Let me tell you a secret. there is no secret sauce to running a successful business. It’s about hiring strong people who have experience and can give you guidance and then A/B testing until...
Small business often means small budget. When it comes to our marketing we limited resources to spend and need to make sure they can go as far as possible. This is why I love utilizing free...
It’s hard to believe that as of yesterday, I’m 6-weeks social media free. The surprise isn’t from this time passing by so slowly or feeling cravings to get back on, it’s the lack of both of those...
I can feel the changes of fall in the air and on my skin. It’s been slowly building up for weeks, long before the Fall Equinox hit on the 21st, but transitions can happen that way. They slowly...
How do you market your business without social media? It’s a question I’ve gone back to for years when all I wanted to do was get off of social and take control back of the content I consume....
Social media was not working for my business so it was easier for me to walk away. You might be in a whole different boat when it comes to social media and your brand. If you’re seeing an ROI...
I quit social media. As a former marketing director and now brand strategist for small businesses, I took the leap and deleted all my social apps, and logged out of my accounts for the rest of...
I did a thing last week. I deleted all my social media accounts off my phone and announced I would be living off the (Instagram) grid. Yes, I’m officially off of social media–at least until the...
We’ve all felt the power of having too many choices. I remember coming back after living abroad for a short time staring at all the cereals at the grocery store, completely frozen with what...
Every business approaches email marketing differently. Some just send out a monthly newsletter. Others create funnels, have newsletters, and then blast sales announcements. So what is the right...
We’ve all been there… Creating content, sharing it with the world, and hearing crickets. It’s not a good feeling. But there’s more to building lifelong customers than just throwing out quality...
The average person sees 6,000-10,000 ads per day. Almost double what we saw in 2007. In the U.S. alone there are over 2 million outdoor advertising displays, spending billions of...
I love to read. This wasn’t always the case. As a child I just liked to carry around the largest book I could find to look smart. But now, the idea of sitting on the couch with a cup of tea and...
I remember when I first graduated college and went into a job that had meetings, I felt like I was on top of the world. Not because these meetings were insightful or really had any purpose at...
The stories that touch our hearts are the ones that show compassion. Stories that bring out the real humanity in us reminding us that we’re all just people. These same stories come through in our...
How do you build the brand of your dreams when you’re not entirely sure how to get there? That’s where a brand strategist comes in. Think of me as a coach for your marketing (and...
Bite Size Bits: Imposter syndrome is the number one way we fail at our businesses. Believing that we aren’t enough, we don’t have enough, or that there isn’t enough out there. Nobody knew what...
Bite Size Bits: My goal this year was to connect with other businesses. To interview on podcasts, to build partnerships and expose each other’s brands to our audiences. Why? Because reaching new...
Bite Size Bits: My goal this year was to connect with other businesses. To interview on podcasts, to build partnerships and expose each other’s brands to our audiences. Why? Because reaching new...
As a brand strategist, it’s the number one question I get around social media. “How do I grow my following?” and the answer is never what people want to hear, because it’s...
Social proof, it’s the thing we as humans need in order to build trust with anything. A new person in your community, an animal, and of course, a new brand. We want to know that it works,...
If you’re selling to everyone, you’re already losing. Sounds counter-intuitive doesn’t it? Shouldn’t you want to sell to as many people as possible? Shouldn’t your...
There is a common misconception that selling is somehow “icky.” Whether it’s the image of a used car salesman or the phone calls that interrupted your dinner as a child, we’ve all been exposed to...
There is one debate that I have again and again with brand owners and it’s the concept of freebies. There is a fear when it comes to offering something for free. That it lessens the value...
I have yet to meet a business owner who enjoyed creating their about page. Or for that matter have found a lot of value in their about page. And that’s usually because they’re making it about...
The ever growing to-do list, the new social platform that launched last week that you have to be on, taking care of the family, cleaning the house, finding an opening to see your best friend and...
Email will forever be my favorite marketing tool. While social get’s a lot of buzz and creates the feeling that you’re making progress in your business, an email funnel is what will...
There’s a difference between just throwing content out there to have something posted and creating content that converts. The difference is value. Having a content marketing strategy that...
“When you know your why, your what becomes more impactful” – Michael Jr. What’s your why? Why did you start your business? Was it a lifelong passion you had since you were...
“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.” –Seth Godin....
