Shelby Van Zwol is the founder and CEO at Chain Social, Australia’s leading digital-led marketing and creative agency for beauty, fashion and lifestyle e-commerce brands. Leading an all-female team, Shelby has driven over $1 billion in e-commerce revenue for Australian brands like Simone Perele, Saint Louve Skincare, JS Health Vitamins and more. Shelby also runs Chain Academy, which empowers existing and emerging digital marketers and business owners to achieve e-commerce success. We asked Shelby what her go-to life hacks are.
What is your favourite life hack?
Naughty – using my American Express card for everything! I use it to earn points and redeem free business class flights around the world.
Nice – listing my home on Aloca to achieve passive income. I rent out our family home for photo shoots. Eight hours later and we make $2000!
Shelby’s Home on Aloca
What is one quick life hack you use to stay organised?
Some people may find this jarring, but I keep all my communications to one channel. As a business owner, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with hundreds of text messages, missed calls, emails and social media DMs. Instead, I get everyone to email me. Those who try me on the phone and land at voicemail, will hear me say to email me. This simple hack has truly changed my life!
Do you have a simple trick for staying productive throughout the day?
I time block, but on my own clock. As an example, I know I do incredible work from 7am to 8am. So, I’ll wake up, complete my morning routine and get stuck into a solid hour of work. After getting my daughter ready for school and tidying up, I’ll return to the computer and continue my workday. I have a strict no meeting policy after midday, so I focus on other tasks during that time.
What’s an easy life hack you use while travelling?
Red light glasses. They can support your body’s circadian rhythm by modulating melatonin, the hormone that controls your internal body clock (I’m obsessed). They signal that it’s time to wind down, making it so much easier to fall asleep, especially when travelling.
What’s one small habit or hack that helps you save money?
I’ve tried so many things over the years and haven’t found many of the mainstream hacks helpful. What has worked well for me has been a ‘set and forget’ savings model. What I mean by this is setting up a certain amount of money to be withdrawn from your pay each week. This is then deposited into a savings account with another bank. You start small and top it up as you can.
Because the funds are with a different bank, it makes it difficult to use the money for impulse purchases. To add more friction, I don’t have that bank’s app on my phone. Out of sight, out of mind!
I’m a big fan of weekly expense tracking, as it allows me to see where things are getting out of hand. If we splurge on takeaway one week, I can adjust straight away instead of realising we overspent one month later.
Do you have one piece of advice you live by that you can share with our readers?
You’ll only regret what you didn’t do. This is my motto and something I’ve embodied for over a decade. You’ll never regret doing things that make you happy, even if they cost money. Within your means, go on that holiday, attend that concert – whatever it may be, just do it. You can’t buy your way back to a younger age, which is why I’m all for spending money on experiences that bring you joy.
Shelby Van Zwol is the founder and CEO at Chain Social, Australia’s leading digital-led marketing and creative agency for beauty, fashion and lifestyle e-commerce brands. Leading an all-female team, Shelby has driven over $1 billion in e-commerce revenue for Australian brands like Simone Perele, Saint Louve Skincare, JS Health Vitamins and more. Shelby also runs Chain Academy, which empowers existing and emerging digital marketers and business owners to achieve e-commerce success. We asked Shelby what her go-to life hacks are.
What is your favourite life hack?
Naughty – using my American Express card for everything! I use it to earn points and redeem free business class flights around the world.
Nice – listing my home on Aloca to achieve passive income. I rent out our family home for photo shoots. Eight hours later and we make $2000!
What is one quick life hack you use to stay organised?
Some people may find this jarring, but I keep all my communications to one channel. As a business owner, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with hundreds of text messages, missed calls, emails and social media DMs. Instead, I get everyone to email me. Those who try me on the phone and land at voicemail, will hear me say to email me. This simple hack has truly changed my life!
Do you have a simple trick for staying productive throughout the day?
I time block, but on my own clock. As an example, I know I do incredible work from 7am to 8am. So, I’ll wake up, complete my morning routine and get stuck into a solid hour of work. After getting my daughter ready for school and tidying up, I’ll return to the computer and continue my workday. I have a strict no meeting policy after midday, so I focus on other tasks during that time.
What’s an easy life hack you use while travelling?
Red light glasses. They can support your body’s circadian rhythm by modulating melatonin, the hormone that controls your internal body clock (I’m obsessed). They signal that it’s time to wind down, making it so much easier to fall asleep, especially when travelling.
What’s one small habit or hack that helps you save money?
I’ve tried so many things over the years and haven’t found many of the mainstream hacks helpful. What has worked well for me has been a ‘set and forget’ savings model. What I mean by this is setting up a certain amount of money to be withdrawn from your pay each week. This is then deposited into a savings account with another bank. You start small and top it up as you can.
Because the funds are with a different bank, it makes it difficult to use the money for impulse purchases. To add more friction, I don’t have that bank’s app on my phone. Out of sight, out of mind!
I’m a big fan of weekly expense tracking, as it allows me to see where things are getting out of hand. If we splurge on takeaway one week, I can adjust straight away instead of realising we overspent one month later.
Do you have one piece of advice you live by that you can share with our readers?
You’ll only regret what you didn’t do. This is my motto and something I’ve embodied for over a decade. You’ll never regret doing things that make you happy, even if they cost money. Within your means, go on that holiday, attend that concert – whatever it may be, just do it. You can’t buy your way back to a younger age, which is why I’m all for spending money on experiences that bring you joy.
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