How to start a successful business with Marielle Reussink

Are you ready to create riches in your work and life? It's time for Shedding the Bitch Radio and TV, where you can discuss, debate, and get advice on how to discover and shed the bitches of fear, insecurity, self-doubt, and negativity so you can realize your dreams and life purpose and create and accelerate the riches in life you deserve. So let's welcome your ball of fire host, Bernadette Boas.

Good day, good day, good day everyone, and welcome to Shading the Bitch Radio. Yes, I am indeed Bernadette Boas, and I am so excited that you are here because our community is made up of powerhouse maverick entrepreneurs. And ladies, this is the show for you. This is the discussion if you really want to understand, um, how to start and even build and grow a successful business by someone who's been there, done that, and is transforming not only businesses but lives, then our discussion with Marielle Rusink is what you want to definitely be part of. And I just pronounced her name incorrectly, so let me make sure I get it right. It's Rusink, Rusink. And I'll have her correct me when we, when we bring her in. But before we do that, let me do a couple things. Let me just simply thank our longtime sponsor, North Georgia Tax Solutions. Debbie Snelling and her team provide great, uh, full-service financial and tax services to small to corporate-sized clients all over the country, not just North Georgia. She also works personal— on your personal, uh, taxes and financial needs as well. So be sure to reach out to her and her team @ngtaxsolutions.com. Tell her I said hello. Take a look at what she and her team have built around really providing top-notch, uh, customer service to you and your company, again, for financial and tax services. All right, go to ngtaxsolutions.com and engage with them. And trust me when I say you won't be sorry. I've been using them for more than a decade now. Okay, um, now I also want to thank our new and ongoing viewers and listeners. You're finding us not only on any one of your podcast streaming services like Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, iTunes, but you're also finding us on Shedding the Bitch TV on YouTube and on Facebook and Twitter on our Shedding the Bitch pages. And you are leaving comments, reviews, ratings, subscriptions, and you're leaving us comments about not only topics that you want us to talk about, but even guests like today's guest. You're providing us input on those voices that are out there that have key messages that you would really like to hear more of. So continue doing that, please, because the more comments and likes and follows and subscriptions and ratings and reviews you provide us allow more eyes and ears to find the program. All right. And we are so, so grateful for you. For doing that. All right, let's get into today's conversation: how to start a successful business. Not just a business, but a successful business. And based on her work with over 100 founders and startups, she's developed a 6-step frame— excuse me— framework to success. So if you're thinking about starting a business, or if you already are in the process of building your business, um, the— and you might feel a bit stuck, or you just need help in any aspect of it, then this conversation is definitely going to be for you. And Marielle is going to help you, um, really understand what it— what you might be missing and/or what you just need to add into, uh, your business in order to— for it to be very successful. So as we go through this, we're— we are going to really discuss 6 fundamental things. It's not going to be very, you know, I shouldn't say it that way, but It's just gonna be fundamental things that you could be thinking about to get your business right and right from the start. Okay, so now what do I want you to be listening for? And Marielle wants you to be listening for it too, is how to create your elevator pitch. Critical, critical. If I were to meet you, what are you gonna say, right? How to develop your strategy. You just can't get up in the morning and just start working. You have to have a strategy in place, how to define your target audience. People, we talk a lot about this, but I want Marielle's view on it because you're still struggling and I— we don't want you struggling. How to identify the right marketing channels for your business, how to differentiate your business, key, and how to ensure your idea not only can work but will work. All right, now let me introduce Marielle to you. Marielle believes in the power of the individual and that entrepreneurs startups and small businesses hold the key to the future. Since leaving the corporate world, Marielle's life has become all about startups. From the onset, the goal of her entrepreneurial journey has been to help entrepreneurs realize their vision. Working with her clients, she looks at their broader business needs to develop goal-oriented communication solutions. Having consulted with and for over 100 startups and founders, as well as other major companies such as ExxonMobil, Unilever, and GE. Marielle is passionate about using her expertise and knowledge to help companies big and small achieve their goals. Her core focus is marketing, but as her approach is strategic and business-oriented, Marielle's role quickly evolved to include business advisory and consultancy and to become a workshop facilitator and trainer. I want you to really put your hands together, everybody, and I want you to meet Marielle. How are you, Marielle?