Choosing your brand colors isn’t as simple as grabbing your favorite color and building a logo off of it. Instead, put intention to the colors you choose and the emotional response that...
You started your business with the hopes of making a difference. To reach your audience and tell them what their life could be like. To solve a problem and ultimately make the world a better...
“More what you’d call guidelines than actual rules” – Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl The thing that makes it easiest to run my business is creating...
I’m gonna come out and say it with the cold hard truth, because I care and want your business to flourish. Your website, marketing, social media, brand is NOT about you. I know, that cuts you...
Ever been on a website that was impossible to navigate? Like no matter where you went on it you couldn’t find your answers. (I’m thinking any government website I’ve ever been...
As a brand you’re here to solve problems. It doesn’t matter what you sell. You saw an area of the market that wasn’t working and you created something to fix that gap. So what wasn’t working that...
She stared at me like deer in the headlights when I asked her to tell me the specifics about her audience. Not the ideal customer we had created together, but who was actually showing up and...
The brands I most want to work with I start by following on social media. After all, that’s where people go to get social isn’t it? Follow Your Dream Clients You follow their accounts so that you...
Her name is Meghan. She’s 32, lives in Seattle, and vacations in Vail, Colorado. She’s started her own sustainable clothing line which she designed all on her own. Meghan is married...
When you need an electrician do you go to best buy and talk to the TV sales man? Or if you need a haircut do you talk to your nail technician? No. Why? Because they aren’t the expert. You...
How much does your audience know about you? Not just what you sell or where you’re located but about what makes you tick. Do they know your favorite show or how your team likes to get together...
When I first started in marketing I thought that the goal was to simply get a product in front of an audience as often as possible. Why wouldn’t someone want to buy what I had to offer? I...
Picture your favorite brands. What comes to mind? Is it the sweater you bought from them last fall? Was it the storefront you visit every few months? Or was it the photos that captured your eye...
When you choose to go into business not just to make money or serve your customers but to change the world, that’s something you should be talking about. Today, sustainability in business...
A one-liner, an elevator pitch, an ice breaker, whatever you call it, it’s the way to market yourself in 30-seconds or less. So who are you? I don’t mean that in an existential kind of way....
Let me tell you a secret. The most powerful marketing tool in your business is your email list. More than just a way to announce sales, emails are marketing that your audience has agreed to....
2020 was an awakening, both for my business and my personal life. It was a shedding of skin, a baptism, a detox. What 2020 did for so many of us, good or bad, was to reveal where we were in our...
Every piece of your brand should have consistency. This is true even in how you speak to your audience. As you continue to get clear on who you are and who you serve you’ll develop your...
Every great story starts with a plan. That plan might be as small as getting from here to here, but along the way a more developed plan arises from trial and error. Think of any great movie...
We all launch things throughout the year. Whether that’s a new product, a special event, or a campaign for a sale or just to share content. Launches are happening all the time and...
We over-estimate what we think can accomplish in 1-year and under-estimate what we can accomplish in 5 years. Which is why we all need to learn how to create goals for our life and businesses....
I love working on my website. It’s an obsession I have. Or it’s that feeling of being a coder in an action movie where I’m saving the world on the back of a website. Not that I...
When it comes to your marketing plan this year, where do referrals lie? Are they even in your plan? Do you even know how to get referrals? Here’s the thing, we trust our network. When they say...
“Let’s get down to business…” (Insert dancing to Mulan song the rest of the day). But in all seriousness, this year is about getting down to business. It’s about...
As a sustainable brand, you might feel like you’re already giving back to the world with your business. I mean, what’s better than a product that supports the environment and the...
In Christmas movies and holiday memories we think of December as being this time of rest. The world slows down after a crazy Summer of playing in the sun. Things slow down as we return back to...
You can’t have it all. Even Beyonce doesn’t have it all.There is this idea flying around the internet that if you just did it right you could have it all. Be the perfect mother, run a...
Your business has nothing to do with you. This my friends is the hardest idea to grasp when it comes to your business. You spend all your time thinking about and working on your business so...
Where the mind goes, energy flows. This is the first step to practicing Thanksgiving every day. This has been a constant theme in my life as of late. It could be because I’m in the middle...
In most cases, your website is the home to your customers. It’s there to answer all their burning questions like when are you open, what do you provide but most importantly how will you...
