'I'm a big believer that no one is just lucky, or just works so hard they succeed. Everyone is helped."
With over 15 years’ experience in marketing in Australia and the US, Caroline Heslop has had the pleasure to work with some of the world’s largest brands building award-winning campaigns including Diageo, Rolex, Nestle, Kellogg’s, Afterpay, Adidas, Kmart, Target, Sephora, Lululemon, Ray Ban, GAP, Disney, Mattel, Warner Bros. and Sony.
She founded Sketch Collective a full service marketing agency in Sydney Australia in 2020 to bring that world class experience and her most trusted creatives to her clients whether they be big or small to drive business altering brand success.
A creativity tragic, Caroline has studied visual art around the world at such institutions as School of Visual Arts NYC, ICP New York and the ACP in Sydney and has managed studios for some of the worlds most in demand photographers. In early 2022, she opened the doors to Sketch Collective Gallery, the next stage in Caroline’s vision to to support and nurture the next generation of Aussie creatives.
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Table of Contents
Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with us. Our readers would like to know more about you. Why did you choose this career?
Caroline Heslop: At the end of high school, I wanted to pursue event management and the hospitality industry.
I always have and likely always will love the rush of events and the joy of food and wine coupled with creating an experience that can alter how some feels, acts and remembers.
Although early into my studies I realised I missed the strategic and operational side of Marketing and transitioned my career to focus on the ad agency world.
Can you share a story that happened to you since you became the leader of your company?
Caroline Heslop: The past two years have been challenging. I think everyone can relate. For me anticipating the market has been harder than ever before.
I always say to my team that I am the bouncer of the company. My role is to keep everything running smoothly inside and keep the risks out.
Please share with us an outstanding woman that you have never met, who inspires you? Tell us how she inspired you?
Caroline Heslop: I have been so fortunate to be surrounded by incredible female bosses and leaders.
We all know stories of women leaders who have soared to dizzying heights on the corporate ladder and whilst I love those stories when asked this question my mind actually goes to the women that haven’t necessarily reached the top but have done incredible things despite their commitments outside the office or merely the fact they were women in the workforce period.
I was lucky enough to work with a woman my the name Ginny Bahr. She recently passed away at 94. We worked together at J. Walter Thompson New York. She worked there for 69 years! Her career started in the height of the Mad Men era of advertising and she was full of stories! It cant have been easy. I was so inspired by her tenacity, kindness and loyalty. Most importantly I learnt that you need to love what you do and needs to fire you up- everyday.
People who have helped us achieve success are very important to us. We should be grateful for everything they do for us. Can you share a story about how someone who PERSONALLY helped you succeed?
Caroline Heslop: I’m a big believer that no one is just lucky, or just works so hard they succeed. Everyone is helped.
For me, I have to keep this answer close to home. My partner Alex has been instrumental in my success with Sketch Collective.
When we met I had been in marketing for over a decade. Understanding the industry wasn’t an issue, I knew how to do my job and I knew how to sell to and manage our clients.
What I hadn’t truly realised is how fathers talk to their sons about how to run a business and how it differs to how fathers talk to their daughters.
I discovered that he had this wealth of knowledge that hadn’t been learnt in any classroom but rather through free flowing advice and mentorship from his father, David over many years. After chatting with many female business owners I have realised I’m not alone in this. For many females, when they start a business they feel like their friends and family take longer to recognise the legitimacy of the business than they would if they were male. Often labelled a hobby, a side hustle or a “little business”.
Don’t get me wrong my father is a small business owner himself of over 35 years and has guided me a lot but there is still a difference.
I come home every night and Alex and I will share our challenges and brainstorm solutions for one another. It’s amazing to have someone that gets it. I don’t think I would have that if he worked for someone and I don’t think Sketch Collective would have survived without that support.
Women are more prominent in business than ever, however, there is plenty room for improvement. What can people do on their own, what can society do, and what can the government do? What are your suggestions?
Caroline Heslop: Oh sure, we’ve come a long way and yes there is a long way to go. For me as a 30-something what my friends and I talk about most is working motherhood and the toll on the business and the family unit.
I remember at my first agency job out of university it was 2010, I was 21, seated in an open plan office surrounded by other super driven females in my account management department that were roughly 5- 10 years my senior. I’ll never forget how they constantly talked about their ” baby plans” despite none of them being close to having children.
