Speaker 1: Hello, I'm Tory Archbold. For two decades, I've nurtured the
Speaker 1: world's top performing retail brands and celebrities. Now'm asking entrepreneurs,
Speaker 1: CEOs and influencers to share their own secrets to success.
Speaker 1: They're highs, their lows, their game changing moments, and how
Speaker 1: they got to where they are today. It's a podcast
Speaker 1: equivalent of opening the best Little Black Book of Contacts.
Speaker 2: Ever.
Speaker 1: If this resonates with you and you're ready to step
Speaker 1: outside of your comfort zone and into your power zone,
Speaker 1: I invite you to join my exclusive community via our website,
Speaker 1: the Powerful dash Steps dot com. Now everyone needs a
Speaker 1: little bit of in their life, which is why I
Speaker 1: have reached out to Alice Clark, the creator and founder
Speaker 1: of Omph Recruitment out of Melbourne, Australia, today to deep
Speaker 1: dive into the power.
Speaker 3: Of her story. Now.
Speaker 1: Alice and I actually met through the power of a
Speaker 1: coffee date that I had with someone many many years
Speaker 1: ago who recommended that she reach out. Alice did. She
Speaker 1: completed our Business Attract program and she is like a
Speaker 1: super star female entrepreneur in our Powerful Steps community. Welcome
Speaker 1: to the Powerful Stories Podcast, Alice.
Speaker 3: Thank you, toy. I'm so excited to be here today.
Speaker 1: I am so excited as well. I can like you're
Speaker 1: like a.
Speaker 4: Little pocket rocket full of magical energy, and I want
Speaker 4: to be able to get all of your wisdom out
Speaker 4: of you in the next twenty minutes to share with
Speaker 4: our audience.
Speaker 1: Because you're now celebrating fifteen years as the owner of
Speaker 1: one of Australia's top recruitment agencies for creatives. Why did
Speaker 1: you decide to create your own business versus working for
Speaker 1: someone else?
Speaker 2: I think fundamentally it was all about delivering something better.
Speaker 2: Like in life, you have so many experiences with different
Speaker 2: workplaces and I was fortunate enough to cut my teeth
Speaker 2: in recruitment in London and worked with a Britique recruitment
Speaker 2: agency there. So coming back to Melbourne, I wanted to
Speaker 2: pick the bits that I loved and pick what I
Speaker 2: thought the world needed in terms of what was lacking
Speaker 2: in recruitment. Recruitment, unfortunately, is one of those industries that
Speaker 2: has a bad rap sometimes. Yeah, I just wanted to
Speaker 2: not be limited by somebody else's direction, but be able
Speaker 2: to have my ideas and build a team to deliver
Speaker 2: that value.
Speaker 1: Now I know, through the power of your five point
Speaker 1: story just how powerful you are in terms of connecting
Speaker 1: with others. And I always say there's something in our
Speaker 1: childhood that allows us to step into our true power
Speaker 1: later on in life. Talk to me about how your
Speaker 1: parents had this incredible shop in Melbourne. They gave you
Speaker 1: the opportunity to actually connect and communicate with others, because
Speaker 1: I do believe that there is a golden thread in
Speaker 1: our stories as to how we step into success later
Speaker 1: on in life. A little bit of a background about
Speaker 1: who you are, where you grew up, and what were
Speaker 1: those key lessons.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I'm one of three siblings.
Speaker 2: My mom and dad arrived from Greece, you know, in
Speaker 2: the sixties and came with not very much, so you know,
Speaker 2: together they obviously had their own work, but set up
Speaker 2: a fish and chip shop and ended up having two,
Speaker 2: which was a family business.
Speaker 3: It was a family affair.
Speaker 2: My sister was completing HC at the time, that's how
Speaker 2: long ago it was, so my brother as well. So
Speaker 2: we were all in there shaking chips and on the
Speaker 2: grill and I was ten, standing on a crate taking orders,
Speaker 2: quick arithmetic.
Speaker 3: It was fantastic.
Speaker 2: I think that's honestly how I developed my communication skills,
Speaker 2: my customer service skills, my want to serve.
Speaker 3: And to I supposed to please but also to deliver.
Speaker 1: Now, I know that in business relationships we all invest
Speaker 1: in community years and communities is one of the things
Speaker 1: that grows a business because it's through showing people that
Speaker 1: how the why that they advocate for you. And I know,
Speaker 1: on average you've had these clients for many, many years
Speaker 1: in your business. How did you build the trust for
Speaker 1: people to come to you first, either be placed in
Speaker 1: a role or for a big creative agency to come
Speaker 1: to you and say, I know, you know the person
Speaker 1: for the role.
