I think, too often, business owners feel like they have to do everything in order to succeed, especially in marketing. Small business owners are expected to be experts in EVERYTHING. Bookkeeping, customer service, IT, marketing, admin… it goes on and on.
In reality, how many of us are experts in fields outside of what our business specializes in? Yes, we strive to be experts in OUR field, but is it realistic for all business owners to be marketing moguls? Not really.
To compensate for that lack of expertise, I think small business owners feel they have to throw everything at the wall. Sometimes, this is posting as much content as possible, and sometimes this results in buying every marketing service possible to fill every remaining corner of potential.
When I first launched Mindful Minds Marketing, I met a business owner who was spending thousands of dollars a month for mystery Google/SEO services. She was feeling the pressure to push and get sales by any means necessary. When she shared what she was paying with me, I was appalled, and honestly really frightened for her and business owners like her!
In that moment, I realized a few things:
I was going to make it my goal to help business owners pick marketing services that they actually NEED, not ones that can just make me a quick buck. I didn’t, and still don’t, want to create an environment where folks feel pressured or pushed to pay for services out of fear. I want my clients to pay for services with me because they truly feel like it fits their business and their budget.
Business owners are being swindled and scammed, simply because they don’t fully understand what they are paying for. I mentioned earlier that business owners are expected to be marketing experts, and with that expertise comes industry knowledge. When business owners aren’t in the loop with marketing terms, don’t have industry knowledge, or a deep understanding of services, they can be manipulated into paying for services they don’t truly need. This is what we call “predatory marketing.” This client didn’t fully understand what SEO was or what a fair price would be for SEO services. She also didn’t have the tools and the industry knowledge to decipher if she was getting what she was paying for.
When a business owner doesn’t have the context and understanding of services AND are feeling pressure to do it ALL, they can fall into a really nasty trap (a trap that can cost them a LOT of dollars and a lot of stress).
It’s so important to prioritize intentionality and mindfulness in your marketing. When I named this business Mindful Minds, I wanted to lean into marketing with intention. Not because it could make me money, not because I wanted my clients to feel the pressure, not because it’s trending or because “hustle culture” says you should. Market your business because you’ve truly thought through your strategy. Make sure it works for your budget, your time, and your business structure. You don’t need to do everything, you just need to do what is best for YOU and your business.
xoxo, Fina
Small business marketing | Kitsap County | social media | business owner | web design | intentional marketing | marketing | shop small | Kitsap marketing | branding | Bremerton | Poulsbo | small business