They were so worried about this looming period of their lives were their career would inevitably come to a grinding halt. So the question was ” what would they do?!”
How absurd is that I thought, but it never left me and as the years went on my anxiety around it grew too. “How many years do I have left?”
When all of my male peers were charting their next promotion, what city they might transfer to or just sitting back knowing they had so many years to play with, I was watching the clock.
12 years on and I still don’t have an answer. Especially as a business owner, trying to prepare to take yourself out of your own company is almost too much to comprehend.
What I do know is that we are very fortunate in Australia to have a parental structure in place by the government and a growing society with great healthcare. What I struggle with is that the onus is still on the company to carry the load and thats just not right. Therefore, my suggestion would be for the government to provide greater assistance to companies to support the parents of our next generation so that no one has to worry about their career or business being impacted.
There are many reasons why more women should become CEOs, Entrepreneurs, and founders. Some of these reasons may be obvious to you, but I think it is helpful to list them out. So, can you share a few reasons why more women should become business leaders?
Caroline Heslop: Women are often amazing leaders. This doesn’t mean they are perfect but they bring a really interesting balance to the workplace.
I of course want to see more females at the top of org charts but I know its challenging to get there.
I think women leaders often possess really high EQs and that helps businesses in so many ways. From greater employee acquisition and retention, to strong client relationships, company culture and mentoring.
What are some things people think about being a business leader that isn’t true? Can you give examples?
Caroline Heslop: Hah – that is so easy breezy being the boss! That my days are filled with long lunches, mid afternoon manicures and loads of holidays.
I truly have never worked harder in my life.
Owning and running a company is a 24/7 job. It’s up to me to balance my priorities and ensure I carve out time for my life otherwise it can be all consuming.
I’m the only person that can tell me I’ve done enough.
In your opinion, what type of person is likely to be successful as a business leader? What are the specific traits that increase the chance of success? And do you think everyone is cut out to be a business leader? Can you explain what you mean?
Caroline Heslop: I do believe you need to personable and tenacious. Your dreams need to keep you up at night and if you want them, you can manifest them. That’s the easy part, but you have to want them badly, because the universe will test you a million times before you get what you want and many give up trying or the fear of failure stops them from ever starting.
Secondly, you need to be pleasant. Nice people like to work with nice people. Sure you can be cut throat and awful and maybe you’ll be just fine but you’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
What are some things you wish someone had told you before you started your business? Why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
Caroline Heslop: I had always thought when you have a business you just want to make as much money as possible and then you squirrel it away and thats your safety net and the sign of a good company is one with loads of cash in the bank.
What I am still learning and what they don’t teach you in business school is how to take calculated risks with that money to propel you forward. That stockpiling will slow you down but that spending it all will stop the party. A good leader finds the balance through accurate forecasting and well timed decisions.
What do you plan on tackling during the year 2022? Share your goals and battles you expect to face.
Caroline Heslop: For me 2022 is a year of finding stability in our growth. The last 2 years have been a steady up hill climb but it’s felt like a rollercoaster.
I’m excited for international travel to pick up, for SMBs to have confidence in their spending and for the workforce to flourish with fresh overseas talent.
I expect that Australia will still face COVID challenges this year but that we are battle hardened and armed with more tools to ride the waves.
Thank you so much for your time but before we finish things off, I do have one more question for you. What was the last book you read that had a great impact on you, please tell us how?
Caroline Heslop: I lost my mom to ovarian cancer last year and I struggled to get back to work. She told me in her final days “Promise me you wont work so hard” and I struggled to take that on as its basically constructive feedback about something you actively want to do.
What I’ve realised is there is working hard and there is working smart. Everyday I focus on working smart so that I am working to live not the other way around. Im also getting better at not sweating the small stuff, saying no and walking away from things that I don’t want to do.
This was cemented when I was gifted in the weeks after my Moms death a book called Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad. As the cover suggests its a “memoir of a life interrupted” and “what we can all learn about life from a brush with death”. As author Tara Westover (Educated) says, it “will resonate with anyone who is living a different life than the one they had planned.” and it certainly did for me.
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Caroline Heslop for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Caroline Heslop or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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