Secrets of Success: Dawn Baxter, CEO and Founder of Beyond the Dawn

Women entrepreneurs take note: your presence is required online

On a mission to ignite the power of female entrepreneurship through comprehensive, personalised social media marketing services, Dawn Baxter founded Beyond the Dawn, her digital business, to foster the growth and success of women-led businesses by providing a full suite of services from content creation, brand shoots, website design to podcasting, and more. Determined to challenge the conventional ‘bro-marketing’ approach with their pink-powered, ethical strategy has paid off, already driving millions in client sales. She takes the time to talk to Business Matters …

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

We create supportive training, personal growth and tangible business assets that support building exceptional businesses and enhanced authentic visibility and messaging.

What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, was a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?

Yes. We wanted to show our feminine edge as a positive and show that women in the world of marketing can do things in a different way.

What are your brand values?

In all that we do, we pledge to stay true to our core values of inclusivity, ethical practices, and exceptional customer service, making Beyond the Dawn not just a brand, but a catalyst for women to rise and shine in the digital world.

We believe in the strength of every woman to build a thriving online presence, and we commit ourselves to aid her journey, every step of the way. Our passion lies in empowering women to dare, dream, and achieve more in their businesses, carving a unique identity that shatters traditional norms.

Is team culture integral to your business?

Yes it wouldn’t be possible for us to achieve all we have without the amazing team we have. The dedication to supporting people is deeply ingrained in our culture and we love being the not so secret weapon behind supporting thought leaders who are changing the world in a positive way!

What do you do to go the extra mile to to show your team you appreciate them?

We are very close as a team and have regular time together away from work as friends and colleagues, we travel together and we like to inject fun into our day together too. We lean on each other and have built trust and connection together both personally and professionally.

In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

Yes we do and we cover a lot of ground with many themes and differing opinion but our message is always the same throughout. It can be done, ethically and with joy and we can help you to do it.

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

2024 is the year we give back. We have frozen prices where we can and where we cannot we have added ridiculous value to ensure that our clients are rewarded for their loyalty and get more bang for their buck.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

Monthly. We don’t just review our own data , we review our clients data too and look for general trends and patterns as well. It is so important for us to be able to keep on top of how the market is moving and have a clear understanding that benefits us and our clients alike.

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?

Our Tech VA services is one of our most popular services in 2023 and is showing great interest in increasing to meet the demand of our lovely clients. We are always here for extra tools that get the job done and yet know that our mission is to support the growth and joy in experience for humans!

What is your attitude to your competitors?

We embrace others in the industry, there is more than enough work for everyone and everyone has a different style in delivery! In the way we do our business we feel this comes from our heart and collective personalities, it defines us as a different and unmatched entity. For us “competition” only exists in beating our old targets and performing on a higher rate for our cherished clients.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?

Don’t be scared to do it your way. The temptation is to copy others but all this gets you is passing visibility back to the original person who created that in the first place. Come into the party with your own style and know that you have the chance to do whatever you feel you want to as long as you stay true to your own purpose.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

I love a spa day and relaxing with my friends. I also like to spend focused time with my children to get out of work mode and into personal mode. I don’t find making decisions difficult because we use data to support us in making educated decisions and forecasting.

Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies?

I plan our business strategy in terms of 3 years and less, we reverse engineer a lot of what we do and although 12 – 16 weeks will get more detailed focus we always know where we are heading in the next couple of years.

What is your company’s eco strategy?

Each month we pay a little eco insurance to offset our carbon footprint and we are always driving recycling and sustainability as much as we can.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

We are working towards offering more self study products for our clients. We would love to be able to offer more services in the area of podcasting and we are rapidly outgrowing our current premises so watch this space!