It’s been just over 10-years since social media came into our lives, and yet, it feels like we’ve never done business without it. As small business owners, running social media on top...
The holidays always feel like a hectic time in business. The combination of holiday sales, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday, creates a lot of competition and almost no way to...
In the last few years, I’ve transitioned out of my super saver ways and leaned into making purchases of quality. I’ve grown tired of having things break after only owning them for a...
It costs 5X more to get new customers than it does to build lifelong customers. Can we just sit on that for a moment? 5X more money, 5X more work and a lower conversion rate for someone who...
Think about your favorite brands. The influencers you follow, the retail stores you can’t get enough of, the package free products you sit by the door and wait to arrive in the mail. Every brand...
Marketing is actually pretty simple. You’re just getting the word out about the product/service you have so that the world can see what a better place it is with you in their lives. The...
I read a lot of business books. Most of them come from the same point of view and all of them hone in on the keys to a successful business–Providing value. But The Company of One was different...
There is no doubt that we have a social dilemma. Our obsession with our screens is affecting our community, driving depression rates and even distorting our bodies. Even now as I type this...
How is it that some days I feel like there are exactly 35.25 hours in the day while other days I’m pretty sure there were 5? They say time is linear, but I’m starting to wonder if...
Stories, they are the thing that teach us new lessons, share our history and connect us with a stranger. After thousands of years it’s the tool that has been passed down generation after...
Feeling like you’ll never get more customers to your website? Or maybe you just want to build the long game strategy to go along with your marketing budget. Whatever the reason, building...
Growing your business is like growing a garden- stick with me here. You need consistency in taking care of your garden from when you water, to the quality of water to the environment you’re are...
Creating a cohesive brand is the key to transitioning from just any old brand to a successful brand. It sounds simple enough and yet when we show up online it’s easy to forget the...
While we all know how to use Instagram to show off our latest vacation or the dinner you had at our favorite restaurant, utilizing Instagram for your business isn’t always the easiest thing...
Every year I choose a theme for the year to use to guide me in my decision making. I’ve noticed that without even thinking about it I often go back and forth between two main...
If you missed Episode 5 of my podcast, you’ll want to catch up on that here and see why you need a newsletter in your marketing strategy. To put it simply it’s a strong strategy to connect with...
I’m in a lot of Facebook Groups for business. I like to see the conversations around marketing that people are having and the questions the facing. I caught a thread that talked about how...
Not every great story starts with “Once upon a time” or even “In a galaxy far far away“. But every great marketing strategy revolves around a story. It’s a tool...
If there was one thing I would make sure every brand has it’s a client profile or ideal customer avatar as some call it. It’s easy to think that we know who our perfect customer is...
The very best marketing starts with your brand’s photography. It’s the opening line into your brand. The “come hither” that pulls a customer in and asks them to stay...
She said to me “an email newsletter is too expensive. I’m just going to focus on growing my social following instead. I wouldn’t even know what to put an email newsletter...
Harry Potter was the hero, Merry + Pippin were the jesters, Yoda was the sage, Edward Cullen was the rebel. We’ve seen the archetypes of stories over and over again but have you ever thought how...
If I were to hop on your website or your social media for 10 seconds would I know exactly who you are? Would I know what you sold and who you sold it to? Getting that clear in your brand is hard....
I believe that who you know is 75% of success. It takes a village to do anything big. Hard work and skill play a part too, but getting in the door, finding the prospects, or having the word...
I run the finances in our household. Not because my husband can’t, ironically he’s in finance, but because it gives me confidence in our spending and our life decisions. There is...
Lesha Estrada showed up to my house looking ready for a home visit. Beautiful, professional, and eager to teach something new, not unlike how I met her 5 years earlier at a CrossFit gym. Seeing...
If It all started in 6th grade with a binder entitled “Revolution”, her first step on a long road to finding restorative justice. 13-year-olds often have big dreams, but Emily...
I don’t know about you, but I can feel the uncertainty floating in the air. It’s so thick I could almost grab it. It’s been this way since Quarantine started. Never quite sure what’s going to...
Unlike getting dressed in the morning where you have more options than you know what to do with, choose a style of content for your brand is pretty simple. While there are few style choices, they...
I’ve been a frugal person for as long as I can remember. For me, money has always made me anxious. It’s probably an emotion passed down from my grandmother to my mother and then down to me. I was...
