Business RadioX ®

Florencia Cirigliano With RedCoach

by

Atlanta Business Radio
Atlanta Business Radio
Florencia Cirigliano With RedCoach
Loading
/

FlorenciaCiriglianoRedCoachCEO1With more than 15 years of experience in the travel industry, Florencia Cirigliano has built her career developing, launching and marketing businesses for the travel industry. She joined RedCoach, a luxury motorcoach company based in Orlando, Fla., in 2010 as the Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations where she developed branding for the new luxury schedule transportation company.

Prior to joining RedCoach and moving to the United States, she worked in her native country of Argentina as the general manager for Pasajes Express for three years.

As the general manager, she built the bus-focused travel agency from the ground up, overseeing the development and sales of bus tickets, tourist packages, corporate assistance, commercial agreements, sales network development, personnel management and overall business strategy.

She is a graduate of Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires, graduating with a degree in communications. Additionally, she has achieved two certificates: General Direction of Industry for Small and medium-sized businesses from the IAE Business School and Consumer Marketing Strategy from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

In her free time, she loves traveling the world with her eyes set on visiting Dubai for the second time.

Follow Redcoach on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • Defining and transforming the concept of public transportation with luxury at a low price
  • The benefits of traveling using public transportation vs driving or flying

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio. Brought to you by On pay. Atlanta’s new standard in payroll. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:25] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, Onpay. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Atlanta Business Radio we have Florencia Cirigliano with Red coach. Welcome.

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:00:44] Hi Lee, how are you? Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:47] I am doing well. I’m so excited to learn about Red coach. Can you tell us a little bit about it? How you serving folks?

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:00:54] So basically, Redcoat is trying to redefine the concept of public transportation, specifically in Motorcoaches. The company has been established 13 years ago. We came from Argentina, where I’m originally from, and we want to establish the concept of affordable luxury in the bus segment. Before that, there wasn’t too many options to travel by bus in a comfortable way. So that’s what we are trying to to do, change the way people think about bus travel. So we offer different routes from Florida, where we are headquartered, all the way to Antonio. This is a new route that we just started, but we covered the whole state of Florida. And also we have routes in the state of Texas.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:43] So you started out in Florida. You were working, I would imagine I’m from Florida. So, um, like a Miami to Orlando kind of thing, or Miami to Tallahassee or where were you going in Florida when you started?

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:01:58] Well, the first routes we did with Headquarter in Orlando, because it’s the most central, you know, spot for the whole state. And we started doing routes between Miami and Orlando. But very soon we start serving the whole state from all the way from Miami to Tallahassee. Uh, we go through the East Coast via Orlando, and then we do it via Tampa on the West Coast. So pretty much we cover the whole states. We have routes, all major city, but Jacksonville. But then we cover all all the states.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:31] And then what is the experience like like say, if I’m in Miami or South Florida and I’m going to Orlando, are we going like, where where are we starting and where are we ending?

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:02:42] So basically, as I said, we’re trying to change the way people think about bus travel because Redcoat is not your typical motorcoach. Whatever it comes to my mind when you think about bus travel, probably it’s not the best experience could be like a last resource. So what we have is we redefine the concept by removing all the seats. We tailormade it. We brought it from Argentina and the busses only have 27 seats. So imagine the size of a regular coach is 50 seats and we only have 27 seats or 38 in our business class. So basically you can sleep on the bus, you can use the Wi-Fi, the outlets. And what we’re trying to do as well is have very like short stops and everything is very accessible in a way that, for instance, Miami, it’s in Miami airport for later airport. Uh, then we go through the service plazas and it’s a quick pick up and drop off. So the time of traveling is comparable to driving your own car. So that’s how we try to elevate the experience. Not being on a bus for too many hours, but not being that uncomfortable. And be safe with cameras on board tracking. So that’s pretty much the whole experience.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:58] So when you decided to come to Atlanta, where is that the point where people can get on the bus here in Atlanta?

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:04:06] So basically Atlanta, it’s very it has been request by by our customers. They want more connectivity with Georgia. So, uh, we decided to stop in downtown Marta Civic Center because we like the idea that it has connectivity to different, um, places via Martha, that that’s one of the, of the things. And then we also serve a lot of students and business people. So that will help with connectivity because it’s located, um, in downtown area.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:37] So then they go to where the the Civic Center Marta station is, and then your bus will be there at the appropriate time. So they just board it like they would like if they were getting into an Uber or something. They can just go on to the bus, they bring their stuff and then after you, yeah, they show the.

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:04:54] The QR and then they get on the bus. You have a tracking app, we have a tracking. So you can actually check where your bus is like an Uber, you know, to see, uh, the location. And we have two, two daily routes. So two daily departures in the, in the at noon and at night. Because the the seats are so comfortable, you can sleep on the bus and you save money in hotel or if you have to be early, um, back home and you don’t want to stay in, in each of the places, either Orlando or Atlanta, you can do that. But also you save money because you just get to work in the morning or visit your friends or, or whatever you need to do in either Atlanta, Orlando, Gainesville or any of the destinations we go.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:38] So now, you mentioned that if I was going, if I wanted to go to South Florida, I can go to Orlando and then take a second bus from like Orlando to South Florida.

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:05:48] Yes.

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:05:49] We do have connections there. They’re very like 30 minutes. And it’s one that, you know, you change busses and because we we change drivers and and I’m clean them. So you get a fresh new coach and you continue. But the layover the stop is like 30 minutes.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:06] And then are, is this kind of an express where you’re going directly to Orlando in one shot or are you stopping along the way?

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:06:14] So basically we our route is Atlanta. We have a quick stop in Valdosta and then Gainesville. We stop at University of Gainesville of Florida, I’m sorry, in Gainesville. And then uh, Orlando in Orlando. We do have our own station so that you can relax, go to the restroom, eat something. And it’s located like ten minutes from the airport in Marco Road.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:38] Now, is it something that if somebody uses the bus, then from that point somebody picks them up or they take an Uber, uh, to wherever they’re going or, you know, some sort of transport to wherever they’re going.

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:06:49] Yeah, that’s pretty much how it works. People, uh, have someone that pick them up or they they just, you know, take an Uber or something. The train is nearby as well. So if you want to do the SunRail, that’s another option too. It’s like a couple of blocks from our station. Or if you need to connect to the airport and take a flight, uh, somewhere else. It’s like ten minutes from the airport as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:14] So who is kind of the, um, the typical rider? Is it a young person that, you know, is doing this for financial reasons, or are business people doing it because they can leave at night? And that’s pretty efficient way to get there the next morning. Who is your kind of target market for the rider?

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:07:33] So basically it’s the you know, our demographic is very ample. We have the students that might go to, you know, college and want to visit friends in Florida. Uh, people, family going to Disney. Uh, we have business travelers going to conventions or meetings. So our older people, they don’t feel comfortable driving. They don’t want to go through the hassle of the airports. So that’s a great option, uh, for older demographics as well. So to be honest, it’s, uh, it’s the the range is pretty, pretty pretty big.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:08] And then you said it’s like, uh, 27 to 38 ish people on the on the bus with you.

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:08:16] So basically you have a first class pass, you have a business class pass. And we have the economy option as well. For our Atlanta route, we only have the business class. And basically it’s only 38 seats that you can uh, you have there. So only 38 people there, but you have all this extra legroom and space because, uh, we remove all the seats and, and put more ample wider and, you know, reclines, um, 140 degrees so you can actually sleep on the bus. Um, you can use the Wi-Fi as well. You have power outlets. So, uh, a lot of people work there. And, you know, instead of get home and continue working, they just get everything done on the bus. But most of the people do on the bus, to be honest with you, is sleep. People like to sleep on our busses.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:08] And then, um, is there food or do you bring your own food? How does that work?

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:09:13] No we don’t we don’t offer food. But people are welcome to bring their own. You have a restroom? Uh, we also have cameras on board. We have eight cameras that are, uh, surveillance 24 seven, uh, because we believe, like, it’s very important, uh, to feel safe. So we take that, uh, very seriously, and we have cameras on board in order to do that.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:37] And then I’m sure you encourage people to use headphones like it isn’t loud. Like there’s not people talking on the phone. Are you allowed to talk on the phone?

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:09:47] You’re allowed to talk on the phone, but people are pretty respectful from the from the ones that have it next to them. So, um, it’s it’s a nice, safe environment.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:58] And then, um, do you cater in any way for families like people with children, like seating together, things like that, where like on an airplane. That’s not always easy to do.

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:10:09] No. Yes. We do have reserved seating, actually. So before you get on your you have your already your seat assigned and it’s two and two. So you can have a space. Or if you are traveling in a first class you have just you can have your individual seat so you don’t have to share with anyone. And our children’s are are are welcome. Children under two years old travel for free and children until 12 years old get a 15% discount. And we also have discounts for students 10%. And for people older than 65, we do have 10% plus that 10% per veteran. Everything is year round. No blackouts, nothing.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:50] So, um, what’s your backstory? How did you get involved in this line of work? It’s, uh, it must be pretty interesting, because you’re kind of trying to reinvent an old, um, way of transporting.

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:11:02] Exactly. Yeah. It’s been a challenge. Um, I, as I mentioned before, I’m from Argentina. I was born and raised there, and, um, it is a family business that was in Argentina for 50 years. And there was a time that we came here on vacation and we saw that there’s a there were a lot of people we saw that frustrated on the road and we said maybe something like what we have in Latin America or Europe might work here. Uh, the question would be they don’t travel by bus because, you know, people just here don’t travel by bus or because they don’t have a better option that, you know, the ones that have been there for more than a hundred years. And so at the beginning, it was kind of like a huge challenge because people didn’t quite understand the concept. Is it 27 seats? So it’s a smaller vehicle. Is it a charter? Um, but then people start trying. And to be honest, our biggest ambassadors are our customers. But it was, um, a big challenge and it’s but it’s been an amazing ride, and I feel like the whole industry is changing step by step, little by little. There’s there are some other companies that are doing luxury busses. There’s no companies doing affordable luxury busses, as we do, because we have dynamic pricing.

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:12:20] In fact, now there’s even a promotion for Atlanta for $15, so you can travel from Orlando to Atlanta for $15. But in general, we have dynamic pricing. So a trip from Orlando to Atlanta could cost you $25, for instance. So we are the only ones doing that. There’s other people in other states doing luxury busses, but at, you know, triple, triple or four times the rate that we offer for the same length of trip. Um, but yeah, it has been it has been really nice because I at the beginning people were trying us as the okay. Yeah, whatever. I’m going to give it a try is the bus. I don’t know, but it’s cheap or it’s affordable or something. But then people change. Like this is, for them, a smart option. This is the way they go now. And, you know, it’s it’s been really rewarding to see that or families saying this is a life saver because now I don’t have to drive my mom to to visit my sister somewhere else. They feel safe and. It’s really nice to hear the stories of the people that traveled to be honest to, to connect them, because at the end of the day, what we do, you know, we connect people every single day.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:32] Now, you mentioned like Atlanta to Orlando or I’m assuming both Orlando to Atlanta. There’s a stop in Valdosta and a stop in Gainesville. What does that make the length of that trip? Like if I was to drive in my car, how long would that be? And then how long would it be on Red coach?

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:13:50] So basically if you depend depending of of how fast. But basically if you go on red coach the whole trip, it’s um one uh seven hours and 30 minutes. But if you, if you drive, it’s probably six hours and 30 minutes. So it’s not too much because we just do quick, uh, drop off and drop off. Yeah. Pick up and drop off. You know, it’s like ten minutes stop or 15 minutes stop. It’s not like you get off or or something. Um, so. Yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:28] So those stops, so those stops are just, um, so people can get on at Valdosta if they wanted to go Valdosta to Atlanta, there’s a that’s a choice too, right? Like if because the bus will be coming from Orlando. So if you’re in Valdosta and have to get to Atlanta, this is an option for those folks too.

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:14:48] Exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:50] Well. How exciting. So, are you looking to, um, obviously you’re going to Atlanta. Are there any other stops on your roadmap in Georgia, or are you primarily going to be in Atlanta and then use that maybe to launch to other southeastern cities?

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:15:06] Atlanta and Georgia has been always very exciting hub, you know, to think about. It’s close to Florida. It’s our borders. It’s it’s organic, you know, to go there. So we’re definitely will look into other cities from from Atlanta. We want to just start to to see how people react, how, um, people from Atlanta use Red coach. And for sure, we were looking to just expand in the southeastern region. Uh, we we want to take that red coach concept everywhere.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:39] Well, congratulations on all the momentum. If somebody wants to learn more about Red coach, what’s the website? What’s the best way to to learn more?

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:15:47] So they can look at look at that, a red coach Usa.com. And then also on social media you can follow us and Red coach USA, TikTok, um, Instagram, Facebook. Those are where we are.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:02] Well, congratulations again on all the momentum. And, um, you’re doing important work, and we appreciate you.

Florencia Cirigliano: [00:16:10] Thank you so much for having me. And, uh, it’s it’s been a very exciting ride, for sure.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:16] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

About Our Sponsor

OnPay’sOnPay-Dots payroll services and HR software give you more time to focus on what’s most important. Rated “Excellent” by PC Magazine, we make it easy to pay employees fast, we automate all payroll taxes, and we even keep all your HR and benefits organized and compliant.

Our award-winning customer service includes an accuracy guarantee, deep integrations with popular accounting software, and we’ll even enter all your employee information for you — whether you have five employees or 500. Take a closer look to see all the ways we can save you time and money in the back office.

Follow OnPay on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter

Marlon Marescia With Video Marketing Machine

by

High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
Marlon Marescia With Video Marketing Machine
Loading
/

Marlon Marescia, Founder of Video Marketing Machine.

He began his career by leading his family’s construction business before making a significant industry shift into IT. Serving as the sales and marketing manager for a software development company, he mastered online lead generation and client conversion skills. After 12years, Marlon ventured into entrepreneurship, founding a marketing agency.

Today, he is an expert in online lead generation and video marketing, coaching businesses globally in online marketing strategies.

Connect with Marlon on LinkedIn and follow him on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and Twitter.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • The unfair Google Hack to rank at the top of Google using video
  • How to turn 1 video into a holistic marketing strategy, including 5 high powered marketing strategies like email marketing, blogging, Facebook retargeting ads, a week’s worth of social media, and a YouTube video
  • 3 components of an effective online marketing strategy that produce new clients
  • Why video is the fastest and most powerful way to build trust today
  • The blueprint to create a Facebook ads strategy that delivers new clients each week

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:05] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:15] Lee Kantor here. Another episode of High Velocity Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have Marlon Marescia with Video Marketing Machine. Welcome, Marlon.

Marlon Marescia: [00:00:26] Hi Lee, how are you going?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:27] I am doing well. I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about Video Marketing Machine. How are you serving folks?

Marlon Marescia: [00:00:34] Yeah, so Video Marketing Machine is all about a strategy around video, where we use video as the kind of the focal point, and we get a video from a client, and then we use that video and convert it into five marketing campaigns. So we transcribe the video, we turn it into a blog post, post it to the blog, turn it into an email. We email it to the client’s database, we turn it into a week’s worth of social media content. We upload it to YouTube, and then we create a Facebook retargeting ad and show that video for a whole week to all of the retargeting audiences, like the client’s email list and the website visitors and so forth.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:12] So what is the video? What’s happening on the video?

Marlon Marescia: [00:01:15] We always use a teaching video. So we believe that the best way to build authority for our clients, if they’re a coach or a consultant or a health care professional or a lawyer or an attorney, is to teach. And so if you teach, you can build authority. So typically they’re anywhere from 2 to 5 minute videos. We have a script that we help our clients, um, uh, use to write that script, write the content for the video very easily, and then they just record it, uh, using an iPhone or a webcam. And then we take that video and that becomes the foundation of all that content. And so it’s high quality content because it comes from the client. It’s in their voice and it’s, you know, their personality as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:57] So it’s a it’s a shot of them, you know, like a headshot of them just speaking about a topic.

Marlon Marescia: [00:02:03] Yeah, it’s a headshot. So they just, uh, record their face and then they just talk to the camera and they just teach. And, uh, we find that that’s the most that’s the easiest video to create. And it also is we’re able to repurpose it into all those campaigns and then create high quality content and not just content that is, you know, low quality and and doesn’t really help and doesn’t build authority.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:27] And is there a call to action in that or it’s that just them educating their community.

Marlon Marescia: [00:02:33] Now, one of the things that I believe is that if you’re going to be part of the 1% of the world, right, who actually gives your information for free, and you’re servicing the world and helping the world and making it a better place. I believe that you deserve, you know, 20s 30s at the end of every video to have a very clear call to action so someone can buy your product or, uh, book an appointment to work with you. And I’ve been doing this myself, and I get about 2 or 3 appointments booked in every week from people who find me on YouTube, and they’ll book an appointment and they turn up. And you know what the great thing is? They turn up and they’re pre-sold because they’ve already watched 10 or 15 videos of me. So when they turn up, I’m like a little bit of a celebrity to them. And, um, they’re like, Marlon, so great to meet you. Love the videos. And the sales call is a different it’s different. It has a different temperature. Uh, I don’t have to sell myself. And so if I didn’t put a call to action at the end of every video, then a lot of those people wouldn’t book because they wouldn’t know what the next step is. So I’m very, very, um, strong in telling people that if you’re going to give and teach and train and give your content away for free, you deserve to put a call to action at the end of every video. And that’s what I’ve been doing for many years now, and it’s worked really well for me.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:48] Now. Is the call to action you actually speaking and saying, hey, if you want to call with me, go to, you know, WW call, uh, Marlon Comm or is it a just appearing on the screen?

Marlon Marescia: [00:04:01] Yeah. The call to action is me. I say it every time. It’s. It’s every time I shoot a video at the end, I make it up and I get into a flow of of how I say things. But, um, it’s me every time. And I say it and I always tell people to click the button. They go to a calendar or a calendar, and they book an appointment in my calendar. So I don’t tell them to fill in the detail. I don’t tell them to email me. I just have a very clear, um, action that they can take that’s click the button or click the link. Around this video you’ll see my calendar book a time. This is what you’ll get, the value you’ll get. And that’s how I make it really easy for them to book.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:36] So you have a short URL to the calendar link.

Marlon Marescia: [00:04:40] No, no I. The video is normally placed on a blog post, so the link is in the blog post. Um, it’s on a YouTube video. The link is in the YouTube video. It’s on an email. The link. Is there a Facebook ad? It’s there. So it doesn’t have to be short. It can be as long as you like, but it’s always consistent. It’s the same URL every time. And typically it’s like um, video marketing machine AI slash call. And that’s a pretty simple URL, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:05:05] And then, um, how long are the videos?

Marlon Marescia: [00:05:09] Yeah, the videos are anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes, so the majority of the videos I’ve produced over the last seven years have been very long. They’ve been probably 5 to 10 minutes. Lately I started to reduce it. I’m working with a lot of people doing this around the world. And and I think the sweet spot is 3 to 5. I think when you’re less than three, you’re not adding value. You’re just summarizing. Uh, and when you go too long, it can become a bit monotonous and boring, uh, and people don’t get the gist of it. So I think the sweet spot for me is 3 to 5 minute, five minute videos. The other reason is because we take the video and we upload it to an app called Opus Pro. That’s the URL, and that video is between 3 and 5 minutes. That app will cut that video up into 3 or 4 short videos, and then you get an extra 3 or 4 videos out of it that you can put to YouTube shorts and TikTok and Instagram and Facebook as well. So if it’s too short, like less than two minutes, it can’t create those videos because there’s nothing you’re saying that’s different from the original video.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:12] And when you’re working on the content for each video, is it something that you shoot like a bunch of videos at one time and kind of a cluster? Or is it every morning you’re getting up and doing your five minute video or three minute video?

