Tell us about your business.
From Orange, NSW, to running their own company, sisters Ali and Stephanie King, just two years apart in age, have carried forward a family tradition of entrepreneurship.
Their father has successfully run a business for decades, and their grandfather’s company still lives on in the family name. While they are first-generation family business owners, the entrepreneurial spirit runs deep.
Stephanie is a scientist by qualification, while both sisters are also formally trained in business and marketing. Before starting their own venture, they built careers and held senior leadership roles in brands such as Samsung, Lacoste, Michelle Bridges, Reebok, and Adidas.
Like many good ideas, Ask Marketing was born around the dinner table, when they realised they shared the same vision for helping businesses access senior marketing leadership without the cost of a full-time executive. In 2017, they launched Ask Marketing, which has since grown to include their father and, more recently, a cousin - making it a true family business. Few people know that ASK actually stands for Alexandra and Stephanie King.
Family has always been at the centre of Ask Marketing, which is why they’ve naturally gravitated toward working with other family businesses. These partnerships thrive on shared values of trust, legacy, and long-term relationships. What sets them apart is this blend of commercial expertise and family values - a rare combination that allows them to deliver growth while staying grounded in who they are.
As they often say:
“To us, success is freedom, impact, and doing work with people who align with our family values.”
What has been your greatest success?
For Ali and Stephanie, success has been creating a business with purpose. Ask Marketing is not only about delivering results for clients, it’s also about developing and supporting a new generation of marketing leaders.
They recruit ex-executive women, like themselves, who want to remain in leadership but need flexibility to balance family life. Through structured onboarding, peer mentoring, shared frameworks, and weekly collaboration, Ask helps these women step confidently into fractional CMO roles. With autonomy over their portfolios, part-time roles with full-time earning potential, and exposure to financial and strategic decision-making, the model restores both confidence and career momentum.
This model has supported not just their team but also Stephanie personally, enabling her to continue leading while recently becoming a Mum. Ask is more than a service provider, it’s a professional launchpad for women re-entering leadership on their own terms.
What do you value about FBA?
Ali and Stephanie joined Family Business Association to connect with peers who understand the unique joys and challenges of running a business with family. For them, it’s about being part of a community where values, legacy, and relationships matter as much as results.
Because many within their ecosystem are also family businesses, FBA feels like a natural extension to this. Both sisters are givers by nature, they love helping others, sharing experiences, and contributing where they can.
What advice would you give to other family businesses?
Ali and Stephanie believe being family-owned is an unfair advantage and secret weapon. Family businesses rank as the most trusted type of enterprise globally. That level of trust creates a powerful foundation for business growth, loyal clients, and attracting the right talent.
Their advice is to lean into this trust. Share your family story proudly. Build your strategy around values. Use authenticity as your differentiator. And just as importantly, give generously. When family businesses support one another, the entire community becomes stronger.
They also encourage family businesses to define success in their own terms, play to each other’s strengths, and embrace the freedom that comes from being purpose-led.
Learn more about Ask Marketing
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