Speaker 2: Building a relationship is going to be your fundamental focus,
Speaker 2: and you've got to be curious and you've got to
Speaker 2: be really interested in the person that you're speaking with.
Speaker 2: I think there's two types of sales people, and I've
Speaker 2: actually never considered myself a salesperson, but you know, fifteen
Speaker 2: years later, I've got a ton of clients and a
Speaker 2: ton of candidates who come back. So you know, there's
Speaker 2: your appointment setters who might be really forceful and lock
Speaker 2: in a meeting and the meeting might be canceled because
Speaker 2: there's been no connection. And then there's you know professionals
Speaker 2: that are actually have a conversation with someone and often
Speaker 2: it's outside you know, you build a relationship and it's
Speaker 2: outside of work, Like you know that they're going to.
Speaker 3: Korea, you know that their sons, you know, going to
Speaker 3: TEND twenty one.
Speaker 2: You know about their world, and it's those deeper connections
Speaker 2: that make the work part fun and confirm the longevity
Speaker 2: of it as well.
Speaker 1: So can you explain to our audience the longevity of
Speaker 1: those partnerships and why people keep coming back for more. Yeah, absolutely,
Speaker 1: I think we've delivered.
Speaker 3: I think we listen.
Speaker 2: You know, you've always got to really have a genuine
Speaker 2: interest on what's best for your client or your candidate.
Speaker 2: We've got obviously two sets of customers that we service.
Speaker 2: In recruitment, it's being really empathetic. It's actually got nothing
Speaker 2: to do with an outcome for yourself. It's giving them
Speaker 2: value and guiding them on what's going to be best
Speaker 2: for either their career or their business. In so many instances,
Speaker 2: our candidates, you know, then become our clients or our
Speaker 2: clients when they're.
Speaker 3: Looking become our candidates.
Speaker 2: So they come back because we're either delivered or we've
Speaker 2: been very authentic and they trust that we will always
Speaker 2: have their back.
Speaker 1: Beautiful. I love that trust is threaded through this because
Speaker 1: you've also got to trust yourself and believe in yourself
Speaker 1: to become an entrepreneur. And as we know, so many
Speaker 1: businesses fail within the first second or third year, and
Speaker 1: you've made it to the fifteen year mark, which is extraordinary.
Speaker 1: And I know from personal experience, you know there are
Speaker 1: some challenges along the highway of life when you're building
Speaker 1: a business, when you're building a team, but also you
Speaker 1: know when you're going through relationships and breakups and all
Speaker 1: of those things. What would be the biggest bit of
Speaker 1: advice you would give to other female entrepreneurs listening here
Speaker 1: today to hang in there, to know that their business
Speaker 1: can survive and thrive.
Speaker 2: It's the belief in yourself and your ability. And you
Speaker 2: can't compare yourself to others because if you listen to
Speaker 2: your critics, they're going to knock you down. So you've
Speaker 2: got to have this dogged perseverance. You've got to understand
Speaker 2: what your purpose is and what your passion is, and
Speaker 2: you've just got to go for it, and you know,
Speaker 2: set little goals each day. You've also got to be
Speaker 2: really patient, but it happens if you want it. You
Speaker 2: create your own reality and it's possible.
Speaker 1: And so what have you done to really rebuild yourself
Speaker 1: when you've been deeply challenged in business? Because we all
Speaker 1: have those moments, and you know they can spark fearing us.
Speaker 1: But if we have a mindset switch, we're able to
Speaker 1: turn them around. I mean, you know, I've got that
Speaker 1: forty five second rule where I don't want to marinate
Speaker 1: in shit, right, so it's forty five years, forty or
Speaker 1: forty five seconds, Like that's the way I go. Oh,
Speaker 1: you know, what doesn't matter if I make a mistake
Speaker 1: because I can always choose a different path. But the
Speaker 1: mistake is not a mistake. I view it as a
Speaker 1: life lesson. What is it that you do to switch
Speaker 1: your mindset to level up. I'm very lucky to have.
Speaker 2: A team that I'm very honest with and so whenever
Speaker 2: we have a challenge, I lean on my team. I
Speaker 2: lean on several mentors in my world, one of them
Speaker 2: being yourself. I have different coaches and obviously the power
Speaker 2: of a community that can support you. No one is perfect,
Speaker 2: and you also need to be prepared to unlearn what
Speaker 2: you've learned because things are forever changing, and in my
Speaker 2: personal life, I've been able to also adopt something that's
Speaker 2: for me that's outside of work, and that's kind of
Speaker 2: been my solace really, Like taking up, for example, bodybuilding
Speaker 2: in my part time has been something that's baker, that's
Speaker 2: given me that reprieve as well.