Marlon Marescia: [00:06:25] Look, when I first started doing this, I have stages of doing videos. When I first started, I’d do it in groups of 4 or 5 videos, and I was highly scripted and it was very stressful. Then I went through a period where I was doing a video a day and they were totally unscripted. I would create an outline and I would just shoot the video and I’d do one a day. I’d go live and just do one a day, and I just got into the routine. Now what I do is I shoot 4 or 5 at a time. Um, I still have them unscripted. I have an outline that I have for every video, which is in bullet point, and I’ll just review the bullet points. Um, I know that the like the rough structure, and then I’ll just do a one take video to the camera and I’ll shoot like 4 or 5 of those in a row. It’ll take me an hour or half an hour, and then I’ll then process those videos and schedule them out over the next month.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:13] And then when you’re working with your clients, are you giving them the tools? So they’re doing this by themselves or are you kind of helping them facilitate them that each video? Yeah.

Marlon Marescia: [00:07:22] Look.

Marlon Marescia: [00:07:23] Yeah I used to do this for them all the time and I still do. So they I charge them a fee and I take the video, I create those five marketing campaigns and we do that every week. But I’ve also created an app, uh, which I actually use in my business to do that. And I’ve released that to the public and people can sign up for the app. So all they have to do now is record their video, upload it to this app, call the video marketing machine I that’s the URL and the app will take the video. It’ll create all that content or create the email, the blog post, um, it’ll create the Facebook retargeting, add the social media posts, uh, and all the social content, and then you will prove it. You just review it, edit it, approve it. It’ll also create the thumbnail for YouTube and the quotation like the quote card with an inspirational quote. And then it’ll actually post it to your WordPress blog. It’ll upload the video to YouTube and it’ll post to all your social platforms. So it normally takes about four hours for my team to take a video and create all that content with this app. It’s taken it from four hours down to 15 minutes and it does it all for you. So, um, it’s an app that I use and I’ve released it and other people can sign up to it and, um, or they can, they can get us to do it for them.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:35] So, um, the way that it works, you can just use the app and kind of do it yourself. Or if you want kind of more hand-holding, you can work with your team and they can kind of coach you through each element of this.

Marlon Marescia: [00:08:48] Yeah. So, um, if they want the app, the app is pretty cheap. It’s like $149 a month. And, um, you’re responsible to record your own video, then you upload it, but then you’re going to be accountable to yourself to make it happen. The reason people pay us to do it is they’ll pay us like 1500 a month. But what we do is we meet with them every second week. We help them create their scripts and we keep them accountable. Uh, and we also, you know, give them advice on other parts of their marketing strategy, how it can fit in. But the biggest thing with this, Lee, is accountability to do it. So the difference between me and why I get, you know, 1 to 3 appointments a week booked in my calendar from people who I don’t know but know me, is because I’ve been doing this consistently for a number of years where most people will listen to this podcast, say, great idea, Marlon, and then not do it because they get busy. And the difference isn’t because I’m great at video. I’m actually not the best presenter on video. I don’t think I’m very hard on myself. There’s lots of things I could improve, but what I am very good at is I’m very good at consistently creating a video on a regular basis and pushing it out through those four marketing, five marketing channels.

Marlon Marescia: [00:09:56] And that’s the difference. You know what I love about social media today and the world we live in is we’re all equal, right? There’s no people that have more privileges than others when it comes to online marketing. The difference is the ones who can be consistent and and do take a good idea and consistently execute it. Most of my life I’ve been inconsistent. I’ve been a perfectionist for the last seven years. I’ve really been able to overcome that challenge in my life, and my business has just exploded because of that. And I don’t do I don’t think I’m the best at anything. I just think that some things, I’m very consistent and I think that’s the secret to success, and that’s why some people will do it themselves if they have the discipline and they’ll just, you know, pay the 149 do do it all themselves, and other people will pass the 1500 because they need that accountability, they need that mentoring, and they need to, you know, just be pointed in the right direction.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:51] Now, when you you mentioned that if you’re using the app or even if you’re using your service, you’re getting multiple pieces of content that you’re getting the ability to place in a variety of ways. Is that really an important component of it, rather like to have an omnichannel approach rather than just saying, look, I’m doing YouTube, so I’m that’s the only thing I’m going to focus in on is YouTube. Like, do you need you need to have an omnichannel approach in order to be effective in today’s world to cut through the clutter.

Marlon Marescia: [00:11:20] You do. And you think about this. How many people have a YouTube channel? And it’s crickets. Like nothing, nothing happens for them. And I had a YouTube channel for years and I would record videos and nothing. They say that you should spend 20% of your time creating the video and 80% of your time promoting the video, but who has the time to spend an extra 80% of time you don’t have, right? It was hard enough to do the 20% to create the video. Where are you going to find the extra 80 to actually promote it? And that’s the problem with most people’s marketing strategies around video or anything they produce. They produce something great, they put it on their website, and no one ever hears about it. No one sees it. But the key is to to promote it. And so that’s why I developed this strategy. Because this strategy, the key to it isn’t the video like, um, the sorry, the key to it is the video. But the fact is, if you create the video and just upload it to YouTube, nothing happens. But if you create the video and you email it to your database, now you’re nurturing your database every single week. They’re getting to see you in the inbox. They may not watch it, but they see your name pop up. Now you create that, take that video, put it as a Facebook ad, a retargeting ad, and you show it to people who are on your email list, that same email list you imported into Facebook and show it to those people you, um, anyone that visits your website, you show that video to them, anyone that likes your pages on Instagram and Facebook, you show it to them.

Marlon Marescia: [00:12:41] Can you see how you’re becoming omnipresent? This small group of people, you know, you put it all over your socials and LinkedIn. Anyone connected with you on LinkedIn now gets to see these videos. They get to see that you’re an authority. And then, um, on YouTube as well. That’s how you find new people. Um, your blog post, that’s how you get indexed in Google and your, your website gets ranked. And these five strategies, anyone in themselves, you know, an agency would cost you at least $1,000 for each one of these, sending a weekly email, doing a blog post every week, uploading a YouTube video and creating that video. Um, creating a Facebook ads retargeting campaign, like all of these are a thousand each. So these five campaigns are about $5,000 a month if you get them done individually, whereas if you do them yourself or through the app or you hire us to do it, it’s a fraction of the cost. But it’s really nurturing your database. The people who could be clients, you’re nurturing them, looking after them and helping them see you as the the go to person in your industry. And that’s the key to this strategy. The video is important, but it’s what we do with the video that makes all the difference, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:13:49] I talked to so many people, they think that the the content, one piece of content is a I’m done now and that’s just the beginning. Like that’s table stakes to play is to have the content. And especially if you have a way to have consistent content over time, then sure, you’re going to win, but you can’t just rely on the content by itself in the original form to do all the heavy lifting. It has to be repurposed if you want it to be effective.

Marlon Marescia: [00:14:16] Yeah. And you know, the disappointing thing for me, because I’ve been in this industry for a long time, I’ve seen lots of apps out there that take a video and they say, hey, we’ll repurpose this into six more videos. We’ll create a, um, a quotation card out of it. We’ll they always do one thing, or they do the cool things or the fun things or the things that can. People go, ah, ooh, that’s amazing. But I’ve never seen anyone do the important things, um, in a scalable way. So I think an email to the database is much better than just a social media post. A social media post is just random, you know? Most people don’t see it, but an email to your database with that piece of content? Most. I’ve never seen anyone come up with this concept before, you know, um, turning it into a blog post and then actually uploading it to the blog. You know, that’s something people say, oh, we can convert it into a blog post, but no one actually helps you upload it. That’s where people get stuck, you know, taking the YouTube video and embedding it into the blog post because Google owns YouTube. So when you embed your your YouTube video into your blog post, that’s a signal to Google that. Wait a minute. This blog post has significant value to link back to our website, you know, Facebook retargeting ad. Have you ever heard of someone say, hey, repurpose your content into a Facebook retargeting ad? That is one of the most powerful strategies you could ever use.

Marlon Marescia: [00:15:40] Now, the reason why people and apps don’t do this is because it’s difficult. It’s difficult to create a Facebook ad. It’s difficult to get an email and then actually email it to someone’s database. You’ve got to import the database in. It’s not fun, but it’s important. Powerful work that grows businesses. See, I’m a marketing consultant and I have a marketing agency, and I used to be a sales manager. So everything I do is based on can we get a sale? And when I create a video, my attitude is, how can I use this video to make a sale? And I draw the line between the two video and sale, and I figure out, what can I do with this video? To help me get the sale. And. And that’s why I’ve come up with this strategy. Did I invent all of them individually? No. But what I did do was tie them together so I could get business and I could get appointments booked in my calendar. And it worked. But, Lee, it was very difficult to come up with and then executed over many years and get it to work. There were many times I thought, this is just a waste of time, but I persisted. And now you know, there’s a strategy that actually works, and the app just makes it a bit easier for people.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:50] Now, you mentioned several times these retargeting of Facebook ads. Do you mind sharing, sharing some advice for the listeners on okay, they they might have heard this terms, but can you explain it a little bit more what that exactly means? And maybe a primer on how to kind of do that, you know, for them if they wanted to do that themselves.

Marlon Marescia: [00:17:13] Yes. So, um, Facebook retargeting, a lot of people have heard of it. No one, very few people actually do it. And there’s a lot of people that don’t understand it. So what Facebook retargeting is, is Facebook gives you the ability to create an ad. It could be a video ad, it could be an image ad, any type of ad. But you can show it to a very, um, small group of people and you can pay as little as a dollar a day because you’re not showing it to millions of people. You’re showing it to probably hundreds of people or a couple of thousand people. Now, who are these people? These people are people who are in your database. If you’ve got a database of a thousand people, you can import that into Facebook. Facebook matches them based on their email address or their phone number. And then it creates a list in Facebook and says, here’s your retargeting audience. And then you can show an ad to those people every day of the week for as little as a dollar a day, it costs hardly any money because it’s only a thousand people. It’s not a million. The other audience is your website audience. So anyone that, um, visit your website, if you put the Facebook pixel on the website, it’s a piece of code. Every time someone hits that website, Facebook records. Oh, that’s John and it knows it’s John, because you have the Facebook app opened on your phone.

Marlon Marescia: [00:18:23] And, um, when you go to a website, it tracks that. Uh, and then the other thing is, anyone who likes your pages on Instagram and Facebook and interacts with them, that’s another audience. And there’s another, even more powerful audience. This is the audience of if anyone has watched, say, 50% of a previous video that you’ve posted to Facebook or Instagram, Facebook can create an audience of those people. Now they’re very hot prospects because if you’ve got a, say, a four minute video and someone watches 50% of it, that’s two minutes. They watch. That person is not your grandmother. It’s not your friend down the road who doesn’t care about your business. It’s not a teenager if you’re a lawyer, it’s not a teenager that is into TikTok. It’s someone that’s engaged with your content and that those people are hot prospects, that you just don’t have their email yet. You just don’t know who they are. But Facebook knows them, and you can show a video ad to them every day of the week. And what we’re doing with this video ad is video is the quickest way to build trust and authority with someone today. When they see you, when they hear you, when they hear the inflection in your voice, when they see your facial expressions, they make a judgment. Do I like and trust them or do I not? And when you educate them, what you can do is very quickly build a following of people who know, like, and trust you because they’ve seen you, you know, they’ve seen you all over YouTube, they’ve seen you on Facebook.

Marlon Marescia: [00:19:44] And so what we’re doing is creating some audiences. It’s a website audience. It’s an email list. It’s a video audience. It’s a page like audience. And those people that might be 500, 1000, 3000 people combined. We can just keep building authority with you, with those people for as little as a dollar a day. Most of my clients spend $1 a day, $30 a month. It’s more powerful than TV. It’s cheaper and more effective than TV. And yet most businesses don’t do it. And that’s why, you know, when we record a video every week, we put that new video into that Facebook campaign and, uh, it it makes a very big difference for the businesses. I say it’s a way of becoming omnipresent. You know, they say that God is omnipresent. He’s everywhere. Well, you can be omnipresent to a very small group of people if you’re showing up in their inbox every week with one email, if you’re on their Facebook feed and Instagram feed almost every day, if you’re on their social media accounts, um, if you’re on YouTube, when they go to YouTube, you become omnipresent, you become the authority, and you become the go to person that when they need help, they know who to call.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:52] And that’s an important point that you bring up, is managing the expectations of your clients in terms of your audience isn’t millions, your audience is hundreds or thousands. And we’re just going to market like crazy to that targeted smaller group in order to move the needle in your business rather than, you know, to transform you into a Kardashian.

Marlon Marescia: [00:21:16] Yes. And you know, Lee, I love this point. It’s a great point you’ve made because, you know, I will never be world famous. I don’t have the personality for it. Right? I’m I’m a I’m an introvert. But, you know, I don’t need to be to be successful in business. You don’t have to be a Kardashian. You don’t have to be MrBeast or Joe Rogan or dude. Perfect. All you have to be is yourself, because there’s a small group of people in the world that we can get access through to Facebook ads, email, that kind of thing. Who could be clients, their prospects. And if you just become omnipresent to them, you will become the Kardashians. To them, you’ll be the Joe Rogan to those people. And you know, with me, I’m amazed at how introverted I am and how many people love me and that I’ve never met. But it’s not millions. It’s probably not tens of thousands. It’s probably hundreds and maybe a couple. A thousand people that know, and they see me as the authority. And the way they clap, the way they applaud me isn’t by likes, comments and shares. It’s not by, um, calling out to me on the street. It’s by booking an appointment with me. And when they book the appointment, that is the greatest privilege I have. And when I know that they are a fan who doesn’t just adore me, but they want to work with me, and that means more to me as a businessman.

Marlon Marescia: [00:22:40] I don’t care about the adoration or the applause. And so my my goal in life with video is to become a massive deal, a big deal to a very small group of people who could be clients. And that that’s all I care about. And it’s worked for me. Lee, you know, the last few years has been very, very good for me, very good with, uh, for example, I just, um, I’m working with a new person that found me there in New York. I live in the Gold Coast, Australia, so I live in Australia. They live in New York, and they they’ve just signed up as a client. And I had one meeting with that person and I gave him a proposal and they’ve signed up, and that’s $1,500 a month with a big upfront fee. And it’s because it’s not because I convinced them on the call. They already made their mind up to work with me before the call. And, you know, I think that’s the greatest thing we could ever attain in our business career. Um, not to be a Kardashian, but to have people that like, know and trust you who after one meeting or two meetings will say, you’re the person I want to work with. And that’s why I do video and that’s why, you know, the video marketing machine. For me, that’s what I call it, has been one of the most powerful tools in my business.

Lee Kantor: [00:23:52] So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on your team, what’s the website? What’s the best way to get Ahold of you?

Marlon Marescia: [00:24:00] Yeah. So, um, the app is a video marketing machine. I that’s where they can get the app. But if they want to have a and if they go there, they can book a demo and then they can talk to me, I’ll be on the call and they can talk to me. Um, I have a, a website, a personal website called Marlin marescia.com. And if I go there again, they can book a call. But that’s the best way if people want to learn more.

Lee Kantor: [00:24:26] Well, Marlon, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Marlon Marescia: [00:24:32] Oh, thanks for having me on.

Lee Kantor: [00:24:34] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

Kristin Sage With Sage Counseling and Consulting Ltd

by

Richmond Business Radio
Richmond Business Radio
Kristin Sage With Sage Counseling and Consulting Ltd
Loading
/

Coach-Karena-ambassadorKristin Sage has over 15 years of experience in the counseling field. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech and master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from the College of William and Mary.

She specializes in working with women and children/adolescents, but also works with couples, and families on a variety of issues.

Sage Counseling and Consulting Ltd is a small private practice located near Buford Road in Richmond, Virginia. They strive to provide the best counseling services to individuals, couples, and families in Virginia and specialize in working with women and children/adolescents as young as three years old!

A family systems approach is taken with all clients to help them understand their current problems and reach their counseling goals. This helps people to feel good about themselves and helps them have happier, healthier relationships by gaining new awareness and insight.

Sage Counseling and Consulting, Ltd is hosting our first annual women’s conference on May 3, 2024. Our conference called Transformed: A Journey of Healing, Health, Hope and Happiness will be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Midlothian, Virginia.

The conference starts at 8:00am and ends at 4:30pm. Registration is currently open and ends on April 1, 2024. Tickets for the conference are $149.99 for the day and include breakfast and lunch. Scholarships are available upon request.

This conference is perfect for any working mom, businesswoman or woman going through life transitions and who is thinking or wants to start thinking about how to prioritize herself! At the conference, you will meet like-minded women, make new friends, network, and of course learn more about yourself!

This will be a day of learning, strategy and pampering facilitated by women just like you, businesswomen in the Richmond area! The day of the conference, breakfast and lunch will be provided by the hotel. Morning sessions will focus on information and processing, while afternoon sessions focus on self-care strategy and application.

After self-care sessions, we will have a panel discussion followed by a VIP event where you can speak one-on-one with the session speakers and socialize/network. We will have various drawings for gift cards and prizes throughout the day and you will also receive a tote bag with goodies from our speakers and sponsors.

Please join us on May 3, 2024, and enjoy a day that focuses on you and your new friends!

Connect with Kristin on LinkedIn and follow Sage Counseling and Consulting on Facebook.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • About Sage Counseling and Consulting Ltd and their unique practices

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:03] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Richmond, Virginia. It’s time for Richmond Business Radio. Now here’s your.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:13] Host. Lee Kantor here, another episode of Richmond Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have Kristen Sage with Sage Counseling and Consulting. Welcome.

Kristin Sage: [00:00:26] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:28] I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about Sage Counseling and Consulting. How you serving folks?

Kristin Sage: [00:00:34] Sure. Sage Counseling and Consulting is a small private mental health practice in North Chesterfield, Virginia, and we specialize in serving families, young children, children as young as three and up. We see a lot of women and men, and we also see a lot of couples. So we really focus on the marriage and family aspect. Um, that’s my perspective. I’m a licensed marriage and family therapist and a licensed professional counselor. So again, just focusing on how the family and the community can impact the individual and then help the families and the children that we serve.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:11] So how are you delineating the difference between counseling and consulting?

Kristin Sage: [00:01:17] I think counseling is more sessions to help people achieve their goals, and consulting is more like, maybe you just have a problem that you want to fix, like a one time thing.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:28] So how do people initially come to you? What do they have a problem they’re trying to fix, or is it something more systemic?

Kristin Sage: [00:01:35] I would say there’s definitely some problems that they have. Usually it’s more than one.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:41] So, like, what’s an example?

Kristin Sage: [00:01:43] Um, we have a lot of people, I would say a lot of mental health issues, but then also relationship issues, a lot of couples, we see a mother and daughters, often different family dynamics. So we see people from a variety of backgrounds and just different issues.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:03] Now, if they’re not going to counseling, how are they solving these issues in their life or are they just not? Are they ignoring it? Or like lack of awareness, like like if they’re not, if you’re not the solution, what are they doing to try to solve this pain?

Kristin Sage: [00:02:17] I do feel like there’s a lot of avoidance and a lot of the couples we see, you know, things have been going on for some time that are not being addressed and they just don’t know what to do. So they come to us.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:29] So what are some symptoms that people are having that maybe they’re dismissing as, oh, this is just life, and life is hard and this is just how it is. Like, what are some symptoms that people maybe would benefit if they came to see somebody like you?

Kristin Sage: [00:02:42] I do feel like people are very stressed right now, just in general, they’re unhappy with what they’re doing, just like as individuals. And there’s a lot of pressure to be a certain way or do a certain thing. Again, maybe they have some mental health issues just on their own. And then if you have that in like a couple and both people are experiencing that, that brings like a lot to the table to try to solve. And sometimes people are fighting a lot or they’re just like going off on their own and they’re not addressing the problem. And there’s like so much going on, but they don’t know what’s wrong. So they’ll come to me and they’re like, well, I’m unhappy, but I don’t know why or I can’t get along with this person, but I don’t know why or I don’t know how to solve the problem. So they come to us to kind of figure that out, and we try to help them with strategies that can help them have good relationships with others, but also have strategies to help them feel better, I would say happier and more calmer.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:39] Now, what’s your backstory? How’d you get involved in this line of work?