Hi, hello, I'm good, thank you. How are you?

Good, good. And I know it's like the worst host faux pas to make is to screw up somebody's name, but I own my mistakes.

No, don't worry, I must have one of the most difficult names to pronounce, I think. I even missed my cue at my graduation because they called up Meryl Riesling and I didn't know who that was, but it was me.

Oh no. But it's Riesling, right?

It's Riesling. Yes, it's Riesling. Yeah. I know. So then eventually nobody got up. So I was like, okay, maybe it's me. Went up, got my certificate, opened the tube. I was like, oh, okay, it was me. Great.

Oh, that is so funny. Well, you have a story. You have a story to tell, right? Definitely.

And the funny thing is, like, in different languages it would get pronounced differently. Oh, that's as well. So all good, don't worry about it.

That's precious. That's precious. All right, so I always like to kick off, um, one of our discussions before we get into the business side of it. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Help us to get to like, know, and trust you.

Oh, very important. I like the last one, how to trust me. Um, okay, so a little bit about me. Um, it was always, well, a little bit entwined with the business, right? When, when you become an entrepreneur, they kind of like linked, right? But, um, let's start on a personal level. Um, so I'm originally from Southern Africa, uh, where I grew up all my, um, yeah, adolescence. Uh, with 21 or so, I decided to go out into the world, and then I did like a work travel year in Europe, and then I decided to do my master's in the UK, in London. And then I—

what did I do from there?

I stayed I was there for 4 and a half years. It was the middle of the recession. So a little bit crazy to decide to start my career there, but it was super fun. Loved it. I met my then boyfriend, now husband, there as well. And then after dating for a while, we decided, should we go to Asia? And we did. So we were living in Singapore for 9 years, and that's been super fun. Went to see all of Asia, and in between also had a baby. So my kiddo is nearly 2 now and keeps me busy. And yes, and recently also, so I founded the business 5 years ago. It's a marketing consultancy really focusing on entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses, which I'm very passionate about. And recently we also set up an office here in Toronto, actually in Canada, to work with the North Americans. As well.

Right.

Um, so yeah, in a nutshell, that's, that's me.

That's awesome. And what made you— what's your backstory on what made you not only start your business, but start the type of business that you're doing right now?

Yeah, that's a really good question. And so I think I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. And so my dad is an entrepreneur. He's an engineer though. And he's got multiple businesses. And I think I always found that quite inspiring. And I was kind of— saw what type of flexibility he had with his work. And so of course he was working very hard always, and he still does today. But there was just a bit more flexibility versus your 9 to 5 or 9 to whatever that you have in corporate. So I think that was one thing that's interesting about entrepreneurship to me. But it was something I always kind of had in the back of my mind. Even when I was graduating, I thinking, should I start something? And then I did go the corporate route first to kind of, you know, get to know the ropes, etc. And I think that was a good choice for me. But yeah, after a couple years in corporate, I think must have been about 10, I really just felt ready to launch and just to do my own thing. And I always say this to entrepreneurs, if there's people who are wondering, oh, should I start a business? If there's no job in the world that you want to do, never mind how good the pay is or the benefits or, you know, the perks or whatever, and you just want to focus on doing this, how crazy of it might be, your idea, then you're probably ready. Then you should probably go and do it. And so that's the space that I found myself in. Um, so at that point in time, I'd already been working, um, at a branding consultancy, uh, for a couple of years. I've been working with really big clients on, on their marketing and comms.

Nice.

Also a lot of social media and digital. And just so I guess from there I knew what the idea was, and I really enjoy this space. I like how it combines both creative and business. And once I kind of determined, okay, I really want to focus on the entrepreneurship space, I just felt ready to go. And I just— it was actually after getting married, and so I just felt, okay, this is it, this is what I want to do. And I went for it.

Awesome. Now, is there any significance to the name of your business?

