Saija Mahon: A Digital Marketing Start-up Story

It is true what they say; it can take years to be an ‘overnight’ success!

My name is Saija Mahon and I’m a 32-year old businesswoman, living in the UK. My journey on the ladder of entrepreneurship started back in Finland, my native country, before I even knew I would ever become a business owner myself.

My father was and is an entrepreneur, and I’ve always watched him work for his own success, providing the best he possibly could for his family, and most of all, done what he thought would make him happy. I guess in a way, this has always shaped my vision of my own future career path, and what I would want from my professional life.

I moved over to the UK when I was 20-years old, in order to find a job in marketing and advertising, something that I had studied, and something that I had great interest and passion towards. Fast forward a few years, and I had myself firmly settled into some of the biggest media agencies in London, who also operate globally. (Profero, Walker Media).

I was where I wanted to be, my specialty had become online marketing and advertising.

Becoming an Entrepreneur

I was very satisfied and happy working for an agency for a period of time, I learned a lot about the digital world and how online could be a big part in helping client’s businesses grow. I also got to establish good connections within the industry – however approximately 3 years ago, when I found myself at a start of a new family life, I decided to take the plunge and launch my own business.

I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps and be my own boss, make my own professional decisions and be in control of shaping my own future career. Mahon Digital was born.

What we do

As a specialist provider of online marketing services, we help clients’ business websites to be found on the internet with tactics such as Google advertising (PPC), search engine optimisation (SEO) and social media optimisation (SMO). These are also the top techniques we use to grow our own client base and the general awareness of the business.

Challenges on the way

Of course, as any business would experience at some point, we’ve had our ups and downs. The biggest downfall being the financial management of the business growth, hiring team members to push the business forward, and trying to get invoices paid on time in order to support the growing needs of the company. I’ve had to be extremely organised with money in order to be able to cover the gap between employing staff vs getting new business in vs the new business actually paying off. However I always believed it would all work out, and definitely it was worth the risk. The business has always managed to self-fund the growth, and some of the shortage has been funded by my own personal savings. And my family has been 100% supportive in my decisions, too. I would recommend you surround yourself with a firm support network, whether it will be your family or external circle of contacts and friends, and this can give you the extra confidence to go for it all. Don’t be afraid of taking risks.

Teamwork

I started as a ‘one woman band’; however one of the best upsides of my business journey so far, has been the ability to build a team around me. They help me carry the challenges of the business every day, the ups and the downs.

My aim as an entrepreneur

I aim to inspire as many entrepreneurs as possible, to follow their dreams, make them happen and shape their own future career.

Being a business owner is the best thing that’s ever happened to me on a professional level and I hope to continue on this path as long as I can.

A piece of advice for entrepreneurs:

If you are an entrepreneur at heart, you are already highly driven – however be prepared to put in the time investment and the hard work that starting a business requires. 

Saija Mahon is Chief Executive and founder of Mahon Digital Marketing Limited.