Kristin Sage: [00:03:43] Um, I feel like I know a lot of people with mental health issues. I know there’s a lot of mental health issues in my family as well as a lot of families. So it’s just something I want to help people with. And I feel like kids especially, they don’t really have a voice. So I try to help them, you know, deal with issues on their own and then help them communicate that to their parents so that they have better, a better life. And hopefully things can get solved at home.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:10] Were you always self employed or did you work somewhere first and decide to then go out on your own?

Kristin Sage: [00:04:17] Um, I’ve.

Kristin Sage: [00:04:17] Done contracting for a while. I worked in nonprofit, for profit, um, like community agencies, things like that. Um, so I just wanted to do something on my own. Um, and I did that. And then I think it was like a couple years ago, I decided to, um, start, um, having some residents and counseling, um, under myself. So I have one resident in counseling, so that’s LPC track. And then I have another resident in marriage and family therapy, which is, um, like my license.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:48] So what was that like going out on your own like that?

Kristin Sage: [00:04:52] Was a little scary, but there is a need. So you just kind of like try to plan. And so like there’s some overlap between jobs, you know, trying to accrue your caseload.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:01] So how do you go out to the market to even find a client. Like it’s not like a, um, you know, like a hair salon or I would I would imagine this is a lot of word of mouth, like, like how do you even begin to open a practice like this seems very daunting.

Kristin Sage: [00:05:19] Yeah. So, I mean, you’re a credentialed with insurance companies and they, um, have like a list of providers. So if you’re, you know, having an issue and you want to see someone, you can contact your insurance company and they’ll say, oh, here’s a list of people in your area so they will contact you that way. We do have a lot of referrals from word of mouth. Um, and then I don’t know if you’re familiar with Psychology Today. It’s a website, and a lot of people just look people up online and there’s like a whole list of providers and you kind of like, read a bio and just say, oh, does this, you know, match what I’m looking for? I think like that personality would match with my personality. And then you have some sessions and see if it works for you.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:58] Now what some signals for a person who’s never done this before and you’re, you know, you’re going and you’re trying a new counselor, what is some kind of signs that you’ve got a good one or this is good, this has a good chance of working because I would imagine that, you know, getting that fit right is super important in the outcome.

Kristin Sage: [00:06:19] Um, I feel like that’s an individual choice, and I feel like you just have to feel comfortable and feel like. Does this personality and this person match? You know, me and my person and my personality. People can be great people, but they just might not fit. So I think if you’re if you’re like, oh, I like this person, I think they are a good fit, go with it. If initially, I mean, I would just ask people give a couple of sessions because usually the first session is just more of an assessment. But I would just say, like, if you’re not getting a good feeling, you’re not getting a good vibe. You’re just like, it just doesn’t feel right, then that person might not be for you. And that’s okay. And the counselors understand that. So don’t worry about hurting people’s feelings. It’s okay to find another counselor.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:07] Is there any kind of amount of time that goes by without seeing improvement? That would be kind of like, hey, this may not be working, or is that I know that’s a case by case, but like, is it like if years went by and you don’t feel better or you’re in the same place or you’re making the same mistakes, is that kind of a sign that it’s not working? Or like, how do you kind of gauge from a timing standpoint if it’s a good fit?

Kristin Sage: [00:07:36] I feel like you said. You said for a time, like looking at kind of like a timeline, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:07:41] Like, I know, like I go in there and I have an issue and then I know, like at the end of the session, I’m not it’s not going to be better. It’s not like I’m hungry and I go to Chipotle and now I’m not hungry anymore. Like I understand there’s more to it than that, but how how much time is reasonable to expect some. Change.

Kristin Sage: [00:08:03] So I think that’s a hard question to answer because everyone is so different. I would say. It’s like, what are you trying to achieve? Like what is your goal? And you have to the client has to put in the work like counselors can’t like fix the problem for someone. Um, but I think it’s like asking yourself, am I ready to make changes? If you’re not, that’s okay. But counseling might not be for you at that time, so you would just have to think like, am I open? Okay, well, this might be my problem. So you’ll create goals with your therapist, and every time you meet, you’re working on those goals. You can come and talk about whatever you want. Um, but you’re formulating those goals, and you always come back to them or you adjust them as needed. Um, so some people say they feel better, like right away after a few sessions, um, if they keep coming. Some people, it does take years because some people have like a lot of trauma. We do see a lot of people with trauma and well, everyone has trauma. But there’s different types of trauma. There’s different layers of trauma. So it depends, you know, what you’re working on in session and how you’re kind of, I think viewing the problem and like what you can realistically do about the problem.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:15] Now coming up in May, you’re putting on, uh, your first annual women’s conference. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Kristin Sage: [00:09:24] Yes. So our first annual women’s conference is called transformed a Journey of Healing, health, hope and happiness. And it’s May 3rd, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.. So it’s an all day event. Um, so we have a full day of speakers and strategy. Um, so around from like 8 to 9, we’re going to do a breakfast. So breakfast is provided by the hotel and we have a keynote speaker, April Spencer, who is with Nami Central Virginia. Have you heard of Nami before?

Lee Kantor: [00:09:55] No.

Kristin Sage: [00:09:56] Okay. So that’s the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Um, so they have local, state and national levels. Um, but April’s with the central or like local level. Um, so she’s going to speak. She’s going to do our keynote speech, um, and kind of speak about her story and how she came to be involved with Nami, and she’s also going to be doing a session on spirituality. And I feel like that’s a special topic, because a lot of people don’t talk about spirituality and how it kind of can help them. And if if you don’t want to go to that session, that’s okay. Um, so basically I’ll kind of lay out the the day. Um, from 9 to 12 we have sessions every hour. And you’re going to get a choice. You get to go to one out of like four sessions, if that makes sense. Um, and so you’re going to be focusing kind of on yourself in the morning, and you’re going to be going to sessions that interest you. And maybe you want more information about. And the goal for the morning is to really think about different aspects of your life and maybe things you want to change. Or maybe you think things like are going well in this area, like what’s going well and what’s not, and like, what do you want to change? And think about how one of these, um, speakers is going to help you or could help you. And all of our speakers are local business women in the area. So they’re experts in their field, and they have a lot of experience working with other women. So this is going to be like an awesome day to connect with other like minded women, talk to people, women who have there are experts in their field. And then focus on yourself.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:37] Now is there the morning? Is there a chance for me to interact? Am I going to be able to ask questions? Or is this, you know, a lot of education. They’re speaking and I’m listening. And then I move to the next speaker and I’m listening again.

Kristin Sage: [00:11:51] So this isn’t like the speakers aren’t speaking at you. It’s more like they’re going to be talking and it’s going to be more of a group discussion. And we really want it to be interactive. So there’s like some activities. There’s going to be a lot of discussion. So we really want people to share if they feel comfortable because who wants to be talked out for like an hour.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:09] Right. So then I go to sessions in the morning. Is there a lunch? Is there food involved or is this just kind of learning?

Kristin Sage: [00:12:17] Yeah. So in the morning we have breakfast and then we have lunch from like 12 to 1. And then in the afternoon we have some self-care strategies. So the morning is more like group oriented. Um, and the session in the afternoon is also but it’s more like strategy. So we’re going to be having meditation chair yoga. So it’s yoga, but it’s not going to be as like intensive. Um, I don’t know if you’ve heard of Reiki before or acupressure, but those are our afternoon sessions.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:46] And then so I’ll be able to participate in those and, and actually go through some of those, you know, and physically feel them, not just hear about them.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:56] Yeah, I feel like those.

Kristin Sage: [00:12:58] So it’s all interactive. But the afternoon I think it’s, it’s good to have those, um, sessions in the afternoon because, you know, you have lunch, you might get a little tired. So then you can go and you’re going to be wide awake because you’re going to probably be moving a little bit like nothing too crazy, but just moving a little bit.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:13] And then how does how does it end?

Kristin Sage: [00:13:15] So we also have a panel discussion, which I’m really excited about. Um, because May is Mental Health Awareness Month and we’re meeting on May 3rd. Um, we’re having a panel of licensed providers in the area. Um, and these ladies we have I’m going to be on it. My resident and then two other licensed professional counselors are going to be on it, along with a family nurse practitioner. So she’s going to speak more about the overlap of mental health and physical health. But all of the attendees for that day, they’re going to write down questions that they specifically want to have answers to. And we’re going to go over that during the panel discussion from like 1 to 315. And then after that, we’re going to have a little VIP event where attendees can talk to the speakers individually, like ask them more questions and just have some one on one time and maybe, you know, find out if they want to connect with them in the future.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:07] So is this something that a person goes by themselves, or do they bring their friends or they bring their kid? Like, how would you how would you do this?

Lee Kantor: [00:14:16] That’s a.

Kristin Sage: [00:14:17] Good point. Um, so the plan for the day, the plan of the day is for women to really prioritize themselves and think about. Themselves take time for themselves. So there you know, we don’t have any childcare. So but we’re hoping that women will take the day off if they are working. And it’s a Friday. So hopefully the kids will be in school or they will be in daycare and women can just come. Um, so we encourage women to just come by themselves if they want to or come and bring their friends. Um, because we’re hoping women will connect with other women. And I believe, like, if you go anywhere, you just never know who you’re going to talk to, who you’re going to sit by. You can make a new lifelong friend. You can make a new job connection. You just never.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:56] Know.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:57] So if somebody wants to learn more about the event or your practice, is there a website they can go to?

Kristin Sage: [00:15:03] Yes. Um, so my practice is sage Counseling for you. Com so that is our general website. If they want to register for the conference they should go to sage counseling dot ticket spice.com backslash transformed. So that’s where you purchase the tickets. But if you go to our general site you can click on a link there. And it will also take you to the Ticket Spice website. And just to kind of throw it out there, um, we do have some specials going on. We know money is tight for a lot of people, so we do have some sales. Um, if you’re really having financial hardship, we do have some scholarships. So we’re hoping, you know, whoever wants to come is able to come.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:42] Now, if somebody if a business person out there would like to sponsor it, is there still sponsor opportunities or is it too late?

Kristin Sage: [00:15:50] Yes, we are still looking for sponsors. So if they just contact me, um, through the website, that would be great.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:57] And then what type of businesses would be a good sponsor for you?

Kristin Sage: [00:16:00] I would say anything mental, well mental health and overall wellness. So it can be because we’re our we’re touching on um, physical health, mental health, spiritual health and sexual health. Um, so anything related to women’s overall health?

Lee Kantor: [00:16:15] Well, congratulations on all the success and good luck on this event. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Kristin Sage: [00:16:23] Thank you. Um, and is it okay to just kind of tell a little bit about the sponsors that we do have?

Lee Kantor: [00:16:28] Sure.

Kristin Sage: [00:16:29] Okay. So doctor Erica mason is with Sleep Better. Virginia. She’s going to be one of our presenters as well. Um, she’s a sponsor. And then Nicole Formsma, she’s the owner of Rejuvenation Skin Lab. She’s also presenting, and she is a sponsor. Um, and they do a lot of, like, skin rejuvenation and just different rejuvenation for women of all skin types and backgrounds. Um, she did say that they do see a lot of women with some kind of trauma. So that’s a place to go to if you’re feeling really sensitive about your body or about your skin. And then we also have sage tides and that, um, is like kind of like a little mental health retreat if you want to get away and kind of just be somewhere near the beach.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:11] Well, Kristen, thank you again for sharing your story.

Kristin Sage: [00:17:15] Thank you. I really.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:16] Appreciate it.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:17] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Richmond Business Radio.

Jeremy Shapiro With Bay Area Mastermind

by

Bay Area Business Radio
Bay Area Business Radio
Jeremy Shapiro With Bay Area Mastermind
Loading
/

Leah-Davis-Ambassador-logo1In his role as a mentor and coach to entrepreneurs at Bay Area Mastermind, serial-entrepreneur Jeremy B. Shapiro helps small business owners make the transition from “solopreneur” to “business owner” – an important distinction that many entrepreneurs can easily miss when working “in” their business instead of “on” their business.

Since 1998, through structured masterminding, one-on-one coaching, and consulting work, he has been helping entrepreneurs discover the core strengths in themselves and their business, and realize their true potential combining passion and expertise to grow their businesses and attain the freedom they deserve.

Connect with Jeremy on LinkedIn and follow Bay Area Mastermind on Facebook.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Self employed vs. a true business owner
  • Most common mistakes founders make when trying to scale their business
  • How entrepreneurs can prevent the all too common “burn out”
  • The difference between working IN your business and working ON your business

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:06] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in the Bay area. It’s time for Bay Area Business Radio. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor. Here, another episode of Bay Area Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have Jeremy Shapiro with Bay Area Mastermind. Welcome.

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:00:29] Thanks so much for having me. This is great.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:31] I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about Bay Area Mastermind. How you serving folks?

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:00:36] Yeah, what we’re doing is we’re helping out our local Bay area entrepreneurs, business owners and founders really connect and get together for a full day of working on their business, as opposed to the day to day work in their business. And that lets our members connect, scale and really grow together.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:51] So what’s the genesis of the idea? How did this come about?

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:00:55] Well, I’ve been part of mastermind groups myself for decades. Some groups are remote. You hop on a plane and fly somewhere exotic for a few days, you know, a few times a year, other times more casual, sort of weekly, like accountability calls or get togethers. And those haven’t really served the needs that I was looking for in my businesses and the structure we put together for the Bay Area Mastermind of meeting once a month for a full day right here in downtown San Jose, lets us get into what’s really going on in our own businesses and uncover the blind spots for each other, and provide that expertise and peer advisory that comes from hanging around with like minded, growth focused, lifelong learners.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:31] Now, for folks who aren’t familiar with the concept of mastermind, do you mind sharing a little bit of a primer on what it is and how it kind of came about?

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:01:41] Yeah, the topic or the idea of a mastermind really came from author Napoleon Hill when he published this Think and Grow Rich book back in 1938. One of the titles he had there, chapter ten, is called The Power of the Mastermind, The Driving Force, and this really is where he exposes this idea of titans of industry getting together and helping each other out. And this structure lets individuals uncover the blind spots for each other and provide that real peer advisory. As an entrepreneur can get lonely at the top, you don’t really have that kind of honest, candid feedback you need from customers, from vendors, from family, friends and so on. So when you’re with other folks who are also in that same boat on that same journey, you can get that unbiased, real feedback. People who don’t mind asking the tough questions and don’t mind lending their superpowers and deep areas of expertise to help you get unblocked and move forward in life and in business.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:37] Now, it sounds like you’ve been kind of experiencing several different iterations or variations of a mastermind. Tell me about how you were able to kind of pick your favorite parts, or maybe the most effective that you found, and then build this into kind of your unique spin on a mastermind, like for the person who doesn’t understand or really maybe of experienced the variety, you know, like you mentioned, there are some that are kind of leads clubs. Some are just about, you know, support and accountability. Some are really, you know, noncompetitive people trying to grow their business. There’s there’s a lot of flavors to this. And talk about how you were able to kind of cherry pick your favorite parts or best parts that you find most effective into your the one that you’re doing.

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:03:23] Business owners have long had groups available to them, just like the ones you’re describing. From leads, groups and networking groups to referral groups to just networking groups and social events and everything in between. A mastermind is really special and different from that, and when we look at what the best parts are from the sort of various formats and styles of mastermind groups out there, what I’ve found really matters is one that you’ve got the right people in the room with you, right? You don’t want to be the biggest fish in the pond, as it were, and so far ahead of everyone else that you can’t get much value from the group and the experience they have to share. And on the flip side, you don’t want to be the smallest guy in the room where you don’t have much to contribute or share with the group. So you’re looking for that like minded group of folks at a similar stage of business as to where you’re at, and we are really intentional about how we curate that and how we attract the right kinds of members to our group. Second, it’s important to us that within those members we have, like I shared, lifelong learners and people who are focused on self improvement, business improvement, and want to grow and scale and be the best version of themselves with the best version of their business that they can have. So within that, when we look at sort of the weekly cadence that typically is too frequent and those meetings are usually too short to really get a chance to deep dive into the heart of what’s going on in an individual’s business. On the flip side, the larger destination groups where you’re getting away for, you know, a week, once or twice a year, maybe three times the entire business can change.

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:04:47] So by the time you show up, people have sold their business, launched a new business. Things are drastically different over the course of, say, six months. So one of the best practices we found was that meeting cadence of once a month for a full day that gives us time to implement and execute on our accountability items, where we hold each other accountable. And it lets you actually make real change in the business, much more that you can make in a one week period and less than you do in a six month period. So that cadence, I found, is one of the best practices for how often to meet. And lastly, when you look at like the free groups or coffee accountability groups that maybe meet for 30 up to at the most 90 minutes once a week. Those typically have a higher turnover because they’re usually free to very low cost. And as a busy business owner, if you’ve got something recurring on the calendar showing up to talk to a few friends that you do every single week, sometimes the fires of the day become more important and so members don’t really show up. There’s not much skin in the game. It’s a very low barrier to entry. So by having an actual financial investment as well as the time investment, you’re able to find folks who find value in the group and each other and are willing to invest the time, as well as the money in being part of the right kind of group of folks just like them, who also want to grow and scale.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:02] So how many groups are you running?

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:06:06] Um, so it depends how we look at that. We have, um, we have our core groups that are for our scaling business owners. Um, this past year, we actually just kicked off a founders group as well for a much earlier stage businesses. And we also have folks we work with virtually, as well as folks that we, you know, we coach and consult in terms of an actual group size. What we found is you can’t let a group get too big. That’s the point where we actually want to split off and have a new group that’s not just an oversubscribed group like you’d find in sort of one of those destination groups, like we were talking about before, those you can have more members in.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:40] So now when you’re building the group or curating the group, what are some of the at least red flags for you? Like, you know, I’m sure you don’t want people that are transactional, that are, you know, kind of jerks, like you’re trying to create a group of similarly valued people that appreciate this experience and not, you know, one to dominate it.

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:07:06] Yeah, that’s spot on. Qualifying for the right people is really important. Everyone has their industry or trade groups they can go to to find more people who are just like themselves doing the same thing the same way. By consciously curating a diverse group, we get what I call the cross pollination of ideas, and this is where you get members sharing best practices in their industry with other individuals in a different industry, where they can really pivot and do something different than everybody else. So I’ll share an example I love in this space, you have an e-commerce company who’s selling purely online. They then hear about an offline retail business who’s doing direct mail. Right now you have one business who’s doing one style of marketing and a different business doing an almost opposite style of marketing. The two of them are then able to see what the other one is doing, ask questions about that, get access to resources, best practices, do’s, don’ts, and so on. So we’re looking for that range of businesses and range of superpowers and areas of expertise. In terms of characteristics, we want to make sure that our members are well read. They enjoy reading. They’re actively reading. We’re all lifelong learners. We’re all voracious readers, right? We are individuals who invest in ourselves, who go to conferences, who take courses, who are always learning and trying to be that better version.

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:08:20] So we screen for that. We’re also looking for folks who won’t just get value from the group, but who are able to contribute value as well. So part of our screening process we have for our test drives is we’re looking for what are those areas of genius, or what are those areas where a business owner is seeing success that they be able to lend some expertise in the group? It’s not just about there being, you know, a linear one person is ahead of somebody else overall and able to help others up. It’s a matter that everyone has different areas of expertise and superpowers. So when it comes to marketing, you’ll have some members who have deep expertise. Others have deep expertise in sales, others in hiring and retention, and others in finance and so on. So depending on what a member needs, we’re looking for that range of skill sets and that range of superpowers that can really help to have that that lively peer advisory. And we want folks who are open to being lovingly and respectfully challenged around their blind spots and are open to seeing the opportunities others see within themselves and within their businesses.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:19] So walk me through. Um. Say, I raised my hand and I’m like, Jeremy, I’m curious. Um, how do I get involved with this mastermind group? How do I, you know, throw my hat into the ring? What do I have to do?