Yes, there is. So a lot of people ask me, 'M's, what is this?' And a lot of people also think it's actually E-M-M-S, but actually it's M's. Um, so what it stands for is the 5 M's of marketing. Um, so from marketing strategy to marketing management, um, measurement, of course, media, as well as messaging. We cover everything, right? So it's supposed to signify, um, that we take care of your marketing needs from A to Z. So we really do everything from branding to websites and campaigns, and we have that complete overview of the marketing cycle. So that's what it's— Brilliant, brilliant.

And plus, having something very unique that someone has to ask about is not a bad thing.

Is not that good about it, right?

Yeah, because all of a sudden there's a conversation going.

That's— yes. And, and so why ends, right? So if you pronounce the letter M, this is the phonetical spelling of it, essentially. Ah, that's very cool.

Very cool. I love your stories. All right, so, um, now I— you— the platform— I'm gonna use this term— but the platform that you have is a 6-step framework that you base your work on. So help us understand what that is and, and why should I care?

What a great question. You ask really good questions. Why should I care, right? And actually, it's one of, one of the things that we cover in this framework. Um, so maybe I can dial back to how I came to this. Um, so after working with a lot of companies and a lot of founders and just having a lot of and also doing consultations, I realized after a while that most entrepreneurs at some point in their journey tend to run into the same type of challenges or problems. And it's because when the beginning, when they set up their businesses, they skipped some of the fundamentals. And, and this is literally why we're using the word fundamentals, right? So it's those basic building blocks that if if you cover them off in the beginning, it just kind of sets you up for success later on. And so I identified that and then I thought to myself, okay, I've been doing all these consulting sessions, I've been talking to so many people and that's been great, but how do I take this to the next level? And this is also where the workshop started coming in. So I started this workshop series with WeWork. It was a 6 part workshop series just targeting entrepreneurs at different stages of their journey to kind of help them kind of overcome those challenges. And the first workshop was based on this framework and the pickup on it was tremendous. I think it was still the most successful one that we probably did and probably the feedback out of it was just great because a lot of people said, this is so easy. So this is what I like to do. I really like to take really complex things. Also in my blog, so on my website, I've also got a blog that I write on every single month. So I like to take complicated things and I like to break it down into something really easy that anybody can do in any way they like. So I don't like specific formats or forms for people to fill in. You know, if you like mind mapping and taking pictures and crayons, or you know, you'd like to do it that way, do it that way. If you like Excel sheets, do it this way. Nice. So, my view really is just do it the way you want to do it, but just do it. So, out of this kind of came this 6-step framework. And when I say framework, it's actually more like questions. And so, if everybody, well, I think at least if everybody were to ask themselves these 6 questions at the beginning of setting up their business and made sure that they actually have really good answers to those questions, they would put the things into place into their business to ensure that they're going to be successful.

So don't— but don't you find— now I've been in business for 12 years, yeah, and I would say that, um, even along my journey, if I were to look at those 6 questions, I can guarantee you that it wasn't even year 1 or year 5 or year 7 that I really had a solid footing because I didn't have Marielle on my team, but I didn't have a solid footing on those 6 fundamentals. So my question would be, do you find that anyone, any business can apply this, these 6 steps, all your tips, what you, what it is that you do, regardless if they're just starting, even though this conversation is about starting a successful business,. But I think success comes years later too.

Yes. No, definitely. And that's such a great question because even if you kind of missed doing this at the beginning, you can still do it at any stage of your business and you can do it on an ongoing basis. I think what you touched on is really important because of course your business evolves and you evolve because, you know, when you launch at the beginning, you kind of have this idea, right? And then you go launch with it and they get market feedback, and then you realize, okay, I might need to tweak this a little bit along the way, right, and adapt it to what people actually want, or what I think they want, right? And so actually doing this maybe every 6 months with yourself, or maybe every year, might be a really great way to make sure that, you know, kind of take stock of, okay, this was my original idea, how has it evolved since then, and am I still sort of on track? So I think that is actually a really good idea as well.

