David Lye, PriceMyCar

PriceMyCar provides potential new car buyers with pricing intelligence to help them get a good deal at the dealers. They can see what other people have actually paid for any given make and model. On the flipside, they provide dealers with a steady stream of potential local business.

We ask the tough questions of David Lye, PriceMyCar

Whatโ€™s the biggest thing youโ€™ve learnt this year?

Taking a chance with a new business can be a real roller coaster. Of course thatโ€™s obvious and a clichรฉ but it really hit me how one week, things are looking desperate, then next you feel youโ€™re on the cusp of taking over the world! These arenโ€™t mild ups and downs but violent peaks and troughs!

Whatโ€™s your number one way to wind down?

Surfing. Catching waves is just part of it but the โ€˜forced meditationโ€™ as you sit out there and wait, in nature, is such a good way to disconnect from the stress of life and business. It also teaches you a lot about fear, commitment, patience, equality, chance, persistence… I could go on. Had a great surf this morning so itโ€™s on my mind…

Whatโ€™s the smartest bit of marketing youโ€™ve ever done?

OK, this was quite some years ago โ€“ not sure it would work now. We did an Easter Egg hunt on our website and invited hundreds of thousands of people to take part. There were prizes if they found one of the 100 or so eggs hidden around the site but the site had over 4,000 pages. So each person was given a clue, being a search term they could put into Google. If they did that, then the first page on our website they found in the listings would have the egg. So all of a sudden, we have 1,000โ€™s of people doings searches in Google and scrolling to page 2 or page 4 or wherever it was to click on our search listing.ย  Hard to prove but I bet Googleโ€™s algorithm loved that engagement and CTR ๐Ÿ˜Š

Whatโ€™s the one resource youโ€™d never be without?

My wife โ€“ sheโ€™s a teacher with a much more emotional, human-focused point of view than my logical, business-focused outlook. As such sheโ€™ll grasp and understand things that donโ€™t make sense to me. Iโ€™m complimenting her here but she probably wouldnโ€™t like to be referred to as a resource! Iโ€™d never be without her anyway.

What or who has the most grounding influence on you?

My first business partner in my first business. Unflappable, methodical, possibly too relaxed but a great one to bounce off when Iโ€™m worrying about something.

Whatโ€™s the best piece of business advice youโ€™ve ever been given?

He who owns the leads controls the market. Or something like that โ€“ basically, if you have a product/service/idea that generates the customers youโ€™re in the driverโ€™s seat when it comes to generating a return. Itโ€™s harder for a good product to find a large market than it is for a large market to find a good product.

What website do you visit every day?

Google Ads. Not very exciting, hey? But Iโ€™ll hop on and tweak it several times a day as I have since 2003! And when I find a negative keyword that will save me $1.65 a month, itโ€™s a reason to celebrate!

What is the one regret you do not want to have in this lifetime?

Leading a humdrum, comfortable life. That scares the s**t out of me and just visualising that is enough to give me an extra boost during the day and to take an extra risk or two. Whatโ€™s the quote โ€“ โ€˜You miss 100% of the shots you donโ€™t take.โ€™

What do you wear to work?

Right now Iโ€™m wearing shorts, t-shirt and thongs as I work away in my co-working space near the beach. I think Iโ€™ve forgotten how to tie a tie โ€“ Iโ€™d have to ask my son to do it!

 

And now comes the plug!

What do you do? Who for? And how does it benefit them?

We provide potential new car buyers with pricing intelligence to help them get a good deal at the dealers. With new car pricing, they can see what other people have actually paid for any given make and model. On the flipside, we provide dealers with a steady stream of potential local business.

And where can we find out more about you?

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