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:09:32] What we found experientially. And this goes back to one of your questions earlier about best practices, is it doesn’t make sense for someone to join a group blind they’ve never been part of before, or had a chance to experience. On that same note, it’s unfair to a group to just tell them, hey, here’s somebody new who’s just in the group. So what we put together is our test drive process. So when someone heads over to Bay Area mastermind.com, you can start an application. And that application, even the questions that we asked during that, those questions themselves can be eye opening and can help you see some opportunities in your business for where you are and where you’re going. Once that application is in, we hop on the phone, we go over that application and better understand what you’re looking for in a mastermind group and see if there’s an opportunity to serve or to point you in a direction where someone can help you out. And if it looks like there’s there’s a good fit, we invite you to our test drive. So for a reduced fee, it lets you join us one time for a full day and really experience what it’s like to have a hot seat to to feel that joy and thrill that comes from providing insight and advisory to others and really experience that full day with us. And at the conclusion of that, if we feel that you’d be a good fit for the group, and if the group feels the same and you feel the group would be a good fit for you, then we extend the offer to join us and become a member with us longer.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:47] Tum now what is that day agenda typically, uh, how does it flow?

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:10:54] The biggest thing we do throughout the day, and where most of our time is focused, is on our member hot seats. Within each hot seat, there are four main things that everyone’s going to be covering for you. If it’s your first time test driving with us, it’ll be a little bit about who you are, what you do, and all that. For the rest of our members who are returning, they’ll be going over accountability items and what’s been accomplished over the past month. And then what everyone’s really sharing, and it’s in varying formats, but there’s three major points beyond that. One is what’s working, two is what’s not, and three is where you need help. So this is where, you know, we’ve had members share, for example, challenges that they’ve had with a marketing campaign that didn’t go the way they wanted it to, and they would love some feedback on why. Or they’ll share the lessons learned from that. You might find someone else who is sharing about a new hiring process they put into place that’s working really well, and walk the group through what that looks like. And what I think is really interesting is everyone who comes into the room usually has some big question, some big ask, some big block, and they’re looking for insight on that. And they go in with the idea of success is getting an answer to that question. But where I see the biggest aha moments, I see the pens scribbling the most. I see people’s eyes go wide and the smile creep across their face. That always happens during everybody else’s hot seat. It’s when other members are sharing what’s going on in their business, what’s working, where they need help and so on that you see those sparks really ignite, and entrepreneurs take note and ask those questions of digging a little deeper. See, these hot seats aren’t just a one way presentation. They’re facilitated conversations. And so it’s a chance for members to ask questions and get that guidance they need in their own business based on the experience of others who’ve been there and done that.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:31] Now, when you started this concept, how did you get kind of that initial group together? Was it just your peers or people you’ve just met over the years? How did you kind of build this from scratch?

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:12:43] Yeah, we were sort of in like the shadows for quite a while. It was people we know, people we connected with who shared this is really what they were looking for. And they’ve been they’ve been looking for a mastermind group to help them out. Generally, people who found us or knew about this had already read Napoleon Hill’s books, knew this idea of looking for a mastermind, or they heard about that concept somewhere else, and they then wanted to find a local to the Bay area mastermind group that they could join. And the Bay Area Mastermind is exactly that. So we filled a pretty unique gap that’s in the marketplace. There’s plenty of networking groups and founders groups and things like that to meet other people. But again, the focus there is usually networking. It’s not so much on the true mastermind concept of sharing what’s really going on in your business, both the wins and the failures. As an entrepreneur, it’s lonely at the top. There’s not a lot of folks you can celebrate your big successes and wins with. And the flip side, there’s not a lot of people you can share your real challenges and blocks with, and the mastermind group provides that safe environment to be vulnerable and share what’s really going on and have people celebrate your successes and help you out with your challenges.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:48] Now, having been involved with these type of entrepreneurs over the years, have you kind of learned some maybe do’s and don’ts for an entrepreneur to maybe prevent them from making some mistakes when they’re beginning to scale their business? Have you gotten any advice for those entrepreneurs?

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:14:08] A lot of entrepreneurs get started because they were a technician doing something at a different business, and they decide they want to go do it on their own. Right. This could be you’re a chef at a restaurant and decide you want to open your own restaurant. You could be a plumber and decide you want to open your own plumbing company. You could be an SEO expert working at an agency and decide to open your own company and so on. Right? That’s a common path that entrepreneurs take of hanging their own shingle. What they don’t realize, though, is that at some point you think you have a business, but you’re actually self-employed, and if you step away from the business, it would fall apart and the business is too dependent on you. So one of the first areas of growth that we focus on with folks, with their earlier stage, is this idea of moving beyond just a few team members they have and actually scaling up the systems and the people so that as the founder, as the entrepreneur, as the business owner, you can really step back from the business and have it continue to grow.

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:14:58] This lets you work on the bigger picture, bigger picture, vision, leadership, and the areas of life that you want to spend your time that the business should support. So to your question about some of the common, uh, things that come up, it’s often entrepreneurs being their own block, thinking nobody can do it better than they can, and not wanting to hire people to do the jobs they’re doing in the business. Um, and the second is not having the right systems in place to scale. And then the third big piece, I would say, is not having that peer advisory and that feedback to provide shortcuts and uncover those blind spots when you’re in a great peer group of other business owners, founders and entrepreneurs who’ve been there and done that, they can show you those pathways to get to where you want to get to sooner, because they found ten ways that don’t work and can share with you the one way that does. And you don’t have to go through all that yourself. You can really learn and leverage the knowledge of others.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:52] Um, do you find that people who don’t have mastermind groups or boards of advisors or anything like that, what’s the kind of the fear that’s holding them back in that area? Or are they just do they have some imposter syndrome? Do they think that they don’t have anything to share? Like, what is kind of the psychological rationale for not participating in something like the Bay Area Mastermind?

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:16:16] It’s fascinating to me how many entrepreneurs truly suffer from imposter syndrome. You know, the classic example is everyone sees the duck floating effortlessly across the surface of the water, not realizing all the turbulent craziness going on underneath the water, with the feet paddling in the water swirling and everything going on, they just see the duck effortlessly floating across the water. It’s the same thing often with Entrepreneurships. The outside view from the world is that a business owner is successful and doing well, and they’re living on Easy Street, and they have no idea what’s really going on behind the scenes and just how challenging it can be to be a founder and entrepreneur. And for many founders and entrepreneurs, they know just how difficult it is, and they lose sleep over the decisions they have made or need to make and the challenges that come from running your own business. But the outside world doesn’t see that. So there is an element for sure, of imposter syndrome and thinking there’s nothing to contribute yet when we actually look at a business and look at all that a business owner has done right, there’s usually a lot of deep expertise that an entrepreneur has that they have blinders on to. As entrepreneurs, we see the mountain in front of us, of all the things we need to do and all the things we need to get done, and it’s easy to lose sight of all that’s actually been accomplished. And so in a mastermind setting, we celebrate those accomplishments, and we start each meeting off by going over one really big win from this past month.

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:17:40] And when we take a look in the rear view, we can see just how much has been done. So in terms of what stops folk, stops folks from seeking out or joining a group, yes, for sure there’s a bit of imposter syndrome. And to that I’d say complete an application. Let’s talk about your business. I know there’s some wins there and some really important lessons learned, even in big challenges. And trust me, as an entrepreneur, you have a wealth of knowledge to share if you’ve made it. As far as calling yourself an entrepreneur, that’s really big. On the flip side of that, there can also sometimes be a bit of, um, believing you know it all and can do it all yourself. And this is usually the founder who thinks they can’t find the right people, who can do the job as well as they can, let alone better. And trust me, you always want to be hiring people who are smarter than you and better at you in each area of your business, and so if you think you know it all, then that generally means you’re not as open to hearing feedback from others. It also means you’re not generally open to asking the vulnerable questions about what can really help you out and getting unblocked, and that can prove challenging. So those kinds of folks don’t typically seek out that kind of peer advisory input. And they generally, if they do, um, can dominate in providing feedback and not being open to receiving any of it. And so again, that’s kind of what we screened for in that application process.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:58] Now, is there a story you can share of maybe somebody who came to the group as a skeptic or just said, oh, I’ll just try it. And but we’re not really 100%. It sold and then was able to get maybe some achievement or got to a new level, you know, as I don’t want to say a surprise, but maybe it it kind of did surprise them on the power of this kind of a group.

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:19:22] Yet thematically, I find these surprises always people are coming in looking to get unblocked in one area, and the delightful surprise is that they found their their their business family. They found others like themselves they didn’t even realize were out there. And they got insight into areas they didn’t know were even challenges within the business. We all have an idea of the things that we know. We sometimes think we know. Some of the spots where we could improve in areas of things we don’t know. But the biggest opportunities I’ve found time and time again are in the areas that we didn’t know, we didn’t know anything about. And that’s really where that period advisory can help out. So yeah, to your question about like individual stories, I can think back to one of our members who joined us and, you know, was on that fence of like, hey, let’s see what this mastermind group is all about. You know, they looked at, for example, coaching, they talked to coaches, they talked to consultants. They’d, uh, talk to some online communities. And they were curious sort of where a mastermind group fit within that. And their question sort of came down to afterwards of like really seeing the difference between group coaching and a mastermind group. But the value they found was not just in the facilitation, but in the openness and willingness of other members to to challenge some of those basic mindsets. So sometimes we’ll come up. The biggest limiting factor is an individual’s mindset in terms of how much they charge or what they’re worth, or what the value is of their customers. See, so we had we had one member who joined us who had his his billable rates relatively low, but thought for himself. He was pretty high. And that sort of he priced himself mentally based on what he thought he was worth.

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:21:06] And so the group lovingly challenged that and said, your prices should actually be quite a bit higher. And the response to that was along the lines of, well, when I get to X number of customers, then that will justify raising the price. And we said, well, that’ll justify it to you, but to your prospects, they don’t need you to have a certain number of customers. That’s just you getting comfortable with the idea. And so we were able to help as a group unblock that mental. Uh, limit and limitation of what his time was worth until he was able to go out there and raise the prices and like, right off the bat, that increases profitability in the business and not just top line revenue, just simply that little change we provided, you know, um, product feedback to businesses that are looking to launch a new product line. We had a member in our group who, uh, you know, when he came in, had one business model, which was successful. It was also kind of dated. And so as a group, we were lovingly prodding this, bringing the business model into a modern style, SAS, a software as a service platform, as opposed to the business model that was there before. Um, and that idea was met with some resistance. But when that member came around to the idea, a whole new business was launched. That business went on to double revenue every single year, and that became that next big business in the older business was suddenly the side business. And that’s just one of many, many stories we have of wins folks get from, you know, being part of the group and being open to the feedback and advisory from others.

Lee Kantor: [00:22:36] So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on the team or get Ahold of that application, what’s the website? What’s the coordinates?

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:22:45] Yeah. Head over to Bay Area mastermind.com. You can find out more about our group, what the meetings are like, upcoming events. You can submit that test drive application. And even if you’re not sure if the group is a fit for you, the application process itself will be eye opening in terms of the questions we ask, and that’ll give you an idea of what we’re looking for. And then from there, we hop on a call and go over that. And if there’s an opportunity that, you know, looks like it’s a fit for you, we’d welcome you to join us for a test drive. And if not, that’s great. We’ve got a ton of great resources that we can share with you to help you on that journey of entrepreneurship. We’ve been there before. We’ve been running the groups for quite a long time. We’re not going anywhere anytime soon. And you’re not alone on the journey. We’re here with you.

Lee Kantor: [00:23:24] Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Jeremy Shapiro: [00:23:29] Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Lee Kantor: [00:23:30] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Bay Area Business Radio.

Rob Lucido With Magnit

by

Atlanta Business Radio
Atlanta Business Radio
Rob Lucido With Magnit
Loading
/

Magnit™ is a global leader and pioneer in contingent workforce management. Their industry-leading Integrated Workforce Management (IWM) Platform is supported by 30+ years of innovation, modern software, proven expertise, and world-class data and intelligence.

It enables companies to optimize talent and diversity goals while achieving operational and financial success. With Magnit, companies can adapt quickly to the evolution of work to grow their extended workforce with greater agility, transparency, and speed.

Rob Lucido is proud to serve as Senior Director of Strategic Advisory at Magnit. He has dedicated his career to helping organizations optimize their workforce and achieve their strategic goals.

With extensive experience in providing actionable insights and advice on talent management, recruitment, retention, and organizational design, he’s adept at delivering solutions that drive business results.

His expertise in market intelligence, data analysis, and workforce planning enables him to create customized strategies tailored to each client’s unique needs. As a thought leader in the industry, he has a proven track record of developing innovative solutions that help organizations stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly changing business landscape.

Professionally, he has over a decade of experience within the investment management industry, workforce analytics consulting with a particular focus on leadership, performance reporting, accounting and operations. He’s held senior management positions in financial operations, business operations and technology with a proven track record in Contingent Workforce Management and Financial Services, improving business processes and building high performing teams to deliver results.

Connect with Rob on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • Introduction to his role and Magnit
  • Where Magnit gathers their data fro
  • What workers fall under the category of workforce extended
  • Big population of contingent workers and new hires in Atlanta
  • Trends in Atlanta’s labor market

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio. Brought to you by On pay. Atlanta’s new standard in payroll. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:25] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, Onpay. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Atlanta Business Radio, we have Rob Lucido with Magnit. Welcome, Rob.

Rob Lucido: [00:00:43] Hey Lee, happy to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:44] I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about Magnit. How you serving folks?

Rob Lucido: [00:00:49] Yeah, sure. Uh, at Magnit, we are a third party organization that manages, really the entire non-employee workforce through software and services platforms and man, gosh, over 124 countries now for over 600 and fortune 202,000 companies. You know, really we manage what the extended workforce, which is known as, you know, freelance workers, the gig economy temp or short turn positions. And we manage that workforce across pretty much every sector in the business today. So really we kind of view ourselves as a global leader, a pioneer in the contingent workforce management space. And really at our core mission, we enable companies to optimize their talent, their diversity goals, and really helping them achieve operational and financial success through that extended workforce. And, you know, specifically for me, I manage a team in our strategic advisory department, and I have a fantastic global team of consultants. And really our objective is using our business intelligence platform, informing our clients through analytics and our leading market intelligence to customize data analysis for them, providing insights and best practices that pertain to that workforce and help them kind of navigate those hiring trends that, uh, top of mind for a lot of organizations today.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:13] Can you share a little context on, like, what for these larger firms, which I’m sure I mean, you mentioned that you work with quite a few of the largest firms in the planet or the country at least. What is kind of the ratio between their, you know, traditional employees that are their employees and their contingent workforce?

Rob Lucido: [00:02:32] Yeah. No. Great question. And it really varies from organization to organization. I think if you look at the, the, the broader economics of it, just recently, I think the most recent report around 2023, in the United States alone, 40% of the workforce today is probably that contingent labor. And so really what that workforce is, it’s, you know, it’s staffing agency, temp workers or crews working in warehousing, you know, self-employed data architects that are working on, say, like a project in it. You might have like a demand generation specialist being payrolled by like a third party payroll E and and then it can go into what we call SSW or statement of work. And that’s where you have a member or a team of, let’s say, engineering consultants working under a contract for a company, for their engineering department. And what this workforce does is it really offers greater business agility. There’s significant cost savings driven by this workforce, and you really gain an edge in talent acquisition through it. Uh, just as this ever changing workforce evolves, where individuals want to work on their own terms in a sense, and have the flexibility to move across business organizations and upskill their talent needs. And, you know, I’d say, uh, in today’s market, too, especially as we kind of roll out of this pandemic, you know, in the health care industry, a third of the industry is contingent labor these days.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:04] Now, are you finding that, um, let’s talk about young people in this group. Are they looking for more of this kind of contingent work, this gig work where they have flexibility, you know, they can have multiple projects simultaneously. It gives them a lifestyle maybe that they desire and not kind of tied to. I have to show up here, you know, Monday through Friday from X to X is that is that part of kind of why this is becoming more and more prevalent? Is that’s what the worker wants?

Rob Lucido: [00:04:37] 100%. And it’s a juxtaposition of of the evolution of this workforce because you have, you know, historical hiring practices that are are catching up to this young workforce that wants to work in this environment. You know, they they don’t necessarily want that stability of having the kind of day to day, 9 to 5 with the health care that comes with it. Uh, you know, there’s there’s benefits to this way of life. Uh, and one of that is the freedom to work where you want, when you want. Uh, you can, you know, in today’s market, a big push in recent years is, uh, the upskill of skills. And a lot of the workforce are garnering towards roles where they can continuously learn and upskill themselves for that next project. Uh, you know, that that next offering that can really enhance their well-being from a knowledge perspective as well as, you know, gain their workforce, uh, experience in that realm as well. Uh, and then there’s another lever to where, uh, you know, maybe there’s not a full time role open to companies that individuals want to work for. And the way in the door there, a lot of the times is through this kind of contingent labor taking a contract role. And companies will will use these contingent labor workforce as a kind of try before you buy apparatus, and you get a lot of better quality workers because of it. They know the business, and there’s a lot of benefits to the workforce and to the employer, employee, employer at the same time as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:10] So where does magnet fit into this equation? Like are you working with these, uh, large enterprise level organizations to help them manage their entire contingent workforce like they are working through you or you’re advising them, like where, you know, what is the scope of the work that you’re doing for these folks?

Rob Lucido: [00:06:30] Yeah, blend. Blend of both. Really. Um, we kind of take that burden off the employer to manage this workforce. Uh, we have a huge compliance department to make sure there’s no risk involved with the workers that they’re bringing on. We hold the relationships with those third party suppliers. Uh, we have a great client service team that interacts with that front line hiring manager that’s looking for this talent. Uh, a lot of times we partner with the procurement and talent acquisition teams within those organizations. Uh, at times helping them find that full time talent as well as contingent labor as well. Uh, we have so much data at our disposal. Uh, especially around pay intelligence. So allowing, you know, work, uh, work companies to really understand, you know, how much they should be paying for talent right now, what skills might, you know, increase the cost to get that talent? Uh, and so we’re a kind of one stop shop that offers that kind of full platform. Uh, and really takes the, you know, as I said before, the burden off that workforce worker industry to manage this workforce. And we hold the relationships and, you know, from end to end, uh, to really guide them through that process. And it’s a benefit not only to the employer, uh, but, you know, to their legal departments as well. Uh, you know, they don’t have to worry about who’s doing the background checks on that workforce. We help translate that as that. We help translate that as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:01] So what are some of the trade offs when it comes to hiring contingent workforce as opposed to your own employee? Like what are some of the kind of the things that might be beneficial? You mentioned flexibility and agility. Um, what are some of the things you lose by doing this?

Rob Lucido: [00:08:22] So for in today’s market you know that speed to talent right now there’s you know if you look at, you know, government releases of uh, the Department of Labor, you know, there’s there’s thousands of roles available out there, but the market is still tight, uh, because you have a large workforce that is retiring today. You have a large workforce that are being very stringent on where they’re going after roles. And a big shift in today’s, as I alluded to earlier, is that kind of shift to a skills based hiring model where, you know, historically, we’ve you know, you need that for a white collar role. You need that degree to get in the door to retain talent today. And where we help in regards to that is like a skills based advisory service. And the concept is kind of called like degree inflation today, where companies have been more willing to consider, you know, applicants that don’t have that college degree or minimum years of experience. You know, they they need that help to get that talent in the door to facilitate the needs that they have. So is this kind of shift towards skills based hiring happens? Uh, employers are really prioritizing candidates abilities and competencies over that formal education requirement. And, you know, as many industries are experiencing talent shortages today, especially in the IT and the healthcare space and skilled trades companies are really compelled to consider, uh, you know, how they source today. And that’s really how we help partner with our clients and advise them. Um, and really, I’d say I think, you know, based on recent data, 76% of employers today are using some kind of form of skills based hiring to find new talent. Um, and really, over the past year, if you look through, you know, industry leaders like LinkedIn, they’ve seen a 21% increase in jobs postings that are advertising skills and responsibility instead of qualifications today. And so that’s where our our knowledge base really helps partner with those clients to identify that talent and help them get that talent in the door.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:31] So what is kind of the pain they’re having where magnet is the solution? Where are they frustrated, um, to the point where they’re like, hey, we’ve got to bring those folks from magnet in because this is getting crazy here.

