1. Please introduce your business and share your role. 

I’m the founder of Luhhu, a business automation consultancy based in the UK. We help businesses automate their processes using a tool called Zapier – primarily ecommerce, professional services, and education businesses.

Luhhu grew out of my freelance work which I started in 2017, and was a way for me to increase the scope of my services and work with other experts in the field. 

2. What’s your backstory, what kind of challenges did you face, and how did you come up with your business idea?

I started freelancing as an automation consultant in 2017. I first discovered Zapier through another project of mine Teacher Finder. It helped language teachers find new students, and I wanted to automate the matchmaking process.

I taught myself to use Zapier, automated my business, then struck upon the idea that other people might want to benefit from my skills.

When I started, a few others were doing the same thing, and businesses didn’t know these sorts of services were available. I had to make a name for myself, first on Upwork and Fiver, and then via my own website and eventually Luhhu. 

The challenge was always getting in front of people, showing them what’s possible with tools like Zapier, and convincing them to work with me.

3. How did you prepare for, and go about your launch? 

By 2019 I knew I need to expand and Luhhu was born. I spent 6 months building a website, working with a content agency to produce some high-quality blog posts – then I went out and did what I knew – I promoted myself and Luhhu on Twitter and in various business communities, steadily picking up new clients.

4. Since launching, what types of marketing campaigns and designs have worked best to attract and retain customers?

Almost all of my work is inbound – via the Zapier partner program, via Twitter, and increasingly via referrals from existing clients.

Retaining customers has been a case of delivering great work, on time and on budget, and solving their business process problems in a way that saves them time and money. Who wouldn’t want more of that?!

I’ve been successful, with at least half of my clients returning to working with me again within 3 months.

5. What have been the most influential brands for your business? Whose branding and marketing do you aspire to and why?

Airtable, Stripe, and Webflow are all examples of inspiring brands. Clean brands, marketing that speaks in plain English to customers and constantly explains the value of their respective products.

They all also happen to be examples of brands that are constantly investing in and developing their products, showing that their brands extend past just the visual.

6. What are your favorite marketing platforms/tools?

Twitter is by far my primary marketing tool – it’s helped me find clients, partners, new technology, and interesting ideas. All of which have helped me grow my business.

7. Who or what inspires and motivates you?

Finding new and interesting ways to make money motivates me – this entails taking an active interest in new technology, using tools like Twitter and Reddit to stay on top of what people are talking about, and generally being open to experimenting when an idea floats along.

8. What are some lessons you’ve learned along the way that you would share with entrepreneurs hoping to launch or who have just launched? 

Always be developing – be it a new product offering, a new marketing strategy, a new income stream, or even a new personal skill. 

In business, it’s crucial to always be moving forward in some way. The market, the economy, the customer ecosystem is constantly changing and without a mindset wired to constantly adapt, there’s a good chance you’ll eventually slump and stock succeeding.

9. What do you believe are the qualities of a good entrepreneur? And what makes a team successful?

Resourcefulness is the main one – you need to know how, where and what to look for when a problem or opportunity arises.

Second to that is good intuition – knowing how to read the room so to speak so you can make the right decisions for your business and its development.

Thirdly is a good sense of humor. You might do everything right and still have something go wrong. It helps to be able to laugh about it all!

10. Let us know where we can go to learn more!

Personal Website: https://andrewjdavison.com/

My community for other automation experts: https://www.andrewjdavison.com/automation-entrepreneurs-community

Zapier Expert Profile: https://automatenow.xyz/experts/andrew-davison

Twitter