How I Got Here: The Director and Founder of Culture Digital Agency on taking ownership of your success
IMAGE VIA @GERARD_SISON/INSTAGRAM
WORDS BY JULIA PAIGE
“If you truly want to succeed you have to be able to lead, nurture and grow the talent around you.”
Have you ever stalked someone on LinkedIn and wondered how on earth they managed to land that wildly impressive job? While the internet and social media might have us believe that our ideal job is a mere pipe dream, the individuals who have these jobs were, believe it or not, in the same position once, fantasising over someone else’s seemingly unattainable job.
But behind the awe-inspiring titles and the fancy work events lies a heck of a lot of hard work. So what lessons have been learnt and what skills have proved invaluable in getting them from daydreaming about success to actually being at the top of their industry?
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Welcome to How I Got Here, where we talk to people who are killing it in their respective fields about how they landed their awe-inspiring jobs, exploring the peaks and pits, the failures and the wins, and most importantly the knowledge, advice and practical tips they’ve gleaned along the way.
This week we speak with Gerard Sison, the Founder and Director of Culture Digital Agency. Gerard always knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur, he just wasn’t exactly sure how he’d get there. After a short stint at university studying marketing, he relocated to Asia in his early twenties and picked up a string of odd modelling and acting jobs, learning about the fashion industry along the way. Upon his return to Australia, Gerard started his first business before leaving to launch his own project.
Almost six years ago, Gerard founded Culture Digital Agency. A believer in quality and perseverance, Gerard sings the praises of hard work. Starting a business is something no one can prepare you for, and his journey has taught him a number of invaluable lessons in business (and people!). Read on to hear about his career journey so far.
What do you do, and what’s your official job title?
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I am the Director and Founder of Culture Digital Agency. We help fashion brands grow fan culture and revenue through branding and advertising. We work with and have helped grow brands like Adidas, The Kript, Jungles Jungles, Alias Mae, Pinky & Kamal, Arthur Apparel, Natalie Rolt and Crawling Death.
Take us back to when you were first starting out. Did you study to get into your chosen field, or did you start out with an internship/entry-level role and climb the ladder? Tell us the story.
I did study marketing at uni although I didn’t finish the course, mainly because I kept failing my accounting subjects. I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur and my two lifelong interests have been health and fashion, so I knew I wanted to work in either of those two spaces.
To start a business, you need money, which I did not have. So I looked for ways to find ways to make a faster income than what I was getting working retail. Initially, it was nightclub promoting, which is where I first saw the power of social media (MySpace was pumping).
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Then, when on holiday, I saw an opportunity to move to Asia when I was [around] 19 or 20 (mainly Philippines, Singapore and Thailand), where I did a few modelling contracts and some funny acting jobs trying to make a quick buck and with the low cost of living, I managed to save up a solid amount at the time. I learnt a lot about the fashion industry along the way.
Close to 12 years ago now, I invested in and started my first business, which was a nutrition/food delivery company. We enlisted over a thousand total subscribers to our program. My partners and I sold the business after three years. It was only a small business but I learned a lot in that process.
I then invested in a swimwear label and helped my now-wife run it. It grew to 60,000 followers within two years until she closed and sold the business before giving birth to our daughter. Despite the five to six years of experience running my own businesses, I knew I still had so much I needed to learn.
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Around the same time, one of my best friends started a watch company, which ended up doing a million dollars of revenue in a single day, which was incredible. I didn’t know anyone else who was having business success on that level. So I asked him if I could work and learn from him. Luck and timing would have it that he was filling a role, and he invited me in to be the marketing manager, so I worked in the company for two years learning from the great things that he was doing.
Eventually, it was time to explore new horizons… and work on projects of my choice, so I decided to step out and build the beginnings of an agency. Through my network, the first brands I brought on were The Connection, which later developed a brand called Henne (a brand that we helped launch), Billy Bones Club and Pared Eyewear. All of these would grow to become major forces and successes in their different spaces, and our reputation spread from there.
What challenges/hurdles have you faced getting to where you are now? Can you tell us about one in particular?
I’ll share two examples. My biggest frustrations have always come with the challenges of growing the brands and businesses that I was involved with and not knowing exactly what was needed in each situation. Out of that frustration, many years ago, before I started the agency, I told myself that I would learn everything humanly possible about the game of branding, marketing and business.
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I committed to learning something new every day and invested in every possible way of seeking knowledge relevant to my craft or to my life in general. I believed that if I kept that practice for 10 years, I could truly master the craft and find those answers… I’m over six years deep into the practice… [and] every single day, I spend time studying and learning new things. The journey of growth that it has taken me on has been life-changing.
You could say I wasn’t a natural-born leader. I have always had high standards for work but initially, I would only see and point out the things that weren’t up to standard. I would be frustrated if work wasn’t up to par, and I would express it. I don’t think people enjoyed working for me very much.
I later learned the value of positive reinforcement, recognising the things that people do great first and learning how to build up the confidence of my team members. I’ve also learnt that people learn best when in calm and supportive environments, and don’t retain information well when their fight-or-flight response is activated.
What do you want people to know about your industry/your role?
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The market only generously rewards excellence. Only people who are genuinely passionate about their craft and creating value for others will thrive in this space. I believe if you want to be truly great at anything, you have to make great sacrifices. For me, the cost of having the time to study and do my work has been losing simple pleasures like watching TV at night after work.
What’s the best part about your role?
I love seeing the impact we create for brands and receiving calls or letters from our brand partners saying how valuable the partnership with our work has been to them. I also love the relationships with my internal team. I take a lot of pride in helping my team members grow and helping them succeed in their career goals.
What would surprise people about your role?
I think people dream of being business owners so that they can choose their own hours and come and go as they please. It’s the biggest lie that entrepreneurship books have ever sold. As a leader of an agency your role is to serve the company, all of your team and the brand partners that you have the opportunity to collaborate with. You have to lead by example. I feel in a competitive world it’s arrogant to think that you can be the best in your field and not also be the most disciplined and dedicated to your work.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to be in a role like yours one day?
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Always be learning. If you want to have an extraordinary life, you can’t take common levels of action. Always over-deliver. Focus on learning and creating value first, and making money will follow. If you can create massive amounts of value for others, you will create a lot of value for yourself. Don’t do it unless you love to serve others.
Take more pride in helping build a big ship than simply jumping on a big ship. Always remember, although you may be the Founder or leader of the business, there is no such thing as a self-made man or woman.
I’ve never seen anyone achieve great things by themselves. If you truly want to succeed you have to be able to lead, nurture and grow the talent around you and help people reach their potential. At the same time, take extreme ownership of your success and never blame anyone else or things for your failures.
What about a practical tip?
Learn to cast your life. If your life was a movie, make sure you cast the right people and friends around you who will support your dreams and help you be the best version of yourself. Uncast the people who won’t. Make sure you have people who can keep it real with you and help you see your blind spots. Seek advice from people who have achieved what you are looking to achieve. Don’t take advice from people who haven’t.
Read the rest of the How I Got Here series here.
Looking to step up to a career in fashion? Each week we send a wrap of industry jobs straight to your inbox. Enter your details below and we’ll keep you in the loop, or browse current openings here.
Read the rest of the How I Got Here series here.
Looking to step up to a career in fashion? Each week we send a wrap of industry jobs straight to your inbox. Enter your details below and we’ll keep you in the loop, or browse current openings here.
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