Trina Persyn, Co-Founder, Juiced.

Trina Persyn speaks to The Industry Leaders about her work and what she's learned on her entrepreneurial journey.

What's Your Story?

Hey, I'm Trina.

I'm the Co-Founder of Juiced., a Gen Z marketing and branding agency based in Altrincham, Manchester. We help SME's and founder-lead start-ups attract and connect with Gen Z with creative branding and marketing.

Gen Z's buying power is growing as they are growing up, with the generation being aged between 10 and 25, it would be silly to overlook the next (and current) generation of consumers.

Gen Z'ers are the future, but they are also the present.

And that's one of the reasons we decided to get into Gen Z marketing.

Both myself and my co-founder, Maria Blease, met in a previous agency (I actually hired her) and soon realized we made a pretty good team. If you see us both together it's a bit chaotic but in the best way as we just bounce off each other - I couldn't ask for a better co-founder!

We love working with brands who want to make noise, try new things, or make a difference in the world. Morals and values are important to us.

We've been running for nearly two months now and I'm so excited to see where this journey takes us!

You can travel back in time to Day 1 of your business or career - what advice would you give to younger-you, knowing what you know now?

One thing I definitely wish I learned sooner was the importance of setting boundaries. And not just with other people, setting boundaries with yourself is also just as important.

I've always been a people-pleaser and found it hard to say no to people. I've been in a lot of situations throughout my career where I'd be juggling a million side tasks and two other workloads and then my own responsibilities on top of that. And let's just say, it never ends well for my mental health.

It was this year when I decided that I needed to start saying no without feeling guilty. It's something I'm still working on but I've already felt such a difference in my quality of life AND my quality of work.

Setting boundaries for myself has been a big one. Making sure to not overwork myself to the point of exhaustion and to make time for my hobbies and loved ones has made such a positive impact on my life. If only I started sooner!

I made a LinkedIn post about how nice people set boundaries, and I stand by that point. Set your boundaries!

What one book or podcast changed your life?

So, I love reading but being completely honest, my favorite books are fiction. I am currently reading 'Founder Brand' by Dave Gerhardt which was kindly gifted by the lovely team over at Authority Agency. It's been really interesting so far though!

But in terms of podcasts, the first podcast I've ever gotten into is Steven Bartlett's Diary of a CEO. It's one of the few podcasts I go back to.

I think it's so interesting listening to other people's perspectives and experiences so I'd definitely recommend that! Also, Steven is a great host and not only shares his own insights but isn't afraid of asking those hard-hitting questions to get the most out of his guests. My favorite episodes are probably the one with Ben Francis from Gymshark and Jimmy Carr's episode.

Editor's note: Read about the journeys of other influential women in business we've interviewed, like Nancy Duarte, Imogen Cowell, and Kara Goldin.