BROOKE VULINOVICH
Wife | Foodie | Social Media Guru | Digital Entrepreneur | Speaker & Presenter
How many identities do you have?
OH GAWWWWD ok here goes:
1. Social Media speaker, trainer and workshop host by dayyyyyy and actually the same by night haha
2. WIFEY FO LIFEY to my amazing (and incredibly sexy) husby Dom
3. CRAZY CLEANING LADY I am a #controlfreak and slightly OCD so I like everything to have its place especially my highlighters haha!
4. NOT A CHEF IN ANY WAY does that count?! I like when other people prepare food for me though hahaha!
We all know you as a 'Social Media and Consulting Guru' of Perth but what don’t we know about Brooke Vivoda?
OH MY GOD DO YOU KNOW ME AS THAT?! Naw! **blushes** hmm what don’t you know..
1. I’m a MASSIVE Home & Away fan hahaha don’t judge me!
2. When I was a kid I was actually EXTREMELY shy so my Mum put me into grooming and deportment classes and you can say that’s when I began to come out of my shell
3. I can’t eat anything spicy.. even pepper! Or I die. No just kidding I don’t die but if I eat it I will explode.
4. When I was 8 I found a stray kitten and kept it in my bedroom for days and didn’t tell my parents .. they eventually found out and let me keep him :D he was my first cat called “Tibby darling”
5. I love eating capsicums like apples
6. My first job was at Bakers Delight and I got paid $5 an hour by cheque hahaha but boy did it teach me how to work hard under pressure! Bakeries are CRAZZZZZY especially on a Saturday morning!
How did you career in the digital world begin?
Totally by accident! Do you know what’s so funny? I was honestly soooo late to the Facebook party, I feel like everyone had it before me! AND YET HERE WE ARE haha! I started by teaching small 3 hour Social Media workshops at my apartment almost 2 years ago. Before I knew it I was teaching 5 workshops a week! Sometimes I was even teaching 3 workshops back to back a day! So that’s when I knew ummm I THINK THIS IS A THING. After 4 months I found a much bigger venue to teach out of and split my 1 workshop into 2 parts. I named it my Social Media Connection program which I still teach to this day. Part 1 is called Ground Zero and Part 2 is called Socialising and they teach businesses the A-Z of creating a powerful Instagram presence! Then I got asked to do some consulting so opened that as a service, then got asked to write strategies for businesses so opened that as a service, then got asked to speak at events and LOOOOOVEEDDDDD it and knew that’s what I was put on this planet to do!
I feel like I’m pretty good with people and I just accidently found a way to then be pretty good with people using an online platform and now I teach other people how to be pretty good with people online. Because at the end of the day that’s all Social Media is. Just a bunch of people trying to connect to other people 😃
Do you ever 'switch off'?
YES! I have a dedicated morning routine which involves me getting up at 5, training at the gym from 6-7 then coming home, making breakfast and getting ready for my day… all without touching my phone! Crazy right! I know! But spending the first few hours of everyday off my phone and laptop is my switch off time. Then from the second I pick up my phone my day is hectic until I go to bed haha!
What has been the biggest life hurdle you’ve faced so far?
Definitely thinking I would never find/didn’t have a passion! I really struggled with that for years and just thought “is this it?, am I just not one of those people that will ever be passionate about anything?” and then I started Villa and finally I now feel like I’m more ‘me’ than I’ve ever been in my life. Does that sound cheesy?! Well I love cheese so too bad if it does hahaha! But seriously, how good is cheese.
What do you believe your secret to success is, with balancing your passions and pursuits?
100% discipline! I read a lot about how the secret to success is consistency but what drives consistency? Discipline my friend! Do I want to get up at 5am especially at the moment when it legit feels like you’re getting up in the middle of the night? Not really. Do I want to do 1000 burpees? Not really. But do I understand the benefits it has on my mind, body and day? Abso-bloody-lutely! Oh ps I defs never do 1000 burpees that was a huuuuge exaggeration… hahaha but you get my point!
What’s next for Brooke Vulinovich?
Ooooo can I say world domination?! Hahaha! That’s the plan anyway! But seriously my focus for the next 12 months is growing my online membership community! I’m ALMOST at 100 members and currently planning a huge 100 members party to celebrate so that will be super fun!!!
What advice would you give to other women out there who want to start a business but don’t know where to start?
My biggest piece of advice is to ENSURE that there’s a demand for whatever it is that you decide to sell. So many people miss this basic but super essential step then struggle to grow and can’t understand why. Business only exists because of demand and supply. If you’re selling something because you love it but there’s no demand for it then you don’t have a business, you have a hobby. Oh and be prepared to work harder than you’ve ever worked before! Know that there is an incredible community of support ready to help if you just ask. I have met some of the most amazing, inspiring, kind and generous women since starting my business. I know that they will be lifelong friends and for that I will be forever grateful. And I promise you that despite all the early mornings, all the late nights, all the tears, all the rejection, all the times I wanted to give up and errrrrthan in between I have NO regrets. Starting Villa was the best decision I ever made and every day I feel seriously lucky and blessed to be able to wake up and LOVE what I do.