really gave me the leg up that I needed to get going.
Sophia Host (19:07):
Yeah, there's so many grants out there, people just don't know they exist. The government has really been, I feel like hiding them. I don't know, I guess I don't know why, but they're so hard to find and there's so many different types. But that the one that you mentioned is particularly I know, helped so many people. And of course we had all the covid support as well, but there is always new grants coming through. They're all different. But yes, have a look, be prepared for them. Coming out too, I think is a great tip as well because the more you are ready to go, the better chance hopefully you have of securing some money, which we all need with our businesses.
Claire Robinson (19:48):
Yes. Kind of necessary,
Sophia Host (19:51):
Unfortunately. Yes, would be nice. I know.
Claire Robinson (19:54):
So annoying.
Sophia Host (19:55):
So annoying. Ok, so inspiration then. Who's actually inspiring you at the moment in your business? And from there, where do you want to take this business?
Claire Robinson (20:09):
So someone who is hugely inspirational to me is, I'm not sure if you've read Ronni Kahn's book, A Repurposed Life. So she's the founder and CEO of OzHarvest. So that's the food rescue charity. And I think her mission was to fight food waste and feed hungry people, which I find truly inspirational because there are so many people that desperately need assistance in that area and so much waste. There was just so much waste. And she was really talented, advanced coordinator. She had other businesses before, but she was just, and I think one of the things she noticed and if her story was that all this food was going to waste and nobody was doing anything with it and there were all these desperately starving people around Australia that weren't being fed. And so she came up with a really clever way to help so many people. And so that for me is inspirational that you're actually making a real difference in people's lives.
Sophia Host (21:07):
How do you think this idea of helping people is going to feed into the future of, pardon the pun feed into, but feed into the future of your business? What do you see as some of the next steps or the direction you want to take your business in?
Claire Robinson (21:20):
Well, next steps I was considering doing some online, something online, you know, talked to everyone and they're like, oh, you've got to have an online component to your business. And I guess that would be the next steps for me. I'm act, I'm in the process of hand having our website redesigned and working with an agency to move into that space, but also taking into consideration that the people we're trying to assist with tech, we're trying to get them to actually be online in using tech. So yeah, whether that's in the form of online, more online classes or perhaps a course or downloadable guys, who knows? It's going to be something that I've started thinking about and I think everybody probably has to embrace it and in some way. And just like your podcast, it's so good, just awesome that there's that opportunity. And it's not hugely, I think it could take up a lot of your time, but, and a little bit of research as well. But in terms of actually once you've got it all going, it's just that sort of passive income that I think we all aspire to have in our lives.
Sophia Host (22:30):
Yes, those multiple income stream's always sounds nice, doesn't it? I feel like it's always a bit of a pipe dream so, so difficult. But it sounds good.
Claire Robinson (22:40):
Funny you say that.
Sophia Host (22:41):
We got to dream big.
Claire Robinson (22:43):
Oh, I know. Well that's the thing, you just got to keep trying new things. Just keep, try this, okay, it didn't work. If you don't try, what are you going to do? Look back in 10 years time and go, oh, you had that idea. I didn't really try it. I dunno if it would've, might've worked, who knows? Just got to give it a red hot go.
Sophia Host (22:59):
Seriously.
Claire Robinson (23:00):
If it doesn't work, who cares? No one will know.
Sophia Host (23:01):
We, we've all got the friend that invented something that someone else launched before them. Yes. And you doesn't matter what it is. Oh yeah, I came up with that, but I just didn't get round to it.
Claire Robinson (23:13):
Yes, of course.
Sophia Host (23:16):
Before we wrap up, I really want to get, I guess your one negotiable piece of advice for anyone wanting to start a consulting or education-based business. What is something you would like to leave that, that person with that might inspire them to get started in this space?
