Lynn Dudenhoefer founded Wunderbar Marketing & SEO Solutions in 2019. She has also finished her MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Oxford.
While running Wunderbar, Lynn Dudenhoefer also “worked in counterterrorism research in Germany.”
Through Wunderbar, Lynn Dudenhoefer became “able to focus on her other passion—helping businesses grow.” She follows a no-nonsense approach when dealing with her clients. This approach consists of “transparency, honesty, and fairness.”
Lynn Dudenhoefer did not let herself get stuck in one career path. She decided to make the most out of her skillsets, so she founded Wunderbar.
She began Wunderbar to help out a “boutique real estate company based in Berlin.” Lynn Dudenhoefer knew the company didn’t have any marketers, so they needed “someone with a wide variety of online marketing skills.”
With this knowledge, Lynn Dudenhoefer seized the opportunity and pitched her ideas to the company. Then she founded her own “online marketing consultancy” to begin working with them.
Lynn Dudenhoefer focuses on building “long-term client relationships, simply because it takes a while to earn a client’s trust.”
Likewise, Lynn Dudenhoefer knows that “it may also take some time to develop and implement a whole online marketing strategy.”
Before becoming an entrepreneur, Lynn Dudenhoefer already held expertise in “SEO, PPC Marketing, and Content Marketing in general.”
Check out more interviews with expert marketers here.
Why should I not make the most of my skill sets? Lynn Dudenhoefer, Wunderbar
Jerome Knyszewski: Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Lynn Dudenhoefer: To some, my CV might seem confusing — I work in counterterrorism and radicalisation research, but I also founded my own online marketing consultancy — Wunderbar Marketing & SEO Solutions.
Well, no one ever said that you can only do one thing or have only one career. Why should I not make the most of my skill sets?
I founded my consultancy to help a boutique real estate company based in Berlin — they did not have any marketers, and needed someone with a wide variety of online marketing skills to bring in leads and increase conversions.
So I seized the day, pitched my ideas, and immediately founded my own online marketing consultancy to begin working with them.
I focus on long-term client relationships, simply because it takes a while to earn a client’s trust, and — depending on their situation — it may also take some time to develop and implement a whole online marketing strategy.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
Lynn Dudenhoefer: When I first started my journey, I was already an expert in SEO, PPC Marketing, and Content Marketing in general.
However, I lacked consulting experience — and all of a sudden, as a female who had just turned 30, I was working directly with CEOs.
In these situations, it is important to portray confidence, but also be honest about things you do not know — yet.
Honesty makes you appear down-to-earth and trustworthy, which are qualities that are hard to come by in the business world.
Particularly in the beginning, without any consulting experience, I was extremely nervous when pitching to new clients.
However, I just went with my instincts, and decided to be calm, confident, and honest.
Not every task is suitable for every person.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
Lynn Dudenhoefer: In the beginning, everything happened so fast (as in, my first client needed me to start working straight away) and I had to simultaneously start work and learn everything about actually setting up and registering my own business.
I registered my business straight away, but before you get your business tax number, it can take a few weeks.
This means, that I was already working for my first client, and I had no idea if my tax number would arrive in time for me to write a professional invoice by the end of the month (and not embarrass myself by having to tell my client that I could not write an invoice yet).
Luckily, the tax number arrived in time, and everything worked out fine.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you please share your “Five Things You Need To Know To Delegate Effectively and Be Completely Satisfied With the Results?” Please share a story or an example for each.
Lynn Dudenhoefer:
- Delegate according to skill sets. Not every task is suitable for every person. You should know your employee’s strengths and weaknesses — or do your research when hiring freelancers.
Since I predominantly work with freelancers, I make sure to do my research before even approaching them.
During the initial hiring process, I ask for work samples and communicate the desired outcomes.
- Know you strategy and desired outcomes. It is important to have a vision and strategy before delegating work — or else, you risk ending up with dissatisfactory results.
I always make sure to outline an overarching strategy to see where I am at, and what I want to achieve by delegating specific tasks.
Even with my freelancers (for example, when hiring for my clients’ website designs), I share certain points of my strategy; to make sure that the freelancer is able to see the reasons behind their work.
In turn, this may positively impact their way of working.
- Trust. If you delegate work, you need to learn how to trust the process. I cannot repeat this enough: don’t resort to micro-managing.
Naturally, even if you communicated very clearly, some results may disappoint you.
However, when delegating my own work (to my freelancers), I make sure to (a) pre-agree on a certain number of revisions, and (b) to criticize in a pro-active and constructive manner.
Most of the time, this will lead to great outcomes the second time around.
- Respect the young. Most leaders are likely to delegate work only to those who have a fair amount of experience, and a proven track record of delivering.
In my experience, though, some of my youngest freelancers (19 years old) have delivered some of the most creative and stunning work I have encountered on the market (e.g. insanely well-designed, user-friendly and responsive websites).
Even though I was prejudiced in the beginning (and quite worried to be honest), this experience taught me otherwise.
- Accept and learn from failure. Every now and then, all of the above won’t get you anywhere, and you will wind up disappointed and forced to start the whole process all over again.
In some cases, this may even impact the relationship between you and your client.
However, in these cases you will have to tell yourself that failure is a significant part of any business venture. It is important to not dwell but learn from it, and then move on.
If you want your business to grow, delegate. Lynn Dudenhoefer
Jerome Knyszewski: One of the obstacles to proper delegating is the oft quoted cliche “If you want something done right do it yourself.” Is this saying true? Is it false? Is there a way to reconcile it with the importance of delegating?
Lynn Dudenhoefer: I disagree.
The way to reconcile it with the importance of delegating is by changing the quote: “If you want something done exactly the way you would do it yourself — do it yourself.”
If you want your business to grow, delegate. If you want satisfactory results but do not need to micro-manage every step on the way, then, by all means, delegate.
Jerome Knyszewski: How can our readers further follow you online?
Lynn Dudenhoefer: You can follow me and Wunderbar on our website and my LinkedIn.
Jerome Knyszewski: This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!
