Why on Earth would I want the
marketing of your precious business
to become a hobby?!
Great Question. Allow me to explain.
Since starting The Small Business Big Marketing Podcast well over a decade ago, I’ve been lucky enough to have deep conversations with almost 600 successful business owners about how they got to where they are and what role marketing has played in getting them there.
And almost without exception, each one of them talks about marketing as if it were a hobby. They don’t use that word specifically, but the way they’ve framed it in their mind, it’s a hobby.
And when something’s a hobby, you love doing it, you find time to do it, you may even diarise it … plus you’ll find and allocate all the necessary resources (time, money, energy!) to make it happen.
I’ve also spoken to tens of thousands of business owners at
conferences around the world, to discover that those who don’t
make marketing a hobby are the ones who are also frustrated by what they consider
(unfortunately) to be a dark art.
They’re weighed down by a bunch of limiting beliefs that stop them creating marketing that works and that they love. They think this modern world of marketing costs a fortune, takes an inordinate amount of time and it feels complicated.
But it doesn’t need to be that way.
And that’s why I do what I do.
So, stick with me as I open your mind up to ways of marketing your business that are effective, proven, cheaper than you think, and are not time consuming … In fact, you may even find them fun!
Yes, marketing should be fun!
How I Became Obsessed With Helping
The Small Business Owner Grow
I’ve been in marketing all my
working life
It was during those days that
epiphany #1 and #2 happened
(I know, two in a row … most people don’t get any in a lifetime!).
The first one was that when I met small business owners and they out I managed the marketing communications for really big brands they always had loads of questions about their own business; which, if I took the time to answer they’d be so appreciative and actually head off and action them immediately. Compare that to the endless meetings and power plays in corporate life and this was invigorating.
My second epiphany came when I realised that much (most) of the marketing disciplines we applied to build big brands applied just as equally to small business. The only difference was the budgets – more money let you do more things more often.
Then, after 10 years as ad guy, I cleansed my soul for a couple of years by helping Melbourne-based not-for-profit, Reach Youth, bring to life their biggest fundraiser ever. That was amazing.
It was at Reach that I had my third ah-ha moment. You see, whilst I was filling a marketing role, I also loved mentoring some of the young Reach kids – and I remember thinking Damn, maybe I should be a teacher like John Keating … Robin William’s character in Dead Poet’s Society! That idea took shape … but I wasn’t quite ready to make the leap into my own business.
So I headed back into corporate as a Marketing Manager at Flight Centre. Tough gig, that was. With a young family, constant travel and living down the coast but working in town, the idea of running my own small business took hold. Serious hold!
So I jumped ship (well plane given I was at Flight Centre) and started my own business … The Ideas Guy – a marketing consultancy that showed the small business owner how to make their baby irresistible.
Ironically, my first client was a not-so-small business in Smorgon Steel – who I helped market their first Corporate Social Responsibility campaign.
That was eight years ago…
and since then I’ve been busy doing what I love, helping thousands of small business owners create something that’s truly irresistible. I do this through public speaking (check my marketing speaker’s site out here), my Forum, through workshops and webinars I run throughout the year, and of course, my beloved podcast.
Launched four years ago, The Small Business Big Marketing Show has gone from strength to strength.
I’d been listening to podcasts for a while and couldn’t believe that a small business could now have their own show.
Plus podcasting played right into my love of sharing knowledge, chatting with successful people and motivating others to be their best.
My show is now (more often than not) ranked as the #1 marketing show on the Apple iTunes store. And is downloaded by motivated small business owners in over 110 countries (including Kazakhstan!).
Plus you’ll often find me speaking somewhere in the world at a conference or event. So that’s who’s behind Small Business Big Marketing.
But all you need to know is this … The marketing landscape has changed significantly in the past few years.
All in favour of you, the small business owner. You, with the modest marketing budget, can now punch way above your marketing weight. Just like I do everyday. Like I said, there really has never been a better time to market a small business. Ever. Join me as I show you how.
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