Rob Lucido: [00:10:46] Yeah, I think the. The burden that’s eased there is from a benefits perspective, companies don’t have to pay that statutory cost. So so there’s a savings on that workforce. You’re getting the same kind of skilled labor and not having to front that that statutory cost up front. So at times it’s a higher pay rate for for the workers involved. And that’s a tangible benefit to that workforce. And that’s why they kind of gravitate towards this. Uh, at the same time, the, you know, people aren’t coming in the door for the open roles that they have. And so organizations have to look elsewhere. Some organizations have their own internal to teams manage this, but I would say a large portion in the market have an MSP, a managed service provider. Just manage that business for them, uh, because, you know, their own internal talent acquisition teams and procurement teams have enough to worry about with their internal employee workforce. Uh, this kind of extended workforce, the partnership is really a benefit to both. And we just have, you know, tons of years of experience of working with all kinds of different sectors and bringing this workforce in the door. And so really that that reputation builds up. And we’re a known commodity, uh, globally to to help drive the hiring practices forward for a lot of these organizations.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:06] Now, um, how does it work from the employee standpoint or the contract worker standpoint? Are they allowed to work for any given company indefinitely, or is this something that look, according to the law, you can only be contract for X number of months before, you know, they might think that you’re an employee. Like, how does that kind of work?

Rob Lucido: [00:12:27] Yeah, there’s a lot of employment laws that kind of outline how you’re supposed to interact with this workforce. More often than not, uh, with these roles being more on the contract scale, they tend to last probably more so 18 months to three years. Uh, but at any time you can extend those workforce, uh, as needed. Um, it’s always a pipeline to that full time employee. You know, like I said before that try before you buy, you know, once that contracts up, a lot of times they’ll hire this workforce full time. Uh, they know they can do the work. I would say in the health care space, a lot of times you have, uh, a lot of traveling nurses that they’ll work 13 week contracts, and it’s a benefit to them because they get to travel from location to location if they want, for a certain period of matter of time and take on roles that, you know, they they’re knowledgeable and skilled in and have the certifications to do. And so it’s really a flexibility of of being able to work where you want, when you want.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:25] Now are certain you mentioned certain industries. I’m sure. Um, it and technology is one of them. You mentioned nursing. Are there certain industries that are kind of leaning into this more than others?

Rob Lucido: [00:13:37] You know, it’s probably been ahead of the space for for a long time. Um, but you have large biopharma clients that, that utilize this space. Um, you know, I’d say specific to the Atlanta market, you know, we’ve seen a just vast increase not only in the IT space, but in marketing and communications, um, as well as healthcare. Um, you know, data shows there’s a big influx of, of truck driver needs. And, you know, you know, that is a large growing population of contingent labor today, uh, trying to, you know, source those drivers to kind of keep that flow of commodities moving across the nation and globe.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:19] Are is your firm kind of a leading indicator? Can you get a sense of oh, I is is, uh, making a mark here like this. This is different. You know, are you able to see some of these things through your data?

Rob Lucido: [00:14:32] 100%. Yeah. And, you know, from from an employer perspective, you know, we look at all kinds of different areas, you know, PostScript and the employment process, uh, and, and proactively so, you know, when they’re looking for what are the most skills needed for today for, you know, like if we’re talking about AI, tech stocks to, you know, we go out to our pay and tell intelligence to provide those, uh, front line hiring managers and, and companies to know what they need to pay. What what is the percentage of increase on specific skills that you need to know? Um, and comparatively, you know, that’s where Atlanta is really great in the market today, comparative to those kind of similar sized metro locations, uh, you know, from a workforce industry, you know, their pay increases has been about 10% increase year over year, comparative to, you know, like Boston or San Francisco that have seen a large decrease. Uh, you know, Atlanta’s layoff rate has gone down this year, uh, comparative to the US overall. And so that’s where you’re seeing this influx of, you know, hiring trends coming into Atlanta and that contingent kind of freelance space. Um, but, you know, from a data perspective, we have, you know, the largest global contingent data set worldwide. And so I think that’s really a differentiator for us when companies work with us. I mean, we have billions of data points from hundreds of thousands of workers across, you know, 51,000 roles. And that’s covering trends across affecting recruitment, retention, staffing efforts. And and we what’s unique to us is we have a proprietary algorithm set with our data scientist teams where they cleanse, anonymize, analyze all this data and from internal and external sources. And so we use that to advise our, you know, hundreds of clients in our programs, uh, to have the best, uh, data in front of them to make informed decisions on how and why they should hire.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:36] So now, uh, regarding the Atlanta labor market, is there anything that kind of came up through your research that was like, oh, did not see that coming? Was there any surprises?

Rob Lucido: [00:16:49] Yeah, I’d.

Rob Lucido: [00:16:49] Say number one is probably the increase year over year. And we had almost a 40% increase year over year. And that’s really 60 percentage points higher than the national average. And so as I alluded to earlier, IT technology and marketing business development really were the kind of sole drivers of that increase. Um, but it’s Atlanta is unique in the sense that many people are attracted to Atlanta because of the region’s culture, the business productivity, the ease of travel with major airfares going through, uh, while the cost of living has increased, it’s still relatively low compared to other tech hubs like Austin or San Francisco, per se. And really, the benefit of land two is the cities surrounding metro region is a natural pipeline for talent, especially due to the proximity of universities like Georgia Tech or Morehouse. You know, there’s a lot of great diverse universities, as many organizations are trying to hire more diverse talent and get that talent pipeline into their organizations. That’s where Atlanta is really unique into that sense. I alluded to that. You know, the pay increase, you know, from a hiring standpoint, um, you know, not only IT and business development, but the healthcare industry is booming in the Atlanta market, and we’ve seen just an influx of RN roles, uh, in that area, especially, uh, healthcare software developers as well. Uh, and what is where businesses are more aligned to look in this area. It’s really because when you look at like a voluntary, what we call voluntary terms, and that’s, that’s workers that are leaving on their own accord from a higher from, from the metro regions. Atlanta had a 4.3%, uh, increase, uh, to 13.2, respectively. They’re one of the only metro regions to have an increase in that voluntary time perspective. And so what that says workers are staying, workers are gravitating towards this region.

Rob Lucido: [00:18:51] They want to work in the region and they’re staying longer on contracts. And so that’s what’s allowing companies to be more open. And, you know, searching for that contingent labor in region. Now, when I look at those kind of kind of two call outs that I called out earlier in the marketing area, uh, especially last year, there was a six times increase comparative to 2022. Now, rates have remained mostly flat over time for a marketing perspective. So, you know, you have roles like marketing manager and web editors who are, you know, increasingly being at risk of, you know, eyes exposure into the benefits of what it brings there. So, you know, everybody’s worried about AI right now taking jobs. And I’d say, you know, that. Well, that fear is palpable. I don’t think it resonates with the reality in the market today. That being said, you have a lot of workers that are utilizing AI technology today and partnering with AI and upskilling themselves with how to use it in their day to day. Those are the individuals that are progressing through the job, uh, for the job industry. And, you know, if I speak to it too, there are a lot of skill sets that are top of mind SQL software development, um, Java and Python and C scripts, all those workers are readily available with those skill sets in the Atlanta market, and you have a lot of folks going into the area because they have those skill sets. So it’s a booming industry, a booming location, and, you know, it’s only going to be growing in the years to come. As the metro region expands and companies and hubs start looking to, you know, really set foothold in the area.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:30] Now, how has the, um, it seems like now we’re getting a. A kind of a boomerang to the the remote workforce. Now there seems to be a return to work. Uh, companies are encouraging their employees to return to work. And then when this happened, I was it occurred to me, well, if I’m if I consider myself a remote employee, I really can’t be a remote employee. Truly, in the true sense of the word. If I have to return to work some days a week. Um, how how are you seeing that? Is that something that a big employers would like that to happen, but maybe it won’t happen? Or do you think that, yeah, it’s going to happen and then everybody’s going to have to adjust to coming back into the office every day.

Rob Lucido: [00:21:17] Yeah, it’s more prevalent, especially in the years ahead for sure. You have a lot of large institutions that are implementing, you know, a hybrid workforce where they have to be in office for a specific amount of time. Right.

Lee Kantor: [00:21:29] But if you’re a hybrid, you can’t live in Spain. You know, like you have to live in the vicinity of the office in order to come in a couple of days a week so that the idea of being remote is really well, you got to live close. That’s not exactly remote anymore.

Rob Lucido: [00:21:44] Yeah, 100%. And it kind of goes back to that. That talent shortage because you have a lot of the talent today that like the remote environment, and they’re not going to go after jobs if they’re not 100% remote. Um, now you have organizations that are offering sign on bonuses to, you know, work in that hybrid environment. Uh, you have more organizations that are being a lot more flexible at the same time as they push for areas internally that can be on site. You know, a lot of, uh, you know, like it roles, they can be remote, but then you have those client service roles that, you know, they they can be in a hub, you can work, uh, on site. I think the push back to that, that hope for a more on site flexibility is really, uh, a drop in collaborative, uh, thinking that many organizations feel has fallen off in that remote environment. And really, what’s kind of happened is while workers have enjoyed that freedom, I think you’ve seen a lot of culture impacts to business organizations that used to rely on that as a foundation of workers coming into the organization. And so that is the kind of way of thinking that is is still being ironed out today. You know, how do you drive that workforce to want to come back? What are the benefits you’re going to offer? Uh, in today’s world, you know, there’s a lot of expenses, especially in inflation of today.

Rob Lucido: [00:23:20] But but really, the affordability that that remote life offers is, you know, like child care and, you know, flexibility to, you know, not have to worry about those costs. So you have organizations that are thinking outside the box that are, you know, giving upwards of offering, uh, pets in the office to entice workers back. But, you know, having on site child care, they’re trying to find ways to entice that workforce back, uh, and taking on some excessive costs to do so. Um, you know, I think it’s, it’s more so prevalent in the, uh, financial operations markets where you’re seeing that push to drive back to the office and there’s a more willing of that workforce to do so. But that comes with an increased cost of that workforce. They’re asking for higher pay. They’re asking for higher wages to to work in an office setting. So I mean that’s going to be a trend that you see continue in the year ahead for sure. Uh, but but it’s a real challenge for organizations today to, to entice the workforce to want to work in that environment and really build back that culture that kind of got lost in that post pandemic life.

Lee Kantor: [00:24:25] But this is an area where magnet can really help, right? Like, you have so much data, you have so much information, um, and you have so many resources to really help them manage this workforce in a way that you can create these win wins for the organization and the employees.

Rob Lucido: [00:24:44] Yeah for sure. And where that is impactful for us is we survey our entire population on a consistent basis to know what the workforce wants, to know what the hiring managers want, to know what the organizations want to know what our supplier base wants. And really what the data tells us today is there has not been a drop off in productivity. There’s been an increase in productivity. Uh, you’ve almost seen an increase in somewhat burnout for some individuals because they’re working more hours. Uh, just, you know, there’s there’s not that, you know, change of pace from driving to and from the office where you’re decompressing, you’re just powering through. So there are some intangibles that, uh, some workers need to work through. Um, but what we really do to advise our organizations and say, hey, I understand you have this need. You feel that there’s this need to drive back into the office, but, you know, we can tell them, you know, you’re going to get a higher percentage of talent, a better quality of talent that’s going to be able to do this work anytime, anywhere. Uh, if you’re really, you know, cost conscious right now, you know, there’s, there’s off shore areas that have this talent readily available that you can tap into. Uh, there just needs to be a willingness and openness to understand that that work can still get done without the need for them to be in, you know, what we call butts and seats.

Rob Lucido: [00:26:01] Um, but and I think the the push there too is really cost impact where you have a lot of organizations that signed, you know, decades long leases to, uh, businesses and brick and mortar locations that are sitting empty now. So it’s a lost cost for them, and they feel that that needs has to be filled with with the workforce in there. And some organizations are mandating it. And so it’s making it harder to find that localized talent. Uh, there’s, you know, you have to look elsewhere to see what talent is willing to move. In that sense, are you going to pay a moving fee for those individuals to move families to this new location? So it’s a collaborative push for us to help partner with them. You know, we try to advise them based on what their desires are. At the same time, you know, coming from a place of what we know, they’re going to get the best talent. That’s not always remote. Uh, it’s not always, you know, in-office as well. So there’s roles that are they have to be remote and there’s roles that are not. And so that’s where we help partner with those clients to make sure that they are being proactive about what their needs are. But being, you know, practical about how they’re going to be able to obtain that work.

Lee Kantor: [00:27:14] So if somebody wanted to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on the team, what is the website? What are the best way to to get Ahold of you?

Rob Lucido: [00:27:25] Or for us, it’s, uh, magna globalcom. And, you know, there’s a lot of great information on there that our company provides free of charge. We have some great market intelligence platforms to understand what the current trends are in the market, and a lot of great subject matter experts to get in touch with on whatever your workforce needs are. And, you know, thank you for the time I’ve been, you know, really thrilled to talk with you and and let everyone know what magnet can do today.

Lee Kantor: [00:27:57] And that’s magnet global magnet Globalcom. Rob, I really appreciate you coming on and sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Rob Lucido: [00:28:10] Thank you. Lee.

Lee Kantor: [00:28:11] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

About Our Sponsor

OnPay’sOnPay-Dots payroll services and HR software give you more time to focus on what’s most important. Rated “Excellent” by PC Magazine, we make it easy to pay employees fast, we automate all payroll taxes, and we even keep all your HR and benefits organized and compliant.

Our award-winning customer service includes an accuracy guarantee, deep integrations with popular accounting software, and we’ll even enter all your employee information for you — whether you have five employees or 500. Take a closer look to see all the ways we can save you time and money in the back office.

Follow OnPay on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter

Leslie Licano With Beyond Fifteen Communications, Inc.

by

High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
Leslie Licano With Beyond Fifteen Communications, Inc.
Loading
/

Leslie Licano, co-founder and CEO of Beyond Fifteen Communications, is an award-winning public relations strategist, renowned for her ability to spotlight individuals and companies as trendsetters, innovators and newsmakers.

As leader of client strategy, she steers her team toward breakthrough work through high-concept thinking while serving as chief counsel to the company’s extensive roster of wide-ranging clients.

Connect with Leslie on LinkedIn and follow Beyond Fifteen Communications on Facebook and Twitter.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • Key milestones and challenges the company has overcome
  • Beyond Fifteen is described as a progressive and full-service PR, digital marketing, and social media agency. How has the landscape of these industries evolved over the past 15 years, and how has Beyond Fifteen adapted to these changes
  • Strategies that she have employed to ensure Beyond Fifteen continues to provide powerful and goal-driven communications solutions for their clients
  • Some success stories or notable client achievements that highlight Beyond Fifteen’s commitment to delivering measurable results
  • With the rise of digital communication, how does Beyond Fifteen balance the use of traditional PR methods with modern, digital strategies to create a comprehensive approach for clients
  • Innovations or new initiatives that we can expect from Beyond Fifteen in the coming years

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:15] Lee Kantor here. Another episode of High Velocity Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have Leslie Licano with Beyond Fifteen Communications. Welcome.

Leslie Licano: [00:00:27] Thank you. Happy to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:29] I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about beyond 15 communications. How are you serving folks?

Leslie Licano: [00:00:35] Beyond 15 communications is a full service marketing firm based in Southern California. Uh, we do paid, earned and owned media, really full funnel omnichannel marketing services, trying to bring people from the top of the sales funnel from awareness down through consideration and ultimately conversion.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:54] Now, I heard that now you’re you’ve just achieved your 15th year anniversary. So you’re you’re really beyond 15 now.

Leslie Licano: [00:01:02] Yeah, we have some big campaigns uh, to play with that this year because it is it’s pretty great. We were our name is all about that old Andy Warhol quote where once in your life everyone will have 15 minutes of fame. So we bring our clients, you know, beyond that 15 minutes to lasting recognition. But it’s a it is a real milestone. We’re we’re excited to celebrate.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:22] Now, can you talk about what got you into this line of work? How did this all begin and evolve?

Leslie Licano: [00:01:28] Yeah, yeah. You know, I wanted to be a journalist. I was a talented writer growing up and loved that way of expressing myself through the written word. As I got through school, I kind of realized, oh, journalism may not be be for me. And so on the flip side of journalism is PR, right? And it’s the, you know, helping the businesses get their stories heard, using the journalists to kind of help be that conduit, right, and to be a partner to those journalists as well. And so that was the path that I studied. And then that really started to evolve. Right. Pr has evolved a lot over the, you know, 20 years since I’ve been, you know, doing what I’m doing or 25 year, I think at this point and it’s evolved into a whole lot of digital marketing now as well. And so those skill sets just parlayed right over into, you know, social media marketing at first and then SEO services and then pay per click. And so now we’re doing full service marketing, starting with that skill set, you know, that began at the written word and began with, how can I get a client’s message translated in a way that, you know, media and consumers will see value, and also that really, you know, helps them meet their goals?

Lee Kantor: [00:02:37] Now, you mentioned that over the course of those, you know, couple of decades in this industry, things have changed. And to me, there’s been a blurring of the lines of like, where does advertising begin and where does PR begin? Or are they kind of now two sides of the same coin? How do you see kind of the difference between PR or communications company and an ad agency or a marketing agency?

Leslie Licano: [00:03:03] Yeah, it’s really just not serving people to do just, you know, one trick anymore, right? Where, you know, in past, you could just use PR that could be sort of the only, you know, thing that you’re doing, and you’d really move the needle. Now, I think there’s just so much noise. There’s so many ways to reach people. We need lots of different touch points in order to, you know, get people through the funnel to the conversion you’re looking for via sales or something else. So yeah, it’s changed. It’s changed a whole lot. Pr you know, it used to be, you know, you’re doing door drops, right? You’re bringing press kits to journalists, newsrooms. You know, we were faxing press releases. That’s just not how it works anymore. And so that that’s changed dramatically. I mean, now sometimes we’re even using social media to pitch journalists. We’re definitely using it to help identify stories on the on the digital side. You know, we began just thinking, gosh, we could get these PR messages out. Instead of having to rely on third party media, we could get them out direct to the consumer. You know, we can skip the middleman, you know? Um, and so that’s how we first started using social media, was really to kind of broadcast our message to targeted audiences or our clients messages, um, and, and quickly sort of realized, oh, that’s a two way conversation as well.

Leslie Licano: [00:04:20] And so then it becomes a whole, you know, a whole evolution. We added, um, social media advertising, you know, to be able to, uh, get to just the right person with just the right message. Uh, we still want to use the PR for that sort of broad mass appeal. Then we’re using social media to get 1 to 1. We’re layering in SEO so that we can answer the questions that people are searching and their their Google search bar. And that client can land on our, our content. The content still feels like the PR content that we did 20 years ago, right? It’s it’s high quality blogs and articles and listicles that are going to engage people. Um, so that that feels like traditional PR, but the way that we’re getting people to that content and getting people to kind of be aware of who our clients are, what they stand for, what they do, and why they’re a leader in the space that’s changed completely.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:14] Now, you mentioned that, um, this is kind of multichannel omnichannel. Um, how do you, uh, have these conversations with your clients? Are they coming to you initially with kind of looking at you with your PR hat on, or are they looking to just solve a problem of, hey, I need more clients, or hey, we have a new product launch and we’re having a difficult time kind of articulating, um, you know, what makes it different and special?

Leslie Licano: [00:05:45] Yeah, yeah. It varies. Um, so, so certainly we’ve had very specific challenges. We had a, you know, a publicly traded company overseas that wanted to, you know, meet the US market where it’s at. And so that’s a whole kind of thing in and of itself. Uh, we have people who come and say, hey, I just want to be in the news or I just want to, you know, fill my lead funnel for my new sales team. So we absolutely have people who know exactly what they want. Sometimes that becomes a bigger conversation because, again, it’s hard to do just one piece of any of this and have success. Um, there’s a lot of people who have been burned by Google ads, for instance, because they tried to do them themselves. You know, they didn’t know how to put in, you know, cross negatives or, you know, they didn’t know how to not cannibalize their own ad spend. Right. There’s a lot of things you can you can, uh, you know, kind of muck up if you’re a novice and you can just say, all right, I’m going to throw the baby out with the bathwater, and Google ads don’t work for my business. And that may be true.