A month locked away with anyone could be a challenge. If it were me and my sister, a trial for murder would probably be taking place right now. If it were me and my Dad, there would be lines...
There is a sense of wonder that occurs when you walk into a small shop for the first time and breathe in the smell of freshly poured candles and see little trinkets that bring a smile to your...
You know that hat you wear that makes you feel better than Beyonce? Or the shirt you wear whenever you have a big meeting you need to land? Or perhaps is those shoes that make you feel sexy as...
We've all been there before. Sitting at our desk in the middle of meeting and noticing ourselves on screening thinking "is that really what I look like?" Surely, I'm not that pale. With these...
It’s no secret that I love TOMS. Obsessed might be the more accurate word, but I digress. I not only Love TOMS shoes, their one-for-one model, and their travel stories but I love the brand...
Remember when you used to print out a map before you drove somewhere? Mapquest was my jam in High School. Or even before that when you would use a fold-out map or one of those crazy huge books...
In a recent post, I broke down the two best places to build your website. The next step is actually creating the website. Having a background in graphic design and website design this has made...
My first ever website was for the business I started in High School. A clothing line that donated all the proceeds to charities in Africa. It wasn’t a sustainable business model but I was 16. I...
I have a morning routine that doesn’t fail. Waking up at 5:30-6:00 am every day (weekends mostly included) to send out emails, write in my journal, enjoy a cup of tea by the fire and catch up on...
I’ve had a plan since I was born. Okay, maybe not that early. But I started planning early on. I was the girl who planned my birthday parties and planned out my life course in detail (even when I...
What would the world look like if we were encouraged to be left alone? To no longer work in open floor plans. To work from home everyday or for at least a few hours a week and to have time to...
“All disease begins in the gut” – Hippocrates It started at the beginning of the second grade. I remember always being sick. The kind of sick where you slept through most of the day and...
Editors note: I am not a medical practitioner nor am I certified in nutrition or health. Through research, personal experience and testimonies from others I’ve written this post. If you...
Depression, anxiety and an extreme comparison problem are running amuck in our society. Maybe it’s the growing cities and close spaces to live in, or maybe it’s the fact that your...
Editors note: I am not a medical practitioner nor am I certified in nutrition or health. Through research, personal experience and testimonies from others I’ve written this post. If you...
We’ve all been told that antioxidants are good for us and to eat our vegetables. But what does this mean? What is an antioxidant, where do we find them and what are they doing for us?...
Editors note: I am not a medical practitioner nor am I certified in nutrition or health. Through research, personal experience and testimonies from others I’ve written this post. If you...
When I was growing up the Popcorn shirt was the shirt of the decade. A shirt that looked like it could fit a doll on the hanger but stretched to fit any person. It came in a shiny assortment of...
Yesterday I sat and stared at my Facebook business page wondering why it wasn’t connecting with me. I recognize that the disconnect isn’t the top reason for my lower engagement,...
If there’s one thing we don’t have enough of we’d say it’s time. Our to-do lists are long, our dreams are big and time is limited. There always has to be a creative...
There are so many different ways to approach Instagram it’s a little overwhelming. As I’m struggling to find what works for my Instagram I’ve learned a lot about how others are...
We all feel it. It doesn’t matter what age you are or what gender or race you are if you are human then you’ve felt like a poser at some point in your life. It comes with the...
No, I’m not asking you to marry me, though that’s sweet you thought that. I’m talking about that good old social engagement you’ve been avoiding on your Instagram,...
I have been living on Instagram lately. If you could build a stylized Teepee, as you see in every cute Instagram children’s room, and set up shop on Instagram I would be there; sipping my...
I used to think that just posting on social media was enough. I created some content, and I shared it. That should build my following and grow my business, right? I’m sorry to say,...
The most successful people in the world have a set morning routine. Waking up every day with the same motions helps you get more done and prepare for a day. By having a set list of little wins...
Let’s be real, marketing is hard. There’s really nothing about it that’s easy. It takes a lot of thought, a lot of effort and works best when you plan ahead. When you think of...
2 years ago I was the healthiest I had ever been while I was doing Crossfit. Yes, it’s true I was a part of the cult. Although I will say the gym I attended was a bit different from the...
Tiny houses, limited clothing in your closet, traveling the globe full-time, and giving away as much as you can. These are the things you hear the most often about Minimalism. And while these are...