Yeah. Absolutely.

Yeah, you might think, what are these 6 questions, right?

Oh no, I was going to ask that. I was making, I was making people hungry, hungry. But go ahead, what are those 6 questions? And people, get your pen and paper, write them out.

Love it.

Okay, so we're not gonna have a whole conversation for an hour, not tell people what we're doing.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

All right. So, the first question is really easy, and everybody knows the answer to this question. The problem is most people stop here. And the first question is, what am I going to do? Really obvious, right? This is the number one thing that we all need to answer as entrepreneurs. What am I going to do? And this is the eureka moment, right, that you might have had, that spark that you might have had to figure out what is your grand idea. And I kind of blame the Mark Zuckerbergs, etc., of this world for most people stopping here, because I think there's this sort of misconception that all you really need to set up a great business is that spark, that eureka moment, and it needs to be the most amazing idea that nobody's ever had on planet Earth, right, to launch a successful business. So what I found over time is that's really not true, right? You can start any business there might be a million competitors already out there doing that. Like, for example, in marketing, I probably have a million and one, maybe billion competitors out there, right, doing what we're doing. You can still do the same thing as somebody else is doing, but what matters is how you answer the rest of the question set to make sure that what you're doing is distinct and is different and adds value to people's lives. Right? So the next question then is, how are you going to do it? And this is how you can already differentiate. And this is where a lot of people get caught out in their journey, right? Like they have this great idea and then they just kind of get launched and then they say, okay, I'm going to figure out how I'm going to deliver that product to this huge retailer somehow. Right? And then they realize, oh, I don't actually have the capital to do this. For example, right? Or they say, okay, I have this great idea, I'm going to launch this. Oh, I can't reach my target audience because I don't have a website or budget or anything to actually promote my business, right? So by just answering the question, or I don't even have the capacity, like the manpower, to deliver the ideas that I want to deliver, or I don't have the right skill set to deliver what I wanted to deliver, Right? So for example, I see this happening a lot with people that set up tech platforms or apps, etc., right? They, um, I don't know, some people get a programmer, maybe in the Philippines or a team in India or whatever. And of course that team, that tech team takes care of everything. And then, you know, you kind of muddle through and you kind of hope that at the end you're going to get the platform that you were looking for. But actually what maybe catches you out there is that you didn't really understand the technology that was necessary to really realize your idea. Right? So answering that question of how are you really going to do this, and probably as part of that, who is going to help you achieve this, is a really, really important part, um, to consider when you launch, but also as you, um, go on. Then the next one: who is actually going to buy my product, right? This comes back to target audience, and this one is so, so, so important. But I'm always so surprised how many people skip this question, right? So there's so many entrepreneurs when I ask them, okay, even businesses, when I ask them, who is your target customer? Who is—

Wait, let me answer it. Let me answer it for you. Everybody.

Everybody.

Everybody.

Yes, exactly. Everybody. Or I don't know.

Yeah.

Right? Like a lot of times this is the question. These are the answers. So if you don't know who your target customer is, it really will become an obstacle in so many ways, right? Because you, you don't know which marketing channels to go on. You, you don't know what messaging is going to connect with. You don't know what button to push essentially, right? You just don't know where to find these people that are going to buy your product, or you don't even know if anybody's going to buy your product, right? Essentially. So getting a really firm grasp on who are these people, it's so worth it to invest the time into that. And then how are you going to find those people, right? This is magic. Are they on social media? Are they on the internet? Are they not shopping online at all, right? Like, where are these people that you need to connect with? Then what are your competitors doing? This is a really important one, and with this one, I often find that people just look at their local landscape. But these days we're digital, right? Everything is online. You might even be competing against the world, right? So, I see a lot of, maybe textile apps also, they come up with a concept and then they say, "Oh, this is completely unique. Nobody is doing this," right? But then in China, they have already been doing this for 5 years, maybe. You know what I mean? So, you really need to look at the broader landscape. And then finally, and this is something you kind of touched on earlier, why does it matter? And does it matter to my target audience? This is so important. So if you have, for example, a luxury product, right, and you want to charge a certain amount of money for, let's say, something that's being custom-made, bespoke, etc., and you think it's really cool, but you don't really know if it matters enough to your target audience— I'm basing this a little bit on a case study— then you don't know if anybody is going to buy it, right? Like, if nobody really cares about your product or your service, it's— yeah, it's just kind of not going to go anywhere, right? So asking that question of why am I doing this, why does it matter to anybody, and really having a firm answer to that, it just sets you up more for success. And obviously, if you have an answer to why you're doing it for yourself as well, that's also super powerful. Yes. I mean, you know this yourself, entrepreneurship, it's a roller coaster, right? There's good days, there's bad days, and at the end of the day, the only person that's going to make your company happen, except of course if you have a larger team, right? Right. If you decide to not get out of bed today and do nothing, and you're the only one working on your business, your business is not happening that day.