Leslie Licano: [00:06:44] We have encountered times where that is the case, but more often than not, we say, let us give it a try for 90 days. You know, let us just get in there. I can see what’s going on in your account. We can see the errors that were made and how they could be, um, rectified. And we’ve had really major turnarounds that way. Um, and so, you know, a lot of times people, you know, think that they need one thing, they really need others, um, or they think, hey, it’s just an instant conversion from that Google ad. You know, people click, they’re going to come to me, they’re going to see I’m great, and they’re going to become a client. Um, and we don’t think about, okay, what about that mid-funnel content, right. The Google ads are at the top of the funnel. In the middle is all of that content marketing so that people know who you are, right? They’re not just going to, you know, shake your hand and say, okay, I’m in. Um, they need to really get a feel for who you are, what you do, why it’s important you know your stuff. You’re not just walking the walk. You’re talking the talk. Um, and that’s where that mid-funnel content comes in.

Leslie Licano: [00:07:42] And so, you know, if you’ve got someone who says, ultimately I want sales, but I just want this one top of funnel strategy, we’ve got to do some counsel in there to talk about, okay, well what’s going to pull them through. And are we going to do retargeting at the bottom of the funnel too, for the people who couldn’t make up their mind, you know, on day one, uh, which happens a lot, especially in B2B, right. If you’re doing. High ticket B2B marketing play. No one’s going to click an ad, see you and go, yep, I’m going to spend, you know, $30,000 a month on your service or, you know, whatever it is, it’s just not not how it works. They’re going to need some nurturing along the way. Um, so yeah, it’s become a more evolved conversation. We’re not, um, you know, what do they say? Like, if you sell, sell, uh, hammers, everything you see becomes a nail, right? So we can’t just say, here’s our solution, you know, um, you need it. Uh, we really have to, to do an audit and take our step back and see what’s going to make sense for each individual client.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:38] Yeah. And I think that a lot of people think that just because you’re messaging someone with the perfect message, which it might be the perfect message, they just not may not be in the mode to buy today, but they might be in the mode to buy in three months or six months. I mean, even the best product is or service isn’t going to work if the timing’s wrong.

Leslie Licano: [00:08:57] Yeah, yeah. And that’s where that retargeting really comes in. And some people, you know, experience it as creepy. And I think if you overdo it, it can be I know it was, uh, shopping for a rug recently, and I mean, the amount of rugs that are in my inbox or in my social feed right now, um, and just, you know, the fact that if I go onto any website, I see that rug, you know, it’s in the sidebar ads. Um, you know, that’s that’s sort of how the retargeting works, right? You wanted this at one point. If I expose you to it over time, you know, will you come back? Um, and there are companies that I think really overdo that to a point where it feels creepy. It feels, um, you know, just, you know, lay off already. If I want the rug, I’ll come back, you know? So we really try to time things well, too. And there’s, there’s algorithms and data in that that will help you kind of play it. Right. How many touches do I want? How often do I want them to be spaced out. And then the AI that’s integrated into some of those platforms will kind of help you like this is this is a person who has, you know, behaviorally, you know, their data shows that when they see something three times, they are more likely to swipe up to buy. And so you show it to that person three times. And this is a person who needs a week or two, you know, to mole. And if you show them something with longer stretches of time in between, um, then they’re better suited to it. And so the, you know, the advantages of AI being integrated into some of these tools, um, just can’t be understated. It’s it’s really up to the game for, for meeting people where they are, um, and, and helping to move people through.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:34] Now, um, how do you have kind of the conversation with ROI and metrics, like back in the day when they hired a PR company, they’d say, you know, I want to be on the Wall Street Journal or some big magazine, and you’d be like, well, we’ll try. And, you know, you work your relationships and contacts and hopefully that happens. What are the expectations in today’s world when it comes to, um, you know, metrics and ROI when it comes to this kind of work?

Leslie Licano: [00:11:01] Yeah, yeah. I mean, with with PR, it’s still really is about where do you want to be and can we get you there? You know, so it’s about your goals and our ability to help you meet those goals. Um, you know, we we use advanced measurement tools. We look at, you know, for, for PR, we look at a lot of the ad valuation as well. You know, if you were going to buy an ad in this publication, it would cost you, you know, X dollars, you know, but you’re getting it through earned media. And so here’s what that value is when you tally it all up at the end. So that’s that’s still pretty straightforward. Um, from a PR measurement side of things. Some of them you can tell like how much traffic, you know, came into the website from the PR. So that’s another nice metric. Um, but with the digital really the digital program is aligned to the client’s goals. So, you know, we have a big, uh, client that we basically serve as their, their full service, um, their marketing team. Right. We work almost like an in-house agency for them because we’re just we’re doing everything soup to nuts. Um, and they work through a distributor model. So their goal is to create awareness, um, and to get folks to this where to buy.

Leslie Licano: [00:12:08] And after that, you know, we can’t really track the conversion. And so they’re able though to, to use our where to buy data to see that it actually does correlate with their sales. And so now they’re really looking at our metrics of okay, you know, here’s how much traffic we drove to where to buy. And that’s going to correlate with next month’s sales figures. So that’s been a nice nice thing to look at. Um, but with folks where an immediate sale is the conversion, that’s a lot more straightforward. Um, and so really it’s about setting the CTA or the call to action to what it is that we want to measure. And then with digital, it’s it’s really straightforward. I mean, you can measure everything. You know, if I want awareness I can see how many people follow me, view my videos, engage with my content, visit my website. You know, so the measurement on the digital side is actually. Slate. A really neat thing, because then we can start making data driven decisions about what to do next, you know, based on on what worked. And we have all that data at our fingertips, which is really nice.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:14] Now, just because things are easy to measure doesn’t mean it’s the most appropriate thing to measure. How do you kind of help your client discern what is the right metric to be paying attention to, and and using that as the lever to help them get the outcome they desire?

Leslie Licano: [00:13:31] That’s a really good question. Yeah, we get a lot of folks who want followers, you know, or they want to be they just want to have more followers than their competitor. Um, and, and we definitely have to counsel away from, from those things that we kind of call vanity metrics. It’s just a number that feels really good, but it’s not going to help your business. Um, and it’s also much harder. Just on a side note tangent to get followers these days. That’s not how we consume media anymore, right? In the early days of, say, Facebook, you’d follow the brands you wanted to hear from. Now you don’t have to do that. If if I engage with that brand, if I even just linger for a moment on that Instagram video, the algorithm is going to know to serve me more of it. And so I don’t, you know, personally, I follow very, very few brands on, on Instagram. Yet I see lots of great ones and I swipe up to buy all the time, you know, um, and so I think just kind of making sure that the, the metric correlates with the business goals and that it changes as the business goals change.

Leslie Licano: [00:14:37] Right? So I think there’s a lot of firms that kind of look at this, set it and forget it program. Like we’re going to execute these five tactics on an ongoing basis. We’re going to measure these five KPIs. That’s it. You know that’s your program. Set it and forget it. Rinse, repeat. Um, and that doesn’t always work. Sometimes, you know, you find okay, I’ve got a lot of top of funnel traffic. And that’s what I was hired for. It was to generate top of funnel traffic. Great. I’m good. But if you haven’t talked to them about what’s happening next, you know, where’s it going after. Are you doing the follow through on it? You know, is it the right traffic? How can we tell? Um, then then, you know, you think you’re aligned with the business objective because you’re aligned with the initial statement that they made? Um, but really, you know, it goes deeper than that and it can shift over time. So I think staying engaged in a two way conversation about what’s happening, what it means, and what we do next, um, that should really never end. Um, in a, in a marketing engagement.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:35] Now, what’s the sweet spot in terms of an ideal client for beyond 15?

Leslie Licano: [00:15:42] Yeah. Um, you know, I think that the client that has a story to tell is pretty important. There are some, you know, heavily commoditized industries where there’s not a whole lot of innovation happening. Um, so it’s where it’s really difficult to set one brand apart from another and where there’s not a whole lot going on internally that we can kind of shout from the rooftops. Those tend to be a more difficult client. Um, for us, because there’s just, you know, there’s less to leverage. Um, the ideal client has a lot going on. You know, they’re busy. They’re they’re building relationships. They have exciting client engagements that they want to tell people about. Um, they’re innovating. They’ve got new products that have been upgraded or, you know, are exciting to the market, and they want to get those out. Um, so, so those, those clients that are, um, really feeling enthusiastic and are doing things that they’re excited about are the ones that that we get most excited about to the ones who say, yeah, there’s not really anything going on, but just, you know, I just need more business. Those are the tougher ones, you know? Um, depending on the, the industry. So we’re doing a lot in B2B right now. Um, a lot in high tech. Um, you know, that’s that’s always been a really growing market and one that we’re, um, excelling in. But we also love a great consumer brand. Um, we have a major tire brand, is one of our clients, and we started their Instagram and YouTube channel, I think, six years ago, and they’re now the number one tire brand on Instagram and YouTube with over 4 million followers, you know? So it’s really exciting, I think, to kind of span the gamut to have, you know, high tech client, to have an education, a law, a consumer product, you know, sort of really kind of mix it up, I think makes sure that, you know, no day ever gets boring and you can really apply the lessons you’ve learned across industries to helping helping other clients as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:41] Now, um, I would imagine a lot of your clients are already have some relationship with either marketing, PR or advertising firms. What’s kind of their frustration with them or where they’ve maybe plateaued in a result where they’re saying, you know what, why don’t we give at least some of the work to be on 15 and let’s see what they can do. So what’s usually that kind of point of entry for you on an initial client?

Leslie Licano: [00:18:09] Yeah, I mean it’s either not getting results. That’s a that’s a big one. Right? I’ve been doing it and paying the money month over month. Um, but I’m not getting the business result I want. That’s, that’s, you know, that’s frustrating. Frustrating. Um, the other is just a lack of new ideas. Um, and so we really drive our team, right? You can’t rest back on your laurels. There’s never a point where we can stop hustling. And our, uh, I’ll tell you a little bit about our client contracts. A lot of, uh, companies will lock you in to, like, a six month or year long contract. We’re doing 90 days, um, on a rolling out. So that means we’ve always got to earn our keep, right? We’ve always. You know, we’re really only as good as our last month’s results. Um, and if those aren’t where they need to be, then it’s really easy for our client to disengage. And we did that intentionally because we don’t ever want, um, an unhappy client. Um, but for those who are locked in and they’re sort of writing things out until they can, can switch over and work with us again, it’s often a lack of results or just a lack of fresh ideas.

Leslie Licano: [00:19:10] You know, we we do beautiful 12 month plans, omnichannel plans that, you know, big Gantt chart that shows every month the omnichannel theme, all the different buckets of earned, owned and paid media that we’re going to touch on how they’ll all work together. I mean, you spend a lot of time creating these big old 12 month plans, but they can’t be set in stone. You know, they need to be living, breathing documents that react to what’s working and what doesn’t. Um, and, you know, have that flexibility. And also, if we see something really cool bringing that to our clients, hey, here’s an opportunity you should participate in. Here’s a speaking engagement. I know speaking is not in our scope of work, but I think you should have this stage, you know, really just staying excited. Um, and, and continuing to maintain the hustle, I think is a great way to kind of keep a client longer. Terme. And what we see, uh, folks coming to us kind of coming out of, um, lacking.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:06] Now, is there a story you can share? Uh, you don’t have to name the client, but, um, maybe the most rewarding where you were able to take a client that and exceeded their expectations and maybe gave them a result they didn’t even think was possible.

Leslie Licano: [00:20:23] Yeah, yeah, I think that the tire brand is one that we’re really, really, you know, very excited about, kind of that those numbers because 4 million followers just doesn’t happen in today’s today’s market for most companies. But you know, it’s also really fulfilling to work with smaller brands too. I mean, I think about beyond 15. Is my baby right. This this business I’ve been running for 15 years is how much does it matter to me that it succeeds or fails? I mean, everything, right? And so when you’re working with a smaller company too, you know, you know, they’re looking at that as their baby too. And so, you know, especially if they’ve got kind of a shoestring budget. And, you know, I, we had a client that had six months of budget and that’s really all they could do. And they were, you know, pinching pennies in order to do it as a husband and wife duo. And we built an award winning campaign. I got the Gold Produce Award for best Media relations program and won the Bulldog PR award. Um, and it’s, you know, for a for a company that’s just two people, you know, basically being able to build a thought leadership plan program that got them in like Askmen, MSM, Men’s Health. I mean, really just got I think it was like 60 some earned media placements and a readership of over 1.8 billion. It was it was a massive, massive success, um, and an award winning program for, for these folks who have just pinched their pennies to, to only be able to do six months. Right. And so that was really exciting and rewarding too. So I think there’s just a lot that’s rewarding about the work that we do in marketing. We’re helping other people’s businesses succeed every day, big and small. Um, and so it doesn’t get much better than that.

Lee Kantor: [00:22:07] Now, if you looked in your crystal ball about trends, maybe upcoming in the next year or two, in marketing and in communications, like where does I fit in? Where where do you see the most opportunity for folks out there to leverage some of the new technologies and what’s, you know, your opinion on what’s, you know, kind of going to make it and what may be just the fad.

Leslie Licano: [00:22:32] Yeah, yeah. I mean, there’s a lot of fads that come and go. I mean, any time there’s a new social media platform we’ve got to hop to and really, you know, become experts quickly figure out who needs to be there, who doesn’t. One of the recent ones was like threads, you know, there’s a lot of hype and it’s quieted down quite a bit. Um, there’s not a whole lot of action on threads. We’re not recommending a whole lot of clients, you know, go there. So, you know, a lot of times our recommendation is to kind of be ready, you know, have your strategy built, potentially dip a toe in. But, you know, it’s better to be amazing in the 4 or 5 channels that you can really own versus to spread yourself so thin, you know, trying to be everything to everybody, um, that you barely make a dent. So, um, you know, it’s hard with so many different things coming out all the time. Um, as far as what’s impacting us most, uh, right now and expected to the the whole conversion to Ga4, the Google Analytics, um, um, shift that has been a big, uh, a big deal for kind of how we’re doing content marketing, how we’re trying to structure, um, websites and tracking. Um, also at the same time, that idea of the cookieless future, uh, you know, I don’t know how much you know about that, but the, you know, first, the GDPR came up, right? There’s all this stuff about privacy, and they’ve been saying it’s coming. It’s coming for a really long time. Um, we almost, you know, worry about being the boy who cries wolf.

Leslie Licano: [00:23:56] We’re trying to prepare for this cookieless future that we keep thinking is around the corner, and the platforms keep delaying. But that’s going to be a big one. Um, and it’s going to really mean that we’ve got to think about more privacy centric methods for data collection and analysis, which we’re already doing, so that we are ready, um, first party data collection, you know, using more contextual targeting. Um, in our advertising, thinking about consent management platforms, thinking about collecting your own data. Right. Asking people to fill out a form fill. It sounds old school, but I think, you know, getting really good at that, uh, you know, is is going to be big when this eventually does come. Um, and then, yeah, AI is a game changer for sure. I’m excited to see what the next generation brings. I think it’s really important to use it responsibly. Uh, we just did a blog on that and kind of. Uh, what works and what doesn’t. Right. And and some of the stuff that’s coming out with right now is, is not real. You know, it’ll source, um, scholarly articles that were never written. And, um, it’ll do things that could get you in some trouble. Um, from a Marcom perspective, um, so I think, you know, using it to support you, but not to do your job for you is is really important. Um, and, and just, you know, being careful there. Right? You can’t you can’t be, um, relying on it as the be all, end all holy grail of truth. You know.

Lee Kantor: [00:25:28] Now, if you were giving advice to somebody, uh, maybe an entrepreneur that isn’t ready for you today, but might be tomorrow, what are some actionable things they can do in and around communications, you know, today? What are what? Some low hanging fruit for firms out there right now?

Leslie Licano: [00:25:47] Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the way that the most recent, uh, core algorithm shift on Google, uh, impacted things really has prioritized content, uh, especially content that answers the questions that people are searching. So I think writing articles, you know, figuring out what folks are searching online that has to do with your industry and that you can really speak to as an expert, um, and then developing that content and optimizing it on your site, I think, is a really, you know, that is kind of some, some low hanging fruit, because the more that your site is seen as a powerful answer to client or to the questions that people are googling, um, the better your authority is going to be and the more likelihood you show up at the top of the search, which is a huge goal for for many, many client businesses. Um, so I think focusing on quality content marketing, um, you know, writing some pieces on, on things that you are an authority in the field on is a great starting point. Um, and then, you know, down the line or even, you know, sooner if you’ve got the resources, can do a lot with that. I mean, we, we talk about how we can take a single piece of content. We can make a whole campaign out of it if it’s if it’s strong. Right. And we could slice and dice it up for social media content. Uh, we could use social ads to drive people over to it. We could pitch it to press as a byline article, you know, with your headshot and bio on it. Um, there’s just so much you can do with it. You can send it out in your newsletters or email marketing to kind of follow up with warm leads. Um, I probably a dozen other things that we would do to sort of slice and dice content to make it go further. So I don’t think that will ever be a wasted effort, especially the way that the search engines are moving, um, to have a body of work that you’re just building that way.

Lee Kantor: [00:27:39] So if somebody wanted to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on the team, what’s the website? What’s the best way to get Ahold of you?

Leslie Licano: [00:27:46] We would love that. Uh, it’s beyond 15.com with the 15 spelled out. Um, so beyond 15.com. Uh, we blog, by the way, so much we do our own blogging program. Uh, I think we’re doing four for a month right now, and we have been for a decade. Um, so a lot of the topics that you’re talking about right now, we actually have articles about on our website. So if anyone wants to dig into any of that, um, it’s likely there as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:28:16] Well, Leslie, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work, and we appreciate you.

Leslie Licano: [00:28:22] Thank you so much for having me on. I really enjoyed this, uh, this call.

Lee Kantor: [00:28:25] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

Rachel Johnston With Sunset Social

by

Atlanta Business Radio
Atlanta Business Radio
Rachel Johnston With Sunset Social
Loading
/

Rachel Johnston is the Founder & CEO of Sunset Social.

She is an entrepreneur and Georgia State University alumna. Rachel is a digital marketer, specializing in the fields of design and content creation, copywriting, event coverage, social media strategy, and social media management.

She has worked with companies in the industries of venture capital, technology, media, coaching, recruiting, finance, product-based businesses, fitness, travel, sports, food, healthcare, and more. She has also worked with various startup companies and on personal brands for entrepreneurs on social media.

Currently, she is the Founder & CEO of Sunset Social, a social media marketing agency that ignites the social presence of brands, guiding businesses and startups towards digital success.

Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn and follow Sunset Social on Facebook.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • What is Sunset Social and who do we serve
  • What is it like working with their clients (mainly Atlanta tech startups)
  • Some social media marketing trends & tips – mainly for tech startups
  • What does her journey been like starting a company less than a year post-grad (or as an early 20s founder) Or just general discoveries/lessons as a founder.
  • The power of discipline in your life – work and otherwise
  • Why creating a mindset of “action and decisiveness” is important

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:10] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio. Brought to you by Onpay. Built in Atlanta, Onpay is the top rated payroll and HR software anywhere. Get one month free at on Paycom. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:37] Lee Kantor here another episode of Atlanta Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, Onpay. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Atlanta Business Radio, we have Rachel Johnston with Sunset Social. Welcome.

Rachel Johnston: [00:00:57] Hi Lee, thank you so much for having me. I’m excited to be here. Well, I’m.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:01] Excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about Sunset Social. How are you serving folks?

