Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Sonya Gill, founder of The LNK, located in Toronto, ON, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a South Asian E-Commerce platform that provides a powerful shopping experience to our consumers while simultaneously supplying a technological savvy backend for our merchants.
Tell us about yourself
My background is in communications and marketing. My first company was a digital marketing agency. There's no coincidence that my true superpower is marketing and creating connections. I've been doing it since I was a child. I love bringing people together and seeing what can be created. I also love connecting merchants to our platform and seeing their faces light up when I tell them what we are providing them. When they learn that we truly want to help and connect them, that makes my day. No hidden agendas, just here to help.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My first company was a digital marketing agency I started in 2010; this was before Facebook was big and before Social Media Marketing was a thing. People didn't even call it social media marketing back then. Individuals couldn't even understand why they needed to start a company on a social media platform to begin with. 5 years later; we were acquired.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Entrepreneurship is anything but a smooth ride. And the faster you can embrace this, the more you will succeed because you'll see every obstacle as a way to pivot. A mentor of mine said it the best: success is a function of timing, timing is a function of grit; therefore, success is a function of grit.
As a business owner, to get to grit, you gotta strap yourself into your seat and just prepare for the ride. It can be a long, confusing journey, but worth every moment in the end.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Launch, test, iterate, launch again, test, iterate and launch again until you get to product-market fit. Just because something isn't working doesn't mean it's wrong and doesn't mean you should quit. Ask your customers questions, what they like, what they don't like, what they need, what they are looking for etc. Then iterate.
- Surround yourself with players that have winning mindsets.
- Don't be afraid of giving up equity, and don't be afraid of collaborating in fear of competition. Amazing things can happen out of collaboration.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.thelnk.co/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sonyagillsocial/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopthelnk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sonyagillsocial
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/sonyagillsocial
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.