"The new girl is always prettier than the girl you took to the dance" Canadian-born Australian entrepreneur Jack Cowin once told me when I first decided to expand internationally. As my mentor he was right, and though I listened at the time, I did it anyway. 

In the end, we were both right. Expanding to the United States was singularly the bravest thing I ever did, and it has set me up for profitability in the company in US dollars while the Australian dollar remains weak. Our offices make money and it has been an absolutely amazing journey. I have met some phenomenal people, all of whom have added to my life.

It also lead to a bit of "excitement" in my life. I was at a stage where I needed something to lift my game and expanding into the US market did exactly that. 

What a great start to the year! We have a team that is totally pumped and excited about what the future holds for the company, and I have just come back from a few days looking into the operations of the Vanad Group in the Netherlands.

It's amazing what some companies can do in 10 short years, but more importantly, how they empower their people to produce outstanding results year-on-year, completely on-track to the company's overall mission.

Last week I took a little trip to Bundaberg in regional Queensland, Australia for work. The town has 30k odd people but supports more than 100,000 people at any given time over the entire surround region.

Our client, a highly successful accounting and financial services firm, Ulton Group, needed a "Marketing Eye" to develop their 2015/2016 marketing strategy. I took the opportunity to fly up to Bundaberg because it was close to Easter and a great opportunity to catch up with family in the Sunshine Coast. 

10 Years ago I had a business plan. I believed in it so much, that I took it to others and showed them, looking for affirmation that this plan was the right one to take to market.

The feedback was good. Actually, it was more than good. It was great.

The mentors and entrepreneurs that I showed the plan to liked it so much that they wanted to invest. I gave it a lot of thought as to what I needed to take the business forward and decided that a little investment would help get the business to the first stage of growth, so it would not be a bad idea. 

I chose a passive investor, who acted as a mentor but didn't tell me what to do. To be honest, at times I wish he had.

The business model was strong. In fact, I am proving that today. What wasn't strong is my understanding of how to run a startup. My other business Insomnia Marketing and Communication had been successful from the get-go because the brand was built on my capabilities. 

But with Marketing Eye, I was trying to do something different. I was attempting to change the business from being about me, to being a true brand that stood alone.

At first I failed. The first years business results were not as big as the first year in Insomnia. In fact, nothing like it. Yet I had more money, resources and people.

The mistakes I made were evident:

"Same bed, but it feels a bit bigger now" is the lyrics in the famous Bruno Mars song "When I was your man". An apt description of Marketing Eye's business expansion into the US market. It's the same company, but it's a bit bigger now. 

What started out as a step to expand the international footprint of our brand, has taken on a whole new dimension. Australia and America have long been tied and now more so than ever. The ebbs of the economy has led to an opportunity for Australian companies that are geared for expansion to leverage the strength of the Australian dollar, and affordable set up costs in the US market without breaking the bank. The downside, is US dollars are not worth as much, as the dollar loses its grip on parity.

 When writing my business plan 9 years ago, I took many things into account like how the business would look in 10 years time, who we would employ, what services we would provide, and how we would expand into new markets.

But what I didn't take into account is how I would actually make it happen. You see, like many entrepreneurs, I have struggled with working in the business and trying to at the same time work "on" the business - never quite getting the mix right.

At long last, since I made some smart strategic business moves last year, including changing management, I have become the entrepreneur I always wanted to be. I am implementing our business plan that was written so long ago, and it feels really good. There is a sense of satisfaction that is growing deep inside me and I believe in every single thing that we are doing.

First day back in Atlanta and I am excited! I cannot express to you how much I love my US team and how inspirational each and every one of them are.

It's been a phenomenal journey, one full of great surprises, obstacles that were easier than expected to overcome and an incredible amount of love and support that has led Marketing Eye's success.

Like all bosses that are a nuisance, I asked for a photograph of a couple of my team members who were sitting in a meeting with me this morning. They are quite use to it - as they know that nothing makes me more happy than to take their pictures and share it with the world.

This year is going to be great. Actually, better than great - it is going to be awesome!

I started the morning with a "pep talk". There are a few changes that need to be implemented and sadly, I have to divide my time more evenly with Australia, so I won't be here so much. 

Inundated with calls from friends, its refreshing to know that through my experience with business expansion, others are able to rethink their business strategies and look at their own business potential.

The US market for my business is 27 times bigger than Australia and as such, a lucrative opportunity exist for businesses like mine that have a strong product or service to capitalize on the market opportunity.

Marketing Eye provides a bespoke business solution for companies that do not have in-house marketing capabilities providing small to medium sized businesses with a complete outsourced marketing department for just $2,000 per month. This includes an experienced marketing manager backed by a team of graphic design, branding, public relations, web and online specialists, all under one brand - no freelancers or outsourcing.

If I could have a dollar for every time I didn't trust my gut instinct, I would be a very rich woman.

Like most entrepreneurs, I have failed more times than I have succeeded and every single time I have failed I have thought back to how I could have done things differently. 9 times out of 10, it was because I didn't trust my gut instinct.

Trusting in yourself and your intuition is important, but if you are anything like me, you second guess what you think you should do and find reasons as to why you should do something a different way. It's not too indifferent from taking a risk. We are all reluctant to take risks but sometimes there is this thing inside us that tells us that we must do it - even though there a thousand reasons why we shouldn't.