aXONS uNleashed pODCAST: I SACKED MY WIFE FROM OUR BUSINESS, THEN BEGGED FOR HER BACk
Axons are part of the neuro-transmission system in the brain… they carry the spark between the neurons to fire the body into action!
The Axons Unleashed Podcast will get your Axons fired up by our hosts Robbie, Tamara, Dan and Dane as they uncover the untold truths of what it really takes to successfully transition from the ADF, how to build a multi-million-dollar property portfolio, how to start a business as a veteran entrepreneur and how to more effectively communicate with your partner… while optimising your personal performance in every aspect of your life.
In this tell-all episode, we tread on a delicate subject matter… When Robbie sacked Tami from her role as marketing director and then had to beg her back months later. It was a gutsy move that did NOT pay off… sacking your wife from the business is not for the faint-hearted!
Here's Where You Can Listen:
Watch it on youtube
A Business Lesson in Trust, Marketing and Knowing Your Audience
In Axon’s early days, Tamara took responsibility for much of the business’s marketing, teaching herself new skills and building the foundations of Axon’s online presence. But when Robbie decided it was time to bring in an external marketing agency, Tamara stepped away from the role – a decision that would ultimately teach them both some important lessons about running a business.
As the team reflects in this episode, bringing in outside expertise wasn’t necessarily the mistake. The bigger lesson was handing over too much control of the strategy to people who didn’t understand Axon’s audience in the same way they did. At the time, Axon was trying to reach both ADF members and civilian property investors, while experimenting with webinars, email marketing, social media and other ways of building an audience. The experience reinforced the importance of knowing who you are speaking to, maintaining ownership of your strategy and ensuring external specialists are working towards the goals of the business.
In this episode, the team discusses:
- How Tamara became responsible for Axon’s marketing during the early stages of the business.
- Why Robbie decided to bring in an external marketing agency – and how that decision affected Tamara’s confidence and role within Axon.
- What the team learned about outsourcing expertise without completely handing over control of business strategy.
- Why business owners still need to understand their customers, even when working with external specialists.
- The importance of retaining ownership and control of marketing accounts, audiences and digital assets.
- Why Axon’s early marketing approach struggled to connect effectively with its audience.
- How Facebook Live gave the team a more direct way to educate and communicate with prospective clients.
- Why understanding the behaviours and preferences of ADF members influenced Axon’s approach to marketing.
- How Tamara rebuilt her confidence after returning to lead Axon’s marketing.
- The resilience required to keep growing a new business when strategies do not work as planned.
- Why Axon introduced a discovery process to determine whether prospective clients and the business were a suitable fit for one another.
One of the biggest lessons to emerge was that nobody understood Axon’s audience quite like the people working with them every day. That realisation would eventually influence a much bigger decision: instead of trying to market to both Defence and civilian audiences, Axon began looking much more closely at who it was best placed to help.
That story continues in the next episode, where the team explains why Axon stopped marketing to 99% of Australia and chose to focus its marketing predominantly on the ADF and veteran community.