Rachel Johnston: [00:01:05] Yes, absolutely. So Sunset Social is a social media agency that ignites the social presence of brands, guiding businesses and startups towards digital success. So our journey started in January of 2022. So we actually just hit our two year anniversary, which is really exciting. Um, and since then, we have helped dozens of businesses and startups with their social media marketing. So a couple of things that we help our clients with are social media management is definitely one of our biggest services. We have startups and businesses coming to us like, hey, I don’t have the capacity to handle this, right? And they hand it over to us and we completely handle their social media channels from top to bottom. So that is definitely our most popular service. We also help our clients with social media event coverage. If they do have conferences or other types of events that they host, as well as social media ads. So those are our three main ways that we’re serving our clients. And we actually are also launching a new service next Thursday. So I’m excited to share more about that on LinkedIn in the coming week.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:18] Now, um, what was kind of the evolution of your kind of business journey? Did you start out, um, working in firms and then spun off on your own, or was this something like right from the jump, you were like, I think I can do this.

Rachel Johnston: [00:02:35] Right? Yeah. So I, uh, launched my business. I think I registered the LLC about four months after I graduated from Georgia State. Um, so that I think that was just like a leap of faith type of thing. I was like, I knew I wanted to start a business for a while, but I didn’t know exactly what to name it, what I wanted to do. You know, all of these, um, pieces, and you think you want to make it perfect before you start, right? But I just registered the LLC, chose a name, went with Sunset Social, and here we are. So that’s kind of how we started. And then in January of 2022 is when we started to take on clients and officially launched, uh, before that in college and within my first year of business as well, I was working for a awesome marketing agency also based in Atlanta, and that taught me a lot of what I know, um, before I started my business. So I started off as an intern in college and progressed with that company and then decided to launch my own quite quickly after graduating from state. So it’s been an incredible journey so far. Lots of lessons and learning and difficulties as well as any founder knows, but it’s been incredible.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:52] Now, when you were starting out, um, what made you think like, oh, I know how to do this. I’m really good at this. Um, you know, the social media marketing element of marketing, what kind of what were some of the clues that you had that, hey, I can do this. I don’t need to be part of a bigger firm. I have everything it takes in order to be successful.

Rachel Johnston: [00:04:14] Right? Absolutely. I think that a lot of that came from my experience at my previous agency job as well as in college. Um, and I was also honing in on my skills. This is something when I talked to, um, current students and do any sort of, you know, panels or mentoring with current students is I always encourage them to network on. Linkedin is one of my biggest things that I always say, network, network, network. Your network will take you very far and also hone in on those skills. Whatever you want to do, whether it’s social media, then you need to start working on Canva. You need to start becoming proficient at Canva. Copywriting, um, different, you know, tools for posting. You need to learn more about these social media platforms and the algorithms and all of those things. So that’s something I always say to current students. And that is also what I was doing, um, during my time in school. And then before I started my business, as I was really honing in on those skills. Um, but before we launched, um, and also a lot of help from mentors, I mean, mentorship is incredible. I have a lot of awesome mentors, which really helped.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:23] Now, when you were, um, kind of learning the ropes here, what drew you to the the start up community? What what what about that was something you were like, you know what? I’m going to lean into that niche and really try to serve that group.

Rachel Johnston: [00:05:38] Yeah, absolutely. So a really cool thing about having an agency rather than working in-house at a marketing company, is we really get to work with startups and businesses of all different industries, which is really cool. So we’ve got to learn a lot of things from our clients. And as far as the tech startup space, I think a lot of that had to do with my network. Again on LinkedIn, the network I was building within my years before starting the business, and also, um, Atlanta Tech events. I’ve attended a lot of those over the years, and so it kind of just naturally became, um, an evolution. And that became our what is currently our biggest client base, our tech startups. And so I think through my network and those events, it really just naturally, um, became kind of our home. Um, and we and we love the Atlanta tech community here. We have an incredible ecosystem, I would argue, definitely one of the best in the US. I know that that is a debate. But, um, I think that Atlanta has some incredible startups that come out of it, and we’ve really had the pleasure of working with some of those startups. So, um, it kind of just came to be there. My networking.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:57] Now, when you’re working with a startup, is there any, um, difference in the marketing? Like would a startup’s marketing, especially on social media, be different than like a hair salons marketing on social media?

Rachel Johnston: [00:07:11] Oh for sure, for sure. One thing with tech startups is a lot of them don’t have a physical product or something to show, right? So if you’re at a hair salon or if you’re a restaurant, those are all physical things that you can go and take pictures of. So you’ve got to get a little bit more creative with your content for sure. When it comes to tech startups. Um, and another thing I’ll say to that is two things I’ve really noticed with our startup clients that has proven valuable. One is LinkedIn, which I will speak on LinkedIn forever. I love LinkedIn, LinkedIn is incredible, and it is a platform that a lot of people do overlook, um, for their businesses. But I have seen from my tech clients, as well as other tech startups, that LinkedIn is a valuable platform for any tech startup. I will always say that because on there you have your B2B, you have your B2C, you have your investors and the accelerators that oftentimes startups are involved in. You have all of those things on LinkedIn. And I have seen with all of my clients, LinkedIn is a valuable platform. Um, and then also to when it comes to startups and marketing for startups, especially in the early stages, startups are very interconnected with the founders, right? People want to see the founders journey as well as the startups journey because they are so interconnected. So I do always encourage my clients as well to share about their personal journeys and, you know, connect that with the business because people love to see, um, things progressing.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:52] Now, when you’re working with startups, especially tech startups, how do you help them kind of protect them from themselves when it comes to their ability to communicate, um, elegantly about their technology and, and move outside of kind of a lot of times I’ve worked with a lot of tech startups over the years, and sometimes they’re so enamored with how clever their technical solution is. They have a difficult time expressing that in, in ways of, um, the true value that the consumer will benefit from that technology. So, um, how do you kind of help them with that translation from, you know, maybe tech speak to human speak when it comes to, you know, their what they’re working on?

Rachel Johnston: [00:09:42] Yeah, that’s a really good question. Um, one thing when it comes to social media is it’s all about community. And that’s why a lot of our, our clients come to us is they’re like, we’ve got the tech voice. We’ve got, you know, all the technology. I can build the product, but I don’t know how to market it and speak on it in a way that, like you said, kind of, you know, you still want to talk about the tech, of course, on social media, but you need to add in that community element to it and speak to the people like people, and not just, oh, I have this super cool thing. Um, you need to try it out and be too salesy. You also want to, you know, build a community, right? Um, so community building is huge on social media, and that’s something that we help our clients with is kind of, you know, of course, again, we want to talk about the technology and what you’re building and how it’s going to help folks, but also to we want to add that kind of human voice to it. And that’s what we help our clients with.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:36] So what does that kind of. Initial conversation for you. When you’re trying to prospect for a client and you run across somebody that is maybe super smart, off the charts technology wise, but has a difficult time communicating their value proposition, how do you first open their mind to, hey, maybe you do need help in this area because a lot of times they think they’re the smartest person in the room, that they have everything figured out, not just what their technology is. So how do you kind of become that bridge for them to really open their mind to go, hey, you know what, your technology is great. But if you can’t communicate this to anybody, it’s not going to you’re not going to be able to grow.

Rachel Johnston: [00:11:18] Yeah, totally. That that’s a huge point. If you’re not able to communicate it online or wherever you’re marketing, then it’s not going to grow. So, um, we’ve been lucky and we have incredible clients who are really open to hearing our opinions. And I think a lot of it, too, is just having these candid conversations with our clients and talking with them and saying, okay, what do you see? But here are our suggestions, right? We can do it your way. We can do it our way. We can do it kind of in in between. Um, here are our suggestions though, of what we believe is going to work. How can we bridge this gap and make sure that we are meeting your needs? Um, but also, um, using our expertise to, you know, make sure things are performing as best as possible.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:02] Now, what has been the most rewarding part of the journey thus far?

Rachel Johnston: [00:12:07] Man. That’s a good question. Um, the most rewarding part, I think that when you start to look at even the small wins and celebrating those, it really can become pivotal, because I think, especially as a solopreneur, I have a team now. But, you know, I am the singular founder, right? So it’s a lot of the time it’s just me on the day to day. And so I’m trying to personally, um, do a better job of celebrating the little wins, um, throughout the days and also looking back at how far I’ve come, because you can get so stuck in the day to day hardships and you might have something really hard go on on Monday, and by the next Monday, you, you know, it’s it’s the past, right? So you don’t want to get too stuck on things that in the end, is this going to matter in a week? Is this going to matter in a month? Right. So I’ve tried to have that create that kind of mindset within myself and also celebrate even the small wins on a daily, daily basis. Um, and look at how far I have come in just two years now.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:15] Um, is there any kind of tips you can share for a startup or somebody who’s thinking about, you know, leaning more into the social media marketing? Because at some point you you have to tell people about what you’re working. What you’re working on. So what are some things like that are actionable that you could share with a tech startup or anybody really, when it comes to social media marketing, is there some low hanging fruit that people can do just to to gain some traction?

Rachel Johnston: [00:13:46] Yeah, absolutely. I would say, you know, if you’re at the stage where you’re not ready to hire, you know, a social media team yet to help you, I would go back to what I said about LinkedIn. Just start on LinkedIn again. Linkedin, um, will but what.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:59] Does get start on LinkedIn mean? Like what are some things I could do on LinkedIn today that will help me tomorrow?

Rachel Johnston: [00:14:05] Absolutely. I would say if you’re a brand new company, I would start that business account on LinkedIn first. So again, a lot of your identity is still going to be tied up between the startup and the founder. But you need to create that business page and start building the business separately than just yourself. Of course. Add that on to your experience, your profile, and start pushing people towards that business page and eventually creating content on there and sharing about the business. Um, because what social media platforms work best for you depends very much on each specific startup, right? If your target audience is more on Facebook, then go on Facebook. If your target audience is more on Instagram, go on Instagram. We have clients where one completely works and one completely doesn’t, right? But LinkedIn, um, is the platform that I see works across the board, um, for all of our startup clients. So I would say don’t get too overwhelmed by, you know, should I be here? Should I be on TikTok? I hear a lot of people like, do I need to be on TikTok? And they’re like, scared of it, right. Um, and so I always say, you know, let’s just start with one. If you want to start with one, let’s start on LinkedIn. Um, and I would say create that page, add that to your experience. I actually just had a call with somebody very recently, and, and she had this new company and I was like, I can’t even find it on on LinkedIn. She was like, oh, I have it. Here it is. But it wasn’t connected to her personal page, so there was no way for me to find it, um, and things like that. So I would say, just start off with LinkedIn, um, creating content on there. Um, if you’re not ready to hire a team yet.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:42] Now, when you say creating content, what does content look like for a tech startup? Like what are some of the things they should be posting?

Rachel Johnston: [00:15:50] Yeah for sure. So we usually break up, um, content into different content pillars. So you don’t want to be too salesy. That’s something I always say is you don’t want every single one of your posts to be like, look at this thing. Look at this thing. Right? You also want to educate people. So one thing with a lot of startup companies is their product or service or whatever they have can be confusing for some people to understand. It’s not like, oh, I opened a restaurant, right? It’s like, oh, I created this new technology that does X, so there needs to be an educational piece behind that of this is why this is who we serve, etc.. And so education is a really big piece of content that I would say is important for startups. Um, you obviously do want to add in details about your company, be informative and a little bit promotional, um, as well as different types of content depending on what platforms you’re on. If you’re doing reels, um, if you’re creating graphics, um, the big thing with LinkedIn, though, that is valuable, is a lot of people, again, they get stressed out when it comes to Instagram Reels, TikTok videos. Linkedin is cool because stuff can perform really well if you just post text, you can just post. You know a post about your experience this week as a founder or on the company page about the product or whatever the whatever the case may be, you can post text only posts, you can post links. Hey, we just added this blog on our website. Here you go. Um, and with other platforms like TikTok and Instagram, again, you have to have photos or videos or whatnot. So that’s why LinkedIn is also a good starting point for founders.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:38] Now, how do you manage the expectations of your clients? A lot of people, you know, they they see these, um, things go viral or they see content get, you know, thousands or millions of impressions. How do you kind of explain to your clients that your numbers aren’t going to be millions? You know, they’re going to be hundreds, hopefully, or thousands. And, you know, the it’s it’s a little misleading. A lot of the stories that are written and, uh, success stories when it comes to this are throwing out of whack what a typical especially B to B, um, social media, uh, client would, would be generating. How do you kind of have that kind of, I think hard talk with the client.

Rachel Johnston: [00:18:28] Yeah. That’s another really good question because you do see that a lot. You see these, you know, social media gurus on social media and they’re like, I went I made my client’s stuff go viral or all these things. But, um, especially when it comes to B2B and, and, you know, start up clients, you’re starting from scratch. A lot of the times these people that are going viral are usually starting on accounts that are already at 50 K plus, you know, maybe even millions of followers. Of course, your content went viral, right? So setting those expectations and just saying to them like, hey, you know, our goal is not to go viral, right? Because at the end of the day, our goal is to, uh, well, it depends on each client, but it’s to create conversions, brand awareness, whatever the goal is. But a lot of startups, the goal is brand awareness. People don’t even know that you exist. We don’t care about something going viral right now. We need to make sure people know you exist. Um, because another thing too, with viral posts is sometimes it’s not even in your target audience at all.

Rachel Johnston: [00:19:29] I’ve had a post go viral on my personal account before, and it’s a lot of the times not even people in your target audience at all. So it’s really not helping you in the long run. So instead of looking at the likes and the followers, I tell my clients, let’s look at is it converting? Are we getting reach and impressions? Do we have brand awareness? Are we growing our community? These things are impactful. Um, at the end of the day, I’d rather have one person convert and buy the product or, you know, create an account or whatever the, you know, call to action is in a given week. Then, you know, 50 K people see it and nothing happens, um, from that. So none of them are in your target audience. So I’d rather somebody in your target audience convert and, you know, see and engage with your content than something go viral. So it’s all it’s all just about setting those expectations, like you said, and having that conversation about what’s realistic. Right.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:28] But it’s also it’s kind of counterintuitive because a lot of people have that kind of thinking of the law of large numbers. If if a 10,000 people see my thing, then surely somebody’s going to buy something or they’re going to convert somewhere. And so they always think bigger is better when really more precise is better, you know.

Rachel Johnston: [00:20:50] That’s true. Yeah, absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:52] You’d rather have 100 people who potentially could buy your stuff than you would a million people who were never going to buy your stuff.

Rachel Johnston: [00:21:00] Exactly, precisely. So yeah, it’s all about just having that conversation with them. And again, my clients are incredible. So, um, a lot of them, you know, take that well and understand that and are excited to see the performance that we gain for them.

Lee Kantor: [00:21:17] So now, um, within the tech startups, is there a niche within that or just anybody that has a tech startup is a good, uh, prospect for you?

Rachel Johnston: [00:21:27] Yes. So it’s interesting. That’s kind of just become our niche and who has come to us the most. But we are open to clients with businesses of really any industry. Um, we’re open to product industries, um, restaurants, things like that. I’m definitely open to that. Um, just because of my network and the events that I go to, a lot of that has, um, resulted in us having a influx of tech startups working with us. So we do not have a specific niche in those tech startups. We’ve worked with fintech, we’ve worked with some consulting tech, we’ve worked with, um, data Femtech healthcare, all of these different, um, things. And what’s really cool about that is, again, we get to learn completely new things, um, because of our clients that I otherwise wouldn’t probably be learning about, which is really exciting, and it constantly keeps you on your toes and challenges you as a founder and as a person. Um, because we’re constantly doing new things every day and learning new things. And at the end of the day, that’s life too. So, um, it’s a really fun experience. So no, we don’t have a specific niche in the tech community. We’re open to any.

Lee Kantor: [00:22:40] So what is the problem that your potential clients are having right now where you’re the the right solution?

Rachel Johnston: [00:22:47] Yeah, absolutely. So a lot of our clients currently are I would say more so in the Seed stage series A or B. So they’re newer. Um, we also have worked with some pre seed. So very new companies and a lot of them again they’re like I people don’t even know we exist. People don’t even know um that our company exists at all. So a lot of them come to me like we need help with brand awareness. Um, and something that we do that is unique to other agencies is when it comes to our engagement. So community management and engagement are huge parts of social media management. Um, so really what that means is community management is managing your current community. So what comments are you getting? What DMs are coming in, you know, what are the likes looking like? All of those things DMs, likes, comments, all that. Mentions. So that’s community management. You obviously want to engage with people who are engaging with you, but something we do that is unique is we do an extra layer of, um, engagement and we go out of our way to find your target audience, which is not always easy. Um, but we get to do that and, um, look for your target audience, engage with them so that they see us. So that’s a really key thing that we do. Um, that helps when it comes to our newer, you know, early stage tech clients who need brand awareness or like, people don’t even know about me. And if somebody is posting on LinkedIn, for example, about how they need this solution, or how about how they are in this specific industry, and we are engaging with that. That’s creating more visibility for them.

Lee Kantor: [00:24:30] Yeah. People don’t like to be a best kept secret.

Rachel Johnston: [00:24:33] Right? No.

Lee Kantor: [00:24:36] So. So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation about with you or somebody on your team, what’s the coordinate? What’s the website?

Rachel Johnston: [00:24:45] Yeah. So our website is Sunset Social marketing.com and I am on LinkedIn. So definitely connect with me on there. I would love to connect with anyone.

Lee Kantor: [00:24:56] Well Rachel, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Rachel Johnston: [00:25:01] Thank you so much, Lee.

Lee Kantor: [00:25:03] All right. This Lee Kantor we’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

Intro: [00:25:10] Today’s episode of Atlanta Business Radio is brought to you by Onpay. Built in Atlanta on pay is the top rated payroll and HR software anywhere. Get one month free at Onpay comm.

About Our Sponsor

OnPay’sOnPay-Dots payroll services and HR software give you more time to focus on what’s most important. Rated “Excellent” by PC Magazine, we make it easy to pay employees fast, we automate all payroll taxes, and we even keep all your HR and benefits organized and compliant.

Our award-winning customer service includes an accuracy guarantee, deep integrations with popular accounting software, and we’ll even enter all your employee information for you — whether you have five employees or 500. Take a closer look to see all the ways we can save you time and money in the back office.

Follow OnPay on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter

Marlon Williams with Atlanta Blockchain Center

by

Atlanta Business Radio
Atlanta Business Radio
Marlon Williams with Atlanta Blockchain Center
Loading
/

Marlon Williams is Founder at Starter Labs & Atlanta Blockchain Center.

He’s fluent in too many jargons to list. He was fortunate enough to study business and software, and he love the business of software…although the retired suits in his closet reek of a decade’s worth of hardcore networking and telecommunications experience as well.

So far, life has led him to the wonderful world of bridging technology, business, creativity, and innovation in ways that guarantees less sleep than most. It has also led him to become engaged in and supportive of community efforts to help bridge the digital divide and bring communities of technology executives together to vent.

Connect with Marlon on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • About Atlanta Blockchain Center
  • Atlanta Blockchain’s educational events around blockchain, crypto and Web3
  • About their upcoming cohort and how to apply

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio. Brought to you by On pay. Atlanta’s new standard in payroll. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:25] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have Marlon Williams. He is the founder of Starter Labs and Atlanta Blockchain Center. Welcome, Marlon.

Marlon Williams: [00:00:39] Hi, Lee. How are you?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:40] I am doing well. I am so excited to get caught up. What’s new at Atlanta Blockchain Center?

Marlon Williams: [00:00:47] Oh so many. Where do I start? Well, first, I think we have just been very busy at work with our incubator, which is the only blockchain, crypto and Web3 focused startup incubator in Atlanta. And over the past 18 months, we have incubated now 20 companies, all Atlanta based founders, by the way, and the mission behind that is to help show the rest of the world that Atlanta isn’t just a consumer of products in these emerging industries, but also creators and builders are here as well. So that is one of the biggest accomplishments that we’ve had since our grand opening. In addition to our events. I’m not sure if you recall, but we have educational events around blockchain, crypto and Web3 every single Thursday. So there’s over 100 plus events that we’ve done and the only Thursdays that we’ve missed, I’d have to admit, is Thanksgiving. But other than that, we literally have been delivering educational events to the entire Atlanta ecosystem. Free food. It’s open to everyone. Free drinks every single Thursday for a year and a half.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:12] Now what? Um, for the people who aren’t familiar, can you share a little bit about your vision and why it’s important to you to put Atlanta on the map when it comes to blockchain, and really invest in the infrastructure and the ecosystem that creates thriving companies that are, you know, need incubation and acceleration and partners and, you know, all that other good stuff that a good community leader is in charge of. Can you talk about kind of the overarching vision and mission?

