“We’ve seen marketing trends and website tools come and go, and we’ve tried many of them. Ultimately, we’ve discovered a proven formula for growing a business online.”
Heather Porter is the founder and strategist behind Website Love, a digital marketing agency that helps small and medium-sized businesses grow by simplifying their marketing efforts. With a background in digital marketing since 2010, Heather has built a reputation for assisting clients to improve their online presence and boost sales. She began her career managing global events for top speakers like Tony Robbins. In 2006, she co-founded the Billionaire Adventure Club, bringing entrepreneurs to the Richard Branson School of Entrepreneurship in South Africa, along with other social enterprises worldwide.
Website Love was founded in 2016 to fill a gap in the market for a reliable, mid-sized agency offering high-quality, personalised digital marketing services for businesses seeking an alternative to expensive large agencies or underperforming smaller ones.
Website Love focuses on the core principles of successful online marketing: creating websites that look great, function well, and convert visitors into customers. Using proven strategies, Heather’s team simplifies complex digital marketing concepts like social media, SEO, and website design, making it easier for business owners to grow their online presence.
Heather is a bestselling author on Amazon Kindle and has co-authored four business books. She also hosts That Social Media Show on the Bizversity app, which is used in over 100 countries. Heather frequently speaks at conferences, seminars, and workshops about growing businesses online, to groups ranging from local councils to small business training organisations. She is also a certified Facebook Community Network Trainer and a certified Media Buying Professional.
Heather has been a HerBusiness Member since 2020 and has been leading the Kaizen Growth Group for the past three years. Heather shares, “Being a member of the HerBusiness Network solves the problem of isolation and lack of resources that many small business owners face. It provides access to a supportive community of like-minded entrepreneurs who offer valuable insights, referrals, and advice. I have been a member of a Growth Group for years now and I find this in particular is most valuable.”
Who’s your favourite entrepreneur and why?
Sebastien Marot, Director of Friends-International in Cambodia.
Sebastien is a social entrepreneur who works on social innovation for child protection.
Friends-International focuses on 3 things:
- The Friends Alliance: Alliance of organisations started by Friends-International for best practices in social work.
- The Partnership Program for the Protection of Children (3PC): A coalition of NGOs, CSO and Government services to provide protection and development to children locally, nationally, regionally and globally.
- The ChildSafe Movement (CSM): a global movement to engage all actors of society in the protection of children.
I visited his enterprise when I brought 30 entrepreneurs to Cambodia to help via our networks and resources. He embodies the idea “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”.
Why did you start your business and what gave you the idea?
I started my business when I realised my other company was not what I wanted – I had a business partner that was not a good fit and a team of 30 outsourced overseas who were not the right fit for the services I wanted to offer. I was anxious, unhappy and was not able to pay myself.
After trying to be everything to everyone, I decided to stay with digital marketing but purposefully grow a smaller company that only works with service businesses making a positive impact on the world.
Website Love helps SME’s grow with digital marketing by bridging the gap between large, expensive agencies and outsourced practitioners who have limited resources and knowledge.
We come in when a business is considering hiring a full time marketing role, but knows that one person can’t do everything needed to get results, and wants help with everything from strategy to execution and making data driven decisions along the way to get the best results.
What do you enjoy most about running your own business?
I love it when I see that “aha moment” or when a client says “I have to hire more people because of the results you are getting” or when they are able to see the potential in their business again.
There’s great satisfaction in turning complex strategies into clear, actionable steps that deliver measurable results and to see the knock on effect that has for a business owner.
What three pieces of advice do you wish you’d been given when you started?
- Master the art of putting together offers. Get good at packaging what you sell so it stands out, packs in a lot of value and becomes a no brainer.
- Say no more often. At the beginning you tend to be reactive and say yes to every project, client, tool or system. Stay focussed on what you want to do and learn how to say no to the people and projects who won’t get you there.
- Build a business that will give you the lifestyle you want. Focus on what matters to you most. You don’t need big offices or teams if that is not important to you. If you like to speak or teach make sure you build that in. If you don’t want a team, then don’t build one. There are so many ways of having a successful business these days!
What advice would YOU give someone thinking about starting a business?
Be very honest about your weaknesses (we all have them). I have seen business owners struggling 3 years in because they are still trying to learn or do things that make them miserable. How can you get help as soon as possible with the things you are not great at?
What does your IDEAL business look like? Even if you’re not there yet, what would it look like if your business was ideal?
We would love to hand pick 10 amazing clients in Australia, Europe and the US (30 total!) and help them scale their businesses through a long term relationship that involves content marketing, ads and ongoing optimisation. We are almost sorted in Australia and are entering other markets soon once more testing is done with our exciting new formulas of content creation, content marketing, ads and email and text marketing.
Travel is important for me and this will allow me to continue travelling and also stay on top of what works globally.
What problem does being a Member of the HerBusiness Network solve for you and your business? And, how?
Being a Member of the HerBusiness Network solves the problem of isolation and lack of resources that many small business owners face. It provides access to a supportive community of like-minded entrepreneurs who can offer valuable insights, referrals, and advice.
I have been a member of a goals group for years now and I find this in particular is most valuable.
Learn more about Heather and Website Love.