Yeah.

So you need to have that why, you need to have that inspiration or that, that, that thing that kind of gets you out of bed every single day, keeps motivating you, um, through the ups and downs.

I love that. I absolutely love that. Now, what would you say has been your kind of number one lesson that you've learned in your own business growth? Um, you said it's been 5 years, correct?

Yeah.

So what I— it's a two-part question. What has been the biggest lesson that you've learned, but what is also the biggest mistake? Because people want to relate that they're not the only ones out there like making mistakes and whatnot. So what has been like the greatest either lesson or success, or— but what also has been a mistake that you, you know, that you made in your own business? Okay.

Interesting. What is the biggest lesson that I've learned? So I think one thing that's really interesting for me is how every single year in my business has been completely different. Oh, nice. And I always try to relate or try to understand why that's the case. I mean, it must be something that I'm doing actively. Maybe even if it's just something I'm conceptualizing into the universe. And the universe is responding. I'm not sure, but it must be, there must be something to it, right? So the first year was sort of a mixed bag of clients. The next year was really focusing a lot on very early, early stage companies. The year after that was all tech businesses. The year after that it was more consulting. So every single year has been completely different. And so that has required me to always, always, always think about how do we evolve this, right? How do we keep it fresh? How do we keep it relevant, right? And it really always makes me dial in with myself and double-check with, is it still relevant what we're doing? Does it matter? Does it add value to anybody? Are we living up to that purpose, which is essentially just helping entrepreneurs and startups and small businesses succeed. And how can we do that better, right? And so I think this is really a core learning for me. Like, I, I really have to do that all the time.

Um, could it, could it also be— let me ask you something, Marielle. That— are you saying that that's a struggle or that that has been a good thing because each year you're also honing in on really where you best fit, where your sweet spot is.

Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't say it's a struggle. It's, it's like, um, it's a challenge I enjoy. I enjoy it, right? But it's just something that I realize, um, about being in business. And I guess why I mention that is because sometimes I see companies, um, they don't evolve especially, especially if it went really well at the beginning, right? That kind of ride that wave and they just kind of keep doing what they're doing without keeping it alive and continuing to evolve this product or services. And then at some point they just kind of hit that wall, right? Where it just stops working and then there's nothing afterwards. Right.

Um, I would think the last year and a half, a lot of people hit that issue.

Yes, absolutely. So I would say anybody that sat down with themselves last year and said, okay, everything I've been doing so far is not gonna work this year, let's throw that out, let's do something else, right? Those are the guys and girls that are making it today, right? And, you know, I mean, there's some amazing stories out there, right? People managed to transform their businesses. But those people that didn't, those people that are just trying to do more of the same is, yeah, at some point it's just not gonna work, right?

Yeah.

