For the first ten years of my career, I worked for a small business specializing in music education technology and curriculum. As employee number 20, I got an early ticket to watch the company grow to over 120.
Hired to the marketing team, one of my first jobs was going to conventions and talking to our prospects and ideal customers. I learned how to listen and speak their language. When I would get back to the office, I would also answer customer service phone calls and emails. This further helped me to see things from the customer's point of view and craft messaging in the customer's vernacular.
As the company continued to grow, we needed someone to take over and grow the fulfillment department. It was there that I learned more about branding and attention to detail to keep everything within certain brand guidelines. It taught me that everything should be intentional and thought out.
Even as a manager in fulfillment, I still contributed to other marketing projects. As I continued to show my ability to communicate clearly with customers, a new position was carved out for me in the marketing department. It gave me more time to assist in various marketing projects as well as gave others more access to my time.
From social media and email to proposals and marketing collateral, I was involved in all aspects of marketing. I took our Google Ads that were underperforming and immediately improved the click rate to double the industry average. I built and wrote copy for webpages. I redesigned marketing collateral to better explain how we help our customers succeed and excel.
But then I hit a ceiling, and I followed an opportunity away from the creation side of marketing. I left the only company for which I had been an employee to try something new. And after several months of something new, it just didn't fit the way I had hoped. So I left.
I wanted to get back to creating and analyzing marketing. I had found that I could understand not only marketing creation but also analytics. I could read and understand what the data was saying. So I started helping people I knew build their businesses by creating, analyzing, and improving their marketing.
I love working with small businesses because a little bit of effort here and there can make a huge impact on the business, on families, and on communities. I have always loved supporting local businesses as much as I could, and this is a great way to help.
Though I sometimes miss working with a bigger marketing team, I am well-equipped to be a one-man marketing machine for small businesses. And I love the look on business owners' faces when the marketing works.