Speaker 1: Now bodybuilding for a female is something completely outside the
Speaker 1: comfort zone. How did you land there?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 2: Look, I think in life every day I strive to
Speaker 2: be a better version of myself. And during COVID, I
Speaker 2: think a lot of us were in a really dark place.
Speaker 2: I needed to really throw myself into structure and something
Speaker 2: that had a little bit more discipline. It's a very
Speaker 2: layered kind of reason why I took up bodybuilding. Like,
Speaker 2: I've always been very fit, I've always been body conscious.
Speaker 2: I've always you know, either done running or kettle feat
Speaker 2: or you know what have you. But I also torri
Speaker 2: had I battled anorexia when I was in my adolescent years,
Speaker 2: and having this monkey on your back for such a
Speaker 2: long part of your life where you have a fear
Speaker 2: of food, I don't think anyone should live with.
Speaker 3: Any fees at all.
Speaker 2: So that was another reason why I kind of wanted
Speaker 2: to combat it, and having a really fantastic coach who
Speaker 2: I think he gets my mind.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: He's taught me that if you make really good food
Speaker 2: choices and you exercise and you train hard, then you're
Speaker 2: going to have a fantastic physique. And I think both
Speaker 2: men and women and young kids really battle with this
Speaker 2: aspect of you know, there's so much pressure to look
Speaker 2: a certain way. So it's really kind of revolutionized and
Speaker 2: transformed how I approach my world, my sleep, anxiety, and
Speaker 2: my well being.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you actually won the bodybuilding competition, So just
Speaker 1: for everyone in the audience, when Alice decided that she
Speaker 1: was going to become a bodybuilder, she announced it to
Speaker 1: our Powerful Steps community and I remember everyone was cheering
Speaker 1: you on, and I do think that there are a
Speaker 1: few people thinking is she actually going to really do this?
Speaker 1: And you were so dedicated and as you say, it
Speaker 1: was like your outlet. And I remember with my husband
Speaker 1: when you had coasted that you won, we were.
Speaker 4: Like, oh my gosh, this is just.
Speaker 1: Funable because you did something completely unexpected, but you went
Speaker 1: straight to the top of your game. What was that
Speaker 1: feeling like?
Speaker 2: It was so awesome, Like you kind of almost don't
Speaker 2: believe that it's happening.
Speaker 3: You don't really believe that you're there. It's remarkable.
Speaker 2: Like maybe it's a bit unfair to wins, you know,
Speaker 2: when you're only quite new in this sport.
Speaker 3: That's kind of what you feel like, you're a bit
Speaker 3: of an impost.
Speaker 2: Bodybuilding is one of these sports where you're only as
Speaker 2: good as your worst body part.
Speaker 3: So there is constant improvement, Like you.
Speaker 2: Can never like rest to think that you've won and
Speaker 2: there's nothing to improve, you know. And that's why I
Speaker 2: think I love the sport because there's always becoming better,
Speaker 2: better and better and better at it.
Speaker 1: And so when you fuse what you're clearly passionate about,
Speaker 1: which is the bodybuilding with your business, how has that
Speaker 1: made you become a better leader of your team? Because
Speaker 1: I know you've had incredible growth and success in the
Speaker 1: last few years since you started bodybuilding. What do you
Speaker 1: think that's down to.
Speaker 2: I think it's enabled me to have better focus in
Speaker 2: terms of where I want to take the business, focus
Speaker 2: in terms of how I want to grow and what
Speaker 2: goals I want to achieve. Bodybuilding is very much about
Speaker 2: discipline and about putting the right structure in place, but
Speaker 2: also about making that happen too. So again, you're always
Speaker 2: going to have your critics. Tory like, a lot of
Speaker 2: people don't like the fact that I'm bodybuilding. There's so
Speaker 2: many people that don't understand what it gives me and
Speaker 2: how important it is to me. But I definitely feel
Speaker 2: that investing in myself in that aspect is definitely making
Speaker 2: me more happy. And when you're more happy, you're a
Speaker 2: better leader and happiness free.
Speaker 1: It is happiness, I have to say as well, since
Speaker 1: what you grow through this journey, I have watched you
Speaker 1: really expand in terms of magnetizing who you are, understanding
Speaker 1: the power of what you have to give to others,
Speaker 1: which is obviously how to ripple effect not only with yourself,
Speaker 1: but your team and your business. Now, I want to
Speaker 1: throw something else into the mix of this conversation because
Speaker 1: you're also a single mom, and I had my own
Speaker 1: business for twelve years as a single mom actually, and
Speaker 1: I know that there are struggles with work life balance.