So I think that's something I learned from myself, but also from looking at other businesses. You constantly need to evolve, and that is a challenge, but one that I enjoy. I mean, in terms of mistakes, I think the biggest mistake that anybody can make is always the other people that you work with, right? Or what's really hard is to hire well. Maybe, maybe, you know, have some of those stories yourself as well, right? Like how to hire well, right? Finding the right fit, right company, etc. And I know for a lot of business owners that's a challenge, right? Um, and, uh, yeah, so I mean, I've definitely had some interesting learnings. Um, I've also had moments— oh, this is maybe a good one. Choosing the right client, right? And having sort of like an avatar or an idea for who is your ideal client and then really sticking with that. Yeah. So I do this thing sometimes, you might have already taken away from everything I said that I like challenges. So I sometimes know that a client is not exactly my ideal client, and I know that it's going to be tough to work with this client, but then I'm like, but maybe I can make it work. Yeah, because I like the challenge. And then sometimes I do make it work, right? And it— but there will be a struggle in between, and sometimes it fails completely. Yeah. And so recently I said to myself, no, I really just need to commit to, okay, this is probably— if I start hearing those alarm bells along the way of validating, you know, whether a relationship is going to work or not, yeah, I should probably really start to just stick to my guns and be like, okay, this is probably not going to work. Yeah, let's not do this one.

Would you even— would you even say that those listening and watching that are starting or growing their business They need to even pay attention to that even before they take the money from somebody. They need to recognize that not all money is good money, no matter how desperate or anxious you are, which we don't want you to be anyway. But, you know, wouldn't you agree that they should be paying attention to those type of things even early on? Because not all money is good money.

You're 100% right. Not all money is good money. I mean, there are some times, especially in the feel that weird, right? Like, you will sometimes take a client who will just kind of eat you up. And what I mean by that is it just takes up all your time. Yeah, right. And you— and just because the expectations aren't realistic or whatever, right? And if you feel that that is something, you know, in the back of your head you start to feel like, hmm, this is not gonna go well, uh, just don't do it. Even if you're desperate, because all that time that you're going to invest into that relationship is going to be all that time that you're not going to be able to use to find the ideal client, right? Yeah. Like, if it's a match made, right, like I always say, you can sing together, right? Like, like you sing together, right? And it works and it's, it's fun and it's collaborative and you build something together and That's what you want, right? You want to be able to sing with your client, right?

My client doesn't want me to sing with them. Trust me, they might— they might want me to talk with them because I get a lot of comments on my voice. They do not want me to sing with them. Dance? I'll dance with them. I'll dance with my clients all day long. I love that. I love that. That's— that paints a great picture. As to the type of relationship that you want to be building with your, with your clients. I love that. Okay. So I know these, you know, I know our listeners and viewers are hankering, being that you're a marketing guru and everyone's always trying to figure out the whole marketing thing. But marketing, wouldn't you say, do you agree or disagree that marketing is complex?

It is complex in the way that, and I think most people underestimate what goes into marketing once they, until they start doing it themselves, and then it's like they start to feel like, oh, this takes a really long time. So the thing, I think the one thing that makes marketing very challenging these days is we've got so many channels, right? And they're easily accessible to anybody, right? I mean, just think about your social media channels or, you know, and how you're Clubhouse and we've got TikTok, right? So you've got these new channels sprouting out as well. So a lot of people then ask themselves like, oh, okay, so I'm already doing Facebook and Pinterest and LinkedIn and Instagram. Now I'm going to add Clubhouse and now I'm also going to do TikTok, right? Because I need to be everywhere. And I mean, that just becomes overwhelming, right? Like, I mean, even for really big companies, man, maintaining every single social media or just social media platform is, is a huge task. And because they all work differently, and if you actually tune in to the benefits of each of them, and if it's the right type of channel for your business, that's when you— when, when the magic happens, right? So like having that one-size-fits-all approach doesn't necessarily work to all of them. Um, so I think that makes marketing these days difficult, right? Deciding where you should be and making that choice. And I guess on that note, I have to say, yes, you can make a choice. You don't need to be on every single channel. Please choose the channels that make sense for your business. Otherwise, it's just going to be burning a lot of time.

Yeah. Yeah. And do you, do you have a particular recommendation when, especially based on the phase of which they are in their their, uh, business growth. Do you have a recommendation? Say you're talking to somebody, or someone's listening or watching, that is like within a year of running a business.