Claire Robinson (23:33):
Number one thing, make sure you're passionate about it. I mentioned it before, but as you know, if you have your own business, it is your baby, you'll spend most of your waking hours thinking about it. It'll take you away from your family, from your friends, from your sleep. And if you are not passionate about it, it is going to feel like a real slog. And I guess the other bit of advice is make time to do something just for you. I know as when you are so busy, you're like, oh no, I can't afford an hour to go and do this thing. Whether it's go for a walk or whatever it is, do your thing, you've got to do it. I did ballet for 18 years and I've always loved dancing. So if there's any type of party, it doesn't matter. Even if there's no dance floor, the music's on. I'm create, I'm like, come on, let's all dance. I want to have a dance.
(24:24):
And I've been looking at, I looked around for years for somewhere to get back to dancing and I tried a few places, they just didn't. And so I gave up. And then this year when I've been really slogging away at the own business thing, I made it a mission. I said, I don't care what happens. I am finding somewhere to dance and even if I look silly, I'm going to do it. And I find a community group, Gold Coast Community Group, and I hope you don't mind me giving them a shout cause
Sophia host (24:49): No, please.
Claire Robinson (24:49):
It's run by Deborah Chalmers, who is an absolute inspiration. She is so passionate about what she does. And so it's called Retro Dance Divas. So if you have a look on Facebook, you'll find them. And it's, she's just such a great community person. She has classes on a Tuesday night and Thursday night.
(25:10):
And so it's not ballet, but it is absolutely hilarious. And even though so many of us are not professionals and we are just giving it all, every lesson and at the end of the term you get to do a little performance for your family and friends. And last time we actually performed our ABBA routine at Swell at the Swell Sculpture Festival, which was really embarrassing. But you look at the videos of us all dancing, we might look a bit silly and some of us have miss-stepped here and done the wrong arm there, but everybody has got a massive big smile. We're laughing. So make time for yourself and do something that just is just for you and it's fun. Doesn't have to do, be anything else, really.
Sophia Host (25:53):
Thank you for sharing that because I myself have to remind myself to make some time for myself. And then I find that when I do the flow on effects for my business, surprise, surprise. Things, everything goes smoother. I have better ideas. I can manage stress. I can manage all these tasks way better than if I'm just trying to keep slogging at this thing and not making any time for myself. Do you find the same that when you actually
Claire Robinson (26:18):
Oh yeah. So much. So much, yeah. It's the best thing you can do. And you, like you mentioned, while you are in it, you like, you think, well, I can't afford that time, but when you do it, the flow on effects, as you mentioned it, it's worth hours and hours.
Sophia Host (26:33):
Well, thank you so much for joining me today, Claire. How can we find you out in the big wide world? What's the best way to follow your business journey?
Claire Robinson (26:41):
So we have a couple of places you can follow us. I guess the most active place is probably either on LinkedIn or on Facebook. So if you just look up basic tech, so basic and B A S I C T E C H, either on Facebook or on LinkedIn. We have pages on both of them. We're on Instagram. But to be honest with you, I don't give that much love. I'm like trying to choose a social media to focus on. It's a bit hard doing everything. And then yeah, we obviously have a website. The current one is still up. It's www basic tech.com au.
Sophia Host (27:17):
Thank you, Claire. Well enjoy the rest of your afternoon. It's currently, I think we've got a storm rolling in on the Gold Coast, actually, so hopefully it's
Claire Robinson (27:25):
I can see it, it's coming.
Sophia Host (27:26):
It's going to Cool. Cool off a little bit. But yeah, thank you again for your time. I really appreciate it and for sharing your wisdom. Thanks
Claire Robinson (27:32):
Sophia. Yeah, it's really lovely chatting to you too. Thanks for having me on
Sophia Host (27:36):
Over on the imadeathingpodcast.com you can find out more about the guests that we have on the show, get links to different resources that we might use and access any show notes that are available. You can also follow us over on Instagram at imadeathingpodcast all one word.
(27:51):
If you're loving the I Made a Thing Podcast. Make sure you follow along in your podcast app. Give us a rating or review and tell your friends and family so we can spread the word.