Speaker 1: How do you juggle it all? Like, what's what's the
Speaker 1: day on a plate look like for you?
Speaker 2: I've got two boys and I've got a dog, so
Speaker 2: I've got yeah, yeah, don't forget rambo. So I'll look,
Speaker 2: my day is like an hour walk in the morning,
Speaker 2: getting the kids ready for school. Sometimes it's hitting the gym,
Speaker 2: and then it's obviously your work day. You know, we
Speaker 2: meet with a couple of clients day, maybe a couple
Speaker 2: of registrations. We obviously have you know, a lot of
Speaker 2: strategic meetings. And then it's the kids soccer. And then
Speaker 2: you know, my eldest son's a great cook, so he
Speaker 2: often cooks for the family.
Speaker 1: How old is your son to cook for the family,
Speaker 1: because that's pretty extraordinary.
Speaker 2: He's thirteen. This kid's just I don't know where he
Speaker 2: comes from. Actually he must get it from his father.
Speaker 5: I'm a not bad cook, but like he'll come home
Speaker 5: and he'll be bored and he'll just whip up like
Speaker 5: spinach and chili and chickpeas, and he'll just make a
Speaker 5: green homus, you know, like a chim cheery kind of
Speaker 5: homus for your steak.
Speaker 2: So I'm very lucky. I think there's always more you
Speaker 2: can do with your kids. Like, you know, you feel
Speaker 2: guilty when you're not with them. You feel guilty when
Speaker 2: you're not with your team. But you've just got to
Speaker 2: check in and make them aware that you know you
Speaker 2: are there for them. I am, you know, someone who
Speaker 2: takes on a lot, possibly too much, but you know,
Speaker 2: like you just want to keep improving and keep doing more.
Speaker 3: I suppose, and.
Speaker 1: What does your next powerful step look like?
Speaker 3: So I've got a few projects on the go.
Speaker 2: One is we had our first PEP Talks event on
Speaker 2: Wednesday last week, so it was the first ever event
Speaker 2: for UMP where we hosted thirty three book candidates you
Speaker 2: could say, and we had our industry panel. We had
Speaker 2: one of our fantastic clients, Chloe Quickly from Ortolan, and
Speaker 2: a fantastic designer that we've actually placed with Ortolan talk
Speaker 2: about how to master your folio. I'm so proud of
Speaker 2: my team. Without my team, Tory, I wouldn't have been
Speaker 2: able to deliver this. And I've been trying to do
Speaker 2: this for at least five ten years. We got really
Speaker 2: great feedback and we want to just keep on delivering
Speaker 2: value to our community and really, I suppose grow our
Speaker 2: local talent here in Australia.
Speaker 3: Second project I'd say would be I'm taking my boys
Speaker 3: overseas to Greece.
Speaker 2: And I know that doesn't sound like a project, but
Speaker 2: it actually is anyway.
Speaker 3: So that's kind of freaking me out more than anything.
Speaker 2: And then I suppose preparing for a competition next year
Speaker 2: for bodybuilding, there's quite a lot of physical tweaks I
Speaker 2: need to make to be able to get myself to
Speaker 2: a level where I can compete internationally.
Speaker 4: That's incredible.
Speaker 3: So you are yes in.
Speaker 1: Our community today that says they want to do something globally.
Speaker 1: And I think that that's such a powerful tool to
Speaker 1: not just think to be able to create and deliver
Speaker 1: impact for others on a global scale, but also do
Speaker 1: it with passion and purpose. So I wish you all
Speaker 1: the best with that. Now, where can we find you
Speaker 1: if we want to recruit in the creative industry? How
Speaker 1: can we get a little bit of warmth in our life?
Speaker 1: Connect with you and our team.
Speaker 2: We've got our website twitch isofdashrecruit dot com. We have
Speaker 2: our Instagram omph Underscore Recruitment.
Speaker 1: So beautiful, ol, Thank you so much for sharing the
Speaker 1: power of our story with us today and taking a
Speaker 1: powerful step. Thanks Tory, thank you for being here with
Speaker 1: me today. I trust that you enjoyed listening to yet
Speaker 1: another powerful story. Sometimes we can forget just how incredible
Speaker 1: we are as women and how important it is to
Speaker 1: support each other. I'd love for you to take a
Speaker 1: moment to review the podcast and help support the show.
Speaker 1: You can also take a screenshot of this episode and
Speaker 1: share it across your social media. Be sure to tag
Speaker 1: me so that I can give you a shout out too.
Speaker 1: I'm a true believer of women supporting women, and I
Speaker 1: look forward to connecting with you again soon. Much love,
Speaker 1: Toy