What would you tell them in terms of marketing channels? Well, I guess the first thing I would tell them, um, when they're deciding on this question— so this is the year before, and, and always really— is, uh, who's your target audience, right? Who are we talking to? What channels are they on, right? And how are they using those channels, right? And so if, and based on that, you can already select certain things out, right? So if your target audience is not using LinkedIn, skip it. If your target audience is using Instagram but they're not buying software there, right, skip it, right? And so like this, you can really make smart choices about where you're at. Yeah, I mean, as a baseline, I would say if you're a B2C company, right, so business to customer, and you're doing direct sales, maybe via e-commerce, etc., a good channel is of course Facebook and Instagram and your website, right? And then you would want to add on to that with email marketing for sure. So, I think that's a good sort of baseline for a B2C business. And then if you're doing those really well and they're paying off and you're investing in ads, sorry to break it to you, these days you should have some budget for ads, right? And that's when you start layering up. Yeah, you might look at Google AdWords to layer up, you might look at Pinterest if if it's a B2C company, those are probably good ones to add on. If it's B2B, you probably want to do LinkedIn, blogs, or thought leadership pieces.

Right.

Do that well. Do your email marketing really well. And then later add on also Google AdWords and maybe start exploring a bit wider. Yeah.

Okay.

So that's a really good baseline to get started. Started to begin.

All right, taking notes, everybody. You taking notes? Even if you're driving in your car listening to us, take notes, everybody. Um, so you also talk about that you take a strategic approach to marketing. Um, now help everyone understand what exactly that means and what it looks like for you specifically in your business.

Yeah, that's a really great question. So what I mean by that is a lot of companies come to me and they say, oh, we want to do Facebook or we want to do Instagram, do a proposal. And then I'll say, oh, why don't we have a chat first? And then let's see if that actually makes sense for you. And this is where we then really go through the motions, right? We look at your target audience, we look at what is it that you're trying to achieve with your business, because that's really, really important as well., right? If it's about sales and keeping the lights on, we should probably be thinking about a very different approach from, you know, just getting awareness and getting people to know us as a brand and start falling in love with the company and then eventually buying our product or service. So, it's very different needs. So, before we do anything, and we really need to understand what is it that— why are we doing this, right? Why is it going matter to your business to do this. And then if we have a really good understanding of that, then we can recommend to you, okay, is Facebook actually the right channel or Instagram? Does it make sense for you to be investing here, or is there maybe another channel that you should be considering instead? Or if you're already doing stuff, can we maybe look at that, make it better, make sure that the engine is actually working and then layer on other things that maybe make sense later, right? So that's sort of what I mean by that. Like, really make sure in the beginning, like, what is it— what is it that you need? Why do we— why are we having this conversation, right? And then based on that, we create an approach custom just for your business, right? Because every business is different and, and is at a different stage.

Yeah.

So one thing that I found, you know, at the beginning when I started the company, everybody was like, what's a rate card? What packages do you have? And then you spend all this time putting this stuff together and you send it to people and of course they never come back.

Right, right.

Not because they didn't need your service or anything, but just because they were kind of shopping, right?

Yep.

And maybe also because they didn't really understand what's in there. Um, so what I just found is I, I don't like packages. I don't think it's useful. I, I really like to do bespoke, um, solutions for every single company, uh, really based on what phase are they in, what are their needs, um, and then also like their target audience and what really makes sense for them. So it's tailored, it's super tailored, and it's all like based on strategy from the beginning, right?

Right. And, and strategy for some, or not for some people, but, and when you say strategy, you're— can I put it into some simple words?

Sure.

Are you, are you saying that, are you saying that it needs to be thoughtful, intentional, it needs to be well thought out, and it needs to be planned and on paper, and it just can't be kind of like, woo-woo, strategy? You know, for some is like, I'm a creative person, I'm just going to go into a room and just like close my eyes and think about these things, right?

I love it. Um, yeah, exactly. I love the word intentional. I think marketing, successful marketing these days, it really is intentional. It's speaking to customers, understanding what are the pain points, like how can you address those pain points and be really helpful as a business. Reconnect, and that's when they choose you. So I really love the word intentional, and you can only get to that level if you really went down and sat down, really got to understand your client and their business, really thought about it, and they came back with a plan. And then of course we can go sit in the room and have the nice fluffy ideas to bring that out as well.

