HIGH-FLYER LISA MESSENGER TELLS US ABOUT HER MOVE TO TEXAS

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GIANT LEAP

She is a bestselling author, founder of Collective Hub and an internationally renowned speaker. Lisa Messenger is always looking for the next challenge – here, she tells us about her recent move to the US.

WORDS LISA MESSENGER PHOTOGRAPHY JOSEF NALEVANSKY

CCLS: Why would a successful businesswoman who loves her bases in Bangalow and Bondi decide to up sticks and set up home in Austin, Texas?

LISA: Here’s a bit of background. This is the 21st year of having my own business and it has been through many iterations since 2001. But in short, in 2013 I launched my print mag Collective Hub. Within 18 months it was in 37 countries and the US was a big market for us. In 2014, after receiving an email from Anna Wintour’s office, I flew to New York to meet with her and the global chair of Condé Nast, Chuck Townsend, to discuss licensing Collective Hub under the Condé Nast brand in the US. For various reasons we didn’t go ahead. The following year, I made a global rights deal with Simon & Schuster for Daring & Disruptive, the first in my series of business books. Largely because I wasn’t on the ground in the US, it didn’t do so well. Then last November we received an order from Indigo to trial us in 176 stores. About 11 per cent of our Collective Hub social and digital audience (800,000) is based in the US and my fiancé needed to go to the US to expand his business, so the timing just seemed right. I am beyond excited about what we can do over here. And, as always, I am documenting it all as I go and will be turning it into a book (of course!) to support other Aussies wanting to grow into the US market.

What were your initial impressions of Austin?

I threw myself one thousand per cent into the unexpected life I found myself in. Mostly, I spent the first few days meeting with as many people as I could, immersing myself in the culture, joining a gym and finding the local coffee spot to feel a part of the community and integrate as soon as possible. Dare I say it, the best coffee I’ve found is at a place called Two Hands, which fortunately is right next to my gym. It’s an Aussieowned brand and they know exactly how to make the perfect iced latte. I’m getting used to saying “ya’ll” which literally everyone says. And I now have a custom-made cowboy hat, so I’m starting to feel the part.

What are you most enjoying about living in a new city?

Austin is the fastest-growing city in the US and it’s a fabulous melting pot of tech entrepreneurs, start-ups, big tech companies and a lot of traditional, old-school Texans. It’s not unusual to see a cowboy riding down the main street on a horse – it’s a true juxtaposition of cultures. The Austin tagline is ‘keep it weird’, which seems to fit. Anything is possible. The music scene is amazing and the people are probably the friendliest I’ve ever met anywhere in the world. I’m not sure if it’s because about half of them carry guns so they are always super-nice to each other for fear of being shot. I’ve not experienced any road rage or any unpleasantness of any kind. Everyone is genuinely so welcoming and helpful. What I love, love, love is that everyone is into positive affirmations. They wear them on their clothing. They paint them on bridges and murals. So, for my products, it is probably the most excited I’ve been in years about the enormity of the opportunities.

As a water baby, how are you adapting to living away from the ocean? And as a long-time lover of horses and riding, are there opportunities for riding locally?

I usually live very close to the beach. When in Sydney we live in Bondi and when in the Northern Rivers we live in Bangalow and drive to the beach every single day. So, Austin is a little confronting. But I did grow up in Coolah (Central West NSW) where it was hot and dry most of the time, so I can do it. Having said that, there are beautiful lakes, swimming holes, rivers and green spaces around the city. We’ve done a lot of kayaking. And yes, horse-riding is my first love. I grew up riding every day. My first job after school was as a horse-riding instructor in England. I haven’t found great horse-riding yet but trust me – it’s on the list.

What can you tell us about your new online Start Up Smart business course?

This course has been a long time coming. And while I’ve now written about 38 books, I hadn’t done one until Start Up to Scale Up that encapsulates everything you need to know to start and grow a business end to end. On the back of the book, we decided to create an online course to guide start-ups. It goes over six weeks and has seven modules. Each week, for the first time ever, I will be doing live sessions with my cohort and guiding them every step of the way. There will be one intake a year but if there is lots of interest (and early signs are good) we may run it twice a year.

What do you love most about your work?

I love being creative every single day. I come up with all the product ideas and I love thinking differently and creating things that will really help our audience. I also love the marketing side. There is nothing better than the buzz of getting into a new store or onto a new marketplace. I love the daily feedback from our customers – we receive the most beautiful heartfelt messages about how we’ve changed their lives. And I love the big stage speaking gig stuff. For a short while I get to sink into the full essence of my power and feel like a rock star. I’ve worked with a lot of 7,000-plus audiences now and shared a stage with Sir Richard Branson five times. Here are a few unknowns. A few days before I go on, I kick and scream and say I don’t want to do it. Twenty minutes before I go on, I meditate to deep house. I get in the zone. I breathe deeply, step onto that stage and every single time I get off it, my fiancé says, “How did you go?” and every time I say, “10 out of 10”. I am so predictable it’s ridiculous.

What do you love least about your work?

I have grown to love finance and data. It doesn’t come naturally to me and I used to fight it, but it’s an imperative. What I really don’t like is granular detail and I can’t stand mindless bureaucracy that I sometimes encounter with third parties. I am a big-picture visionary so that stuff I find tedious and cumbersome. The rebel in me fights it all the way.

Who inspires you, professionally and personally – and why?

There are so many people I can’t list them. I feel it’s important to build a really solid inner circle of trusted people. I also get so inspired every day by our community and anyone who is courageous enough to just have a go.

Find out more at collectivehub.com, lisamessenger.com and on socials @lisamessenger