GET STARTED

Can you afford a Small Business Marketing Consultant? Let me counter a question with a question: if you are a small business in today's economy, can you afford not to know what you're doing?

Yes, you can hire me - and yes, my time, ideas and expertise are not only affordable, they are worth it.

1. Small Business Needs Assessment

I need to know where you are, where you are going, how you are going to get there and what "there" is for your business before we do anything! I do not do "50,000 Facebook likes overnight" or any variation of "get rich quick" business. I do not believe in shortcuts. I believe in customer-centric marketing and relationship building. I believe in hard work on my part and on your part. Knowing where you are, where you are going, how you are going to get there and where "there" is will answer a lot of questions for both of us right up front.

Step one: Write me a small business love letter. Open a draft in your email folder and do a quick assessment of your business using the four general components of my question above:

1. Where are you with your small business today? Have you just started? Do you have history?
2. Where path are you headed down now - is it a good one or not so much?
3. How would you like to get "there?" Advertising? Word-of-mouth?
4. Where is "there?" What is the end goal? Three to five years from now, where will you be?

Save the draft.

2. Bring me the Amish

CNN Money published a really enlightening piece on Amish small business owners and their small business success rate. The Amish, it is believed have a better than 90 percent success rate selling shoe fly pies. Their emphasis on being humble leaders, quality products and reasonable prices lead to successful sales.

Read through this story and watch the embedded video. Skip a few lines and name your top three Amish qualities. If you struggle to name three. Delete the email. Your money will be wasted on me.

3. Don't Forget the Details

Your email should, of course, include your name, web address and contact information. Duh.

4. Hit Send. Feel Accomplished

If you've read down this this far and jumped through all my hoops, you deserve my email address. HERE IS IS. Send that draft!

You've done something. You've taken action. It may come to nothing. We may not be a good fit, but you've done something. And that is what a small business owner should do. Something. I'm proud of you.

I'm so proud of you, in fact, that no matter what your email says, I'll respond to you within three business days. (Don't abuse that, thanks.) I look forward to reading and being inspired by your email!