Yes.

Yeah, I think that kind of ties back to another thing, um, that we really stand for we really do communications with purpose.

Yes.

So every single text, every single image, every single video really has a purpose. It's not just to be out there and just to post something today or just to create content, right? So much content out there. What you want to do is really create stuff that has value for your target audience. I mean, like what you're doing, right? It really has value for the people that are listening, right? And this is where, yeah, you know, you start to connect with the right people, and that's where then your business starts to work. So I think there's still a lot of people that have this misperception about digital, like you just create content just to be there, right? I mean, there are a lot of people who wake up in the morning and then they say say, oh, I need to create this post today. What am I gonna post today? Okay, it's Friday. TGIF.

It's so true. It's so true. And we don't want you to do that. That's why you need to reach out to Marielle. The link is right there of how to meet her. The-emms.com. The pronunciation of M's. It's the spelling of how you pronounce the 'and.' I love that, I love that, I love that. Any last tip that you would leave our listeners with?

Oh, last tip— have fun with it. I think that's a really important one. Um, yeah, really enjoy having your business and exploring with it and, uh, you know, growing it. But then also, I think in connection with that, um, entrepreneurship can get a lonely journey if you just kind of sit in your room, especially nowadays, right? Like, you just sit in your room and you're kind of trying to figure it out, um, and, and maybe the rest of your community, like your posse, like your friends, are not on that journey, right? So it's gonna sometimes be hard for them to relate the stuff that you're going through. So I think trying to surround yourself with other entrepreneurs whether it's online through forums or anything like that. And just being able to share, yeah, is probably the most useful thing that I've learned on my entrepreneurial journey. So it's not something that comes natural to me to go sit next to somebody and tell them all about my problems. But I really found being an entrepreneur, like Sometimes just sitting with somebody else who's maybe going through the same thing or has experienced something, they can share some insight, um, that you haven't really thought about yet. And, um, sharing the journey is, is really important.

I agree. And everyone, and this is really serious, you need to be investing in yourself, in your business, and in, in with someone like Marielle. She gave you these 6 questions and I made note of them. I made note of them that it's part of her 6 6-step framework, and you can answer them yourself. You can. At the same time, what if you had somebody sitting next to you that were— was able to ask you even more questions for that question to get you solid into what it is that you need to really understand for yourself in regards to each one of those 6 questions? So then you are really clear, you are really focused, you are really targeted. So I really want you to be thinking seriously about the fact that someone like Marielle being a part of your team— and of course I'm talking, you know, from a consultancy perspective— but you, you know, will help you and will propel you forward in your business so much easier and faster and more successful. And that's what we're talking about, how to start a successful business, but even to grow a successful business. So definitely check her out at the-emms all right. Marielle, thank you so much for being here. It's been awesome talking with you. Um, and for everyone else, thank you so much for being part of the Shedding the Bitch, uh, community this week. And definitely take a look for us out on Shedding the Bitch TV on YouTube, Shedding the Bitch Radio on any one of your podcasting, uh, streaming services. And you can go to Facebook and Twitter, Shedding the Bitch. Leave comments, leave reviews, leave likes, and even leave questions for our guests, and I will make sure that Marielle sees them and is able to reach out to you. Um, so until next week, this is Bernadette Boas of Ball of Fire Consulting, and I look forward to having you right back here next Tuesday at noon Eastern time. Take care, everybody.

Bye. Thank you for taking part in Shedding the Bitch Radio and TV with Bernadette Boas. We would love to know what your biggest takeaway was. Go to Shedding the Bitch on Facebook or YouTube and leave a comment. You can also subscribe to the show on Apple Podcast and YouTube so you don't miss a single episode of the show. And with your input, we can help other powerhouse women just like you find the show and decide if it's right for them. Learn more about Bernadette at balloffirecoaching.com. See you next week.