Being an ambitious woman making changes to her industry has only generated applause for Taryn Williams. She was named in the 2012 Smart Company Hot 30 under 30 and a Finalist in the 2015 B&T Hot 30 under 30.
Williams founded WINK Models in 2007 – an agency without many of the shortcomings Williams had observed as a model.
“I didn’t like the way the industry was being run,” Williams told the Sydney Morning Herald in an interview. “I thought, ‘There is a fairer way to do this and I don’t think it’s that hard,’ so I stepped in.”
By January 2016, WINK was a $3 million company with offices across Australia and in New York. And Williams had seen a way to change the industry further.
So WINK gained a sister, theright.fit, an online platform for brands wanting to find talent quickly. If businesses like Airbnb, Uber and Freelancer could “do it better” by connecting people directly, why couldn’t a talent agency, she thought? Theright.fit also allows actors, make-up artists and stylists to build an online profile and chase opportunities themselves.
Taryn Williams
A company that nicks business from your other company? No, Williams has that all worked out. She told The Stable about running side-by-side talent services and what will take to create fair opportunities for all.
The Stable: Compare WINK and theright.fit
Taryn Williams: Wink Models is one of Australia’s largest modelling agencies, specialising in commercial talent. We have over 650 models Australia wide, and offices in Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane. We are a full service business, enabled by technology. This means that clients come to us with a brief and we manage it all for them, from costings/quoting, casting, invoicing, helping them to select & book talent, etc. This is most suitable for clients who would like a full service approach and have the budgets to allocate to that.
Theright.fit is an online marketplace that connects clients with creative talent, directly. We have models, makeup artists, social media influencers, actors, bloggers, photographers, dancers – anyone in the creative industry, and that will keep expanding. It is a technology business, that aims to remove the middle man (agencies) and allow clients and talent to connect, negotiate and manage bookings directly. Because it is a direct service platform, it can scale in a way traditional offline agency can’t, and can have a much broader range of diverse talent, and greater volume. It’s suitable for clients who want to manage the booking process themselves, who love services like Uber or AirBnB, and who have a clear budget to work to.
TS: In a nutshell, what are each business’ three biggest assets?
TW: WINK: #1. Reputation. We have been in business for over 9 years and have a strong reputation of always delivering the best talent, in a timely and efficient, friendly, way
#2. Calibre of talent. We are known for the high calibre of talent we represent, from all of our divisions (Youth, Classics/Mature aged, Sports, Fashion, Promotions)
#3. Service. We are generous in time and spirit. We are hard working, and value our professional relationships
Theright.fit: #1. Scale. We can offer you a variety, diversity and volume of talent that you can’t get anywhere else. We’ll be global by Q1 2017.
#2. Turnaround time. Technology allows us to be ‘on’ 24/7 – so we can service your last minute booking, or find you the perfect person for the job much quicker that possibly before.
#3. Price. Removing the layer of agency fees makes theright.fit more financially competitive than an offline business.
TS: What are the most common demands/needs (from/of clients) that you have to accommodate? How do you manage these?
TW: Across both businesses these would be:
The need for information on models, pricing, details & information. On theright.fit, this is all inbuilt into the platform so they can access it directly. At WINK, our team of bookers would answer or assist in any way the client needs.
Clients want to be able to see what talent we have available. In both cases these are displayed online, and for information they can contact them directly on theright.fit, or at WINK call or email us for assistance.
Support/assistance. Answering questions, giving guidance and advice. On theright.fit this is all built in to the FAQs, education blogs, online tutorials, guidance throughout the site when using it. At WINK, they can call or email us with questions and talk them through or ask for opinions.
TS: What are the biggest frustrations you encounter in your businesses? How do you deal with them?
TW: Managing people. I think it’s globally the hardest thing about business. Learning how to manage, how to motivate a team, how to find the right fit culturally and skills based, is really difficult and can be frustrating. I think you learn over time, you ask for feedback, you try to upskill yourself through training and mentoring.
WINK model, Gaye Chapman
TS: The movement towards equal rights for women in business is (slow but) strong. Less so in creative roles. How do you think this will be solved?
TW: I think people hire in their likeness – so if the role was held by a white Anglo-Saxon male previously and he was hiring for his replacement, people inherently hire someone they understand and can relate to, without realising this bias. There are also issues around maternity leave, mothers returning to work, and the value of care giving in society in general. Advertising and some associated fields have traditionally been a bit of a ‘boys club’ and so that is going to take time (and concerted effort, and education) to change. Equality in the workplace, especially in creative fields, is so important as diversity is proven to create better teams and more successful businesses overall. And creative teams that want to change behaviour need to be representative of the population (of which, 50% are female!) in order to effectively communicate with these audiences in a relevant, informed and meaningful way.
WINK model, Vanessa Roberts
TS: Using older models is beginning to take off in Europe – notably in fashion/beauty advertising and fashion/beauty editorial. In Australia, Baby Boomers are largely ignored except for end of life services.
TW: We’ve definitely seen a trend in advertisers looking for more relatable, authentic representations of their target demographic in their ad campaigns. With Baby Boomers being in a place now with a high purchasing power, advertisers want to speak to them, and that means featuring relevant talent to them in the ad campaigns they are targeting them with. We’ve seen a greater request for talent over 60+ years old in the last 2-3 years. We represent some fantastic talent in this space.