Marlon Williams: [00:02:41] Yeah, I’d be happy to, but in order to understand that, I need to share a little bit about my parent company, which is Starter Labs. That’s the parent company of Atlanta Blockchain Center. So Starter Labs is a R&D research and development software company. We’re based here in Atlanta now. I moved it from Miami. And what we do is build various products in blockchain, specifically products that are at the intersection of fundraising and launching companies. So you can think about the core product offerings at Starter Labs as something of a kick starter in the traditional sense, the crowdfunding platform fundraising platform for blockchain. So I launched that project, uh, that product several years ago, and it was quite successful to the point where it became the number one crypto launchpad in the entire industry and facilitated over 60 different launches of of companies, uh, with $45 million in funding in crypto funding. And the majority of these founders had never met. It was completely virtual. This was at the height of the pandemic. Um, so my, um, my desire sort of shifted into wanting to apply a lot of that value to founders that I have met and that I know in real life, but particularly founders that are, uh, are affected by the current distribution of venture capital funding. I’m not sure if you know Lee, but in 2021, out of the 330 plus billion dollars of venture capital funding that went to startup founders, only 1% went to, uh, uh, diverse founders. So if you’re a woman, if you’re black, if you’re a minority building in this, uh, in this, you know, tech world, uh, venture capital isn’t your friend. So part of the mission of the Blockchain center is to utilize the strength of, uh, Starter Labs fundraising ecosystem to help identify minority builders. Um, and in the space that want to build in crypto, blockchain and Web3 to get them funded. And make a difference in, in their lives and and just change the world. And you know, we really would like to reduce that significant gap and venture capital fund distribution. And that’s a huge part of what we do now.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:48] Um, as, as, you know, having that kind of full time job, making all that happen for your clients and growing those businesses and then saying, oh, and my side hustle is I’m going to build this, you know, Atlanta Blockchain Center. That’s going to be kind of a place where these folks can gather and, um, you know, kind of create collisions and help each other and just get kind of their foot in the door. That in itself is a noble mission that takes, um, you know, so much energy and time and resources to pull that off. Can you talk about how, um, kind of you’re managing both of that because they both seem like full time jobs.

Marlon Williams: [00:06:34] You got that right. Well, you know, I’ve, uh, I’ve now 23 years of experience in software startups. Um, my very first startup was in 2003. And since then, I have built a lot of different companies around, uh, various industries, from health information technology to telecommunications, contact center, social. Um, I’ve just sort of developed this knack for building things, uh, building software in various industries and juggling multiple things at once, uh, sort of becomes second nature in my role today. So it doesn’t feel overwhelming. But you’re right. It’s it’s certainly two different, two different, uh, jobs altogether. One is, um, tasked with identifying, um, the next up and coming companies that are going to be disruptors and helping them get funded. The other is similar in that it’s also identifying, uh, up and coming builders and founders, but it’s much more mission driven because, you know, that’s the physical component of it. We, um, we have a community of individuals who come by the center every single week that, you know, if they’re looking for engineers, uh, to help them build or marketers or just to network with like minded individuals, we’ve sort of built a solid community around, um, the blockchain center and everyone see, uh, agrees with, um, our pursuit. Right. Which is Atlanta has so much to offer and is one of the most diverse cities in this country. And here’s a an industry where a mass generation, uh, a mass transfer of generational wealth is occurring. Yet there wasn’t a serious effort to educate the people around this technology and one of the most diverse cities in this country, it wasn’t a serious effort to. Um, to nurture talent around building products and services that are going to be, uh, defining the way that we work and play in the future. Uh, so everyone. Realizes that, you know, this need existed and we all kind of congregate around that. So. To me. Although they are two separate, um, companies, they’re very much. Uh, aligned with each other, so that makes it extremely easier to manage.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:43] Now, are you finding that people are, um, looking for opportunities to play on the blockchain and to to build businesses in and around the blockchain, especially, you know, those underserved groups that you mentioned that you’re that’s important to you? Are they kind of raising their hand and saying, you know what, I want to learn more about this. I think there’s opportunity there, uh, for people like me.

Marlon Williams: [00:10:11] Oh, man. Absolutely, absolutely. You know, um. You’d be you’d be surprised at sort of how many people are actually interested in this. I was just having a conversation the other day, uh, about why I personally believe the financial sort of speculative nature of crypto was the perfect, um, use case to capture everyone’s attention. Um, to demonstrate the capabilities of blockchain. Uh, because when you’re talking about finances, you know, and riches and all these other things, that gets people’s attention, right? Um, so that captured a lot of people’s attention. But what that is resulted in is further curiosity as they start learning about blockchain coming in from the crypto side, hearing about the wealth and the different, you know, um, sort of self-sovereign nature of it, but realizing that as they learn more and more that the underlying technology is transformative. So we meet people all the time, every single week who are coming to learn because they were, uh, attracted to the financial speculative nature of it. But as they, um, continue to learn and come to more sessions where we talk about the underlying tech and not just the financial applications or speculative applications, it sparks the curiosity even more and creates more and more interest. Um, so, you know, it starts with the attraction to finance, but it certainly, um, expands into, oh, wow. So I could own my own music, uh, and control who gets to listen to it or, you know, uh, get paid royalty automatically through this technology and not have ten middlemen to go through, uh, giving me a tiny piece of the pie.

Marlon Williams: [00:12:27] And so, you know, that’s that’s usually how it it unfolds. And I’ll share a quick stat with you, too. I mean, more than half of, um, we worked with Coinbase over the last quarter quite a bit. We held an event in Atlanta called the Crypto Town Hall, and it was myself and the chief policy officer of Coinbase, former mayor, um, Keisha Lance bottoms, and one of the majority floor leaders for the for the state of Georgia, all on the panel talking about crypto, right. And what it means to Georgia. And in that, we revealed that more than half of Americans heard about this technology, right. And they’re extremely interested in the technology. And it’s only going to increase continue to increase over time. Um, and in, in the, in the state of, uh, Georgia alone, you know, we have. It’s about 70. Um, I believe it was 70 plus percent or so of the the the the mining, the power for power for some of the miners here, uh, in the country is generated out of, uh, out of Georgia. And there’s some other interesting stats around blockchain and crypto and the state of Georgia that. Or are given hints that this industry is slowly growing and shouldn’t be ignored.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:02] And it’s it’s like you said, the, you know, maybe crypto or NFTs kind of get you interested, but the, uh, the growth, I think ultimately is going to be leveraging blockchain in, in more mundane places. You know, it’s going to. Right. Like it. You know, the headline might be crypto, but that’s not going to be kind of the nuts and bolts of how people are going to be using blockchain.

Marlon Williams: [00:14:30] Absolutely, absolutely. And and again, in a city like Atlanta where it’s so diverse, I mean, the, um, some of the stats around diversity, you’d find that, uh, college educated, uh, black Americans or much more interested in, um, crypto than their counterparts. They believe that it will have a positive impact on society, um, especially in a society where they feel they were negatively impacted by the current financial system. Um, that’s that’s one segment of the population. If you go to, uh, logistics providers, there’s, uh, a lot of individuals looking at how blockchain could transform their operations by increasing efficiency and transparency speed. Um, that’s another end of the spectrum. I gave a hint about, you know, musicians and how blockchain could disrupt that industry. That’s another aspect. I mean, the technology applies to all sorts of situations, from social impact to enterprise efficiencies to creating, um, you know, much more efficient world. And in various businesses, it’s just so transformative. And I, you know, I’m still shocked at why more centers like the Blockchain Center don’t exist across this country, right? There’s just not another technology that is as transformative as this. And of course, I’m biased. Uh, in in today’s world, you know, maybe several decades ago and prior. But in today’s world, I don’t think so. The AI is up there, but. Right.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:30] I think it’s one of those things where when something when people don’t understand it and it and they the part they, they even just kind of superficially heard of it sounds like it’s out there and speculative. Um, you know, they kind of lump the whole thing in there together. But I don’t think people understand that blockchain in the supply chain is real and functioning. And, um, it’s it’s just part of the thing. It’s like when in my background is in marketing. So when, you know, the web stuff and the internet happened, that was like a thing. And you’d have to say, this is internet marketing or, you know, and then it just became marketing because it was in everything or, or, you know, technology used to be a separate thing. But now every company is a tech company. I mean, everybody is. So I think it’s just a matter of time. And, and each iteration of these kind of new things, that time distance is shorter and shorter. You know, it doesn’t take as much time. I don’t think blockchain to be ubiquitous as it did, you know, for the internet or web or, you know, some of the earlier technologies.

Marlon Williams: [00:17:40] They are completely, completely. And it’s scary. It’s just getting faster.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:45] Right? And that’s the ironic part. I mean, all of this stuff makes things faster. Ai makes things faster, blockchain makes things faster. And it just especially older people have a hard time, you know, they don’t like change to begin with. And then the speed of which things change is just shocking. I saw somebody posted a list of like, um, businesses that were that started within the last 20 years. And it’s like every single web business you’ve ever heard of is on that list. And that’s just 20 years ago, you know?

Marlon Williams: [00:18:20] Oh, yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:20] So it’s it’s just a matter. It’s not an if. It’s a matter of when, uh, when all this becomes ubiquitous and, and and this thing that you’re having a hard time educating and selling in, that people will be just like, oh, yeah, you know, where has this been? You know, they’re going to be, you know, wishing they had started earlier.

Marlon Williams: [00:18:41] Oh, yeah.

Marlon Williams: [00:18:42] Absolutely, absolutely. And, you know, in the meantime, we’re going to continue to work and build. Uh, and that’s what I love. I love, you know, being heads down. I’m not too much of a public facing individual. I know I’ve had to adapt to to that over the, over the years as my role increased from sort of like a behind the scenes builder to, uh, to someone who is also forward facing and interacting with, with clients and so forth. But I enjoy being the underdog. I enjoy building, um, you know, quietly, uh, into the future and, um, wait for it to dawn upon us, uh, only to, um, confirm that we were we were ahead. So I’m personally excited about the, uh, the work that we’re doing here in Atlanta. I think the, you know, um.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:43] Are you finding collaborators and partners? Um, is this because I know that was part of why you came from Miami to here was to to kind of plug into this ecosystem here. Has this been welcoming? I mean, what do you need more of and how can we help you?

Marlon Williams: [00:20:00] It has certainly been, uh, very welcoming, uh, overall. Right. And there are certain and certain pockets of, of Atlanta that are still apprehensive to block blockchain. And I think they’re going to continue to be until they’re forced to, uh, to react. But for the most part, the wider ecosystem has been very supportive. Um, especially places like Atlanta Tech Village with, with Ali Marriott and others, not so much. But, um, you know, again, sometimes we have to, uh, we have to demonstrate to others what they, they don’t know that that’s that’s been beneficial to them. Right? Kind of leading them into the future. Um, despite not knowing that, you know, it’s to their benefit in a large part of what we, we have been doing is, is, uh, is is like that.

Lee Kantor: [00:21:03] Now. So right now you a cohort just finished or you’re starting a new cohort. What’s going on now with the incubator?

Marlon Williams: [00:21:12] We’re in the middle of one now. Uh, and that one’s going to end. Um, end of Q1 and, um, you know, Q2 or Q3, depending on how many applications we get, we’ll be starting our fifth cohort.

Lee Kantor: [00:21:27] And so people can apply now. Right? Or they they have to wait.

Marlon Williams: [00:21:32] They can apply now. So if anyone wants to build they have an idea or they are building around blockchain, crypto, Web3, they can go to Atlanta Frame.io and apply to the incubator. Uh, we will assess the application. If we think that there’s something substance we can help, um, we will accept the application and they’ll start in the next cohort. Now, all of these, for now, we’ve been doing is all of all of these, um, these founders, all of their work culminates in a pitch fest, an annual pitch fest where at least one of them will win. Um, will get a check for $25,000. And, um, you know, we we anticipate increasing that, particularly during the bull market when there’s a lot more capital flowing in the space. So our goal is to fund almost every company that’s gone through our incubator in some capacity. But, um, you got to. You got to be serious. You know, you got to be serious about your idea, and, uh, we’ll we’ll assist in, um, some go to market strategies to building, development, coding, etc..

Lee Kantor: [00:22:47] So do you have to know how to do this, or can you come in there with an idea on a napkin? Like what? What level of an entrepreneur are you looking for?

Marlon Williams: [00:22:56] Yeah. You got to know how to if you if you if you don’t know how to build a product, you got to know how to, you know, build the business right and find people to help you build a product. But, you know, we’re not looking for just, um, idea folks. You know, I think there’s a place called ideas. Com for that. But in all seriousness, we’re, we’re we’re looking for people who are have already started on something, um, whether or not they have a product, but they’re, they’ve probably incorporated the company. They have a white paper, uh, developed. Um, they’re in the first stages, but they’re taking action, you know, taking action, doing something not simply ideating. So we prefer execution oriented, action oriented, uh, founders then than not.

Lee Kantor: [00:23:51] And then regarding the coding, is this something that I got to be, uh, Coding Ninja or is this something that I can learn how to better code? Like, what’s the technical background?

Marlon Williams: [00:24:04] I think it varies based on the actual product. But, you know, if you’re, um, if you’re not a coder, you should be pretty darn good at, uh, the non-technical aspects of starting a, um. A business and we could help you with, you know, resources for coders and designers and so forth if needed. Um, if you’re a coder, great, because coders can usually execute on the ideas that they have.

Lee Kantor: [00:24:33] So and do you still have the, um, co-working space?

Marlon Williams: [00:24:38] Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Marlon Williams: [00:24:39] There, uh, you get to meet with, uh, with us at the co-working space twice a week, and we, um, hashed out all the details of your startup. Uh, you also get, uh, free access to the co-working space in perpetuity as you become what we call an immutable founder, which is immutable in the context of blockchain, just means that it’s unchangeable. It’s forever, basically. So for us, all the founders that we accept are immutable founders. And you get an, uh, unlimited access to co-working space. Come here. You can, you know, sleep here, you can work here. You can just becomes yours to build.

Lee Kantor: [00:25:23] And then um, any you mentioned that 20 companies have gone through. Has anybody gotten funding?

Marlon Williams: [00:25:31] Yeah. Uh, in the last pitch fast, uh, fan funder, um, got a check for 25 K, and we have been helping them with, um, another potential raise. So they should be raising some additional funds sometime this year and in our next pitch fast, which is currently slated for late May, early June. Uh, another one of the founders are going to get a check. Um, and we’re also going to be helping, uh, helping them in others with funding this year. So we should see a lot more funding activity over the next, uh, 24 months for companies that have gone through our incubator.

Lee Kantor: [00:26:15] And I can’t emphasize enough that the blockchain center, this is industry agnostic. This is going to touch every industry. Like. So it doesn’t matter if your idea is in anything, you should be considering the blockchain center as a place to incubate it because it’s going to involve the blockchain, whether you accept that today or not.

Marlon Williams: [00:26:37] Absolutely. That’s right.

Lee Kantor: [00:26:40] So, uh, thank you so much for sharing your story and doing the work you’re doing is so important to the community. And I really hate that. You know, it’s one of those best kept secrets. There’s no reason that everyone shouldn’t know Marlon Williams and the good work he’s doing at Starter Labs in Atlanta, Blockchain Center. And I hope everybody invest some time into checking them out at Atlanta. Canijo going by there, going to one of the events. It’s very important for the Atlanta business community and the tech ecosystem as a whole to have Marlon be part of it. And thank you so much, man. I really do appreciate it. You’re doing important work.

Marlon Williams: [00:27:20] Thank you Lee. Thank you. And thank you, Atlanta Business Radio. We appreciate it.

Lee Kantor: [00:27:23] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

About Our Sponsor

OnPay’sOnPay-Dots payroll services and HR software give you more time to focus on what’s most important. Rated “Excellent” by PC Magazine, we make it easy to pay employees fast, we automate all payroll taxes, and we even keep all your HR and benefits organized and compliant.

Our award-winning customer service includes an accuracy guarantee, deep integrations with popular accounting software, and we’ll even enter all your employee information for you — whether you have five employees or 500. Take a closer look to see all the ways we can save you time and money in the back office.

Follow OnPay on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter

Jeffrey Rohrs With ActiveCampaign

by

Atlanta Business Radio
Atlanta Business Radio
Jeffrey Rohrs With ActiveCampaign
Loading
/

Jeffrey Rohrs, VP of Brand Marketing at intelligent automation provider ActiveCampaign, is a creative, strategic, and experienced marketing leader with a passion for collaboration, innovation, and building dynamic brands in today’s fragmented media landscape.

He is an author, recovering attorney, bacon-lover, and Clevelander-at-heart. He has served as Chief Marketing Officer at Tendo, Filo, Jobvite, and Yext as well as VP of Marketing for Salesforce and ExactTarget.

Connect with Jeffrey on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • About ActiveCampaign and his role.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio. Brought to you by On pay. Atlanta’s new standard in payroll. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:24] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, Onpay. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Atlanta Business Radio, we have Jeff Rohrs with ActiveCampaign. Welcome.

Jeff Rohrs: [00:00:43] Thank you Lee, great to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:45] I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about Active Campaign. How you serving folks?

Jeff Rohrs: [00:00:50] Yeah. So we help small teams power big businesses with intelligent marketing automation. Essentially, our platform enables companies to integrate with existing systems, whether they’re point of sale, whether they’re informational customer data, etc., so they can power more personalized, relevant and timely messaging at the moment that mattered. So some customers come to us and they use us for basic email marketing, but our vision is to always help them graduate up to, uh, increasingly better, more efficient, more agile kind of uses that are automated and working while they sleep. And that just simply allows those businesses to develop better relationships with customers, more responsive relationships. So if you’re signing up for a newsletter or if you’ve purchased something, you’re getting those responsive emails right away, regardless of the time of day. And it also enables you to kind of nurture folks and do communication strategies that drip out the information that you want about your business over time, so that you have a more educated customer base who is more appreciative and embraces the totality of what you offer.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:55] So what is kind of the sweet spot for your ideal client? Because I would imagine that, you know, every size business needs help in this area.

Jeff Rohrs: [00:02:05] You’re absolutely right. And our sweet spot, it really falls on that small teams piece of our message. We find that a lot of marketers, entrepreneurs, they might be multiple hat wearers. So we could be dealing with somebody who is a solopreneur, right? They’re the only one in their business on up to kind of the mid-market, where you might have a team of five, ten, 20, 30 folks, but inevitably they feel smaller than they really should be. They’re underfunded. They’re understaffed. They need to do more with less. And so we really kind of operate in that area across all different types of verticals. So we have customers in real estate, customers in franchising and multi-location, customers in health care and food service and e-commerce and education. So it’s it’s great to have a flexible platform because it suits many types of business applications. And with both the intelligent marketing automation platform and our CRM, we can do a lot of great things for folks as they look to grow their business.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:02] So when you’re saying small teams, so like the solopreneur, this isn’t a good fit for.

Jeff Rohrs: [00:03:09] No, it is actually a good fit. We’ve got a lot of folks who are, you know, the chief cook and bottle washer of their operation. Right. They’re interested in growing a business. It could be somebody who’s a content creator. We’ve got folks who operate yoga studios and other types of businesses where there are not a lot of employees. And the reason it’s great for them is because they can invest the time on the front end to set up the types of communication, cadences and integrations that power the different communications via the automation platform and just let that run their business, dipping in when they need to do new types of promotions or they have new types of offerings. Um, and then also we have a great and a very vibrant partner community who can offer services as well. So as the business grows, it might be growing in terms of revenue, but maybe that entrepreneur does not want to grow it in terms of employee count. They can look to hire help, uh, from our community as well. Uh, and then if they get to the point where they do want to add staff, um, we’ve got, you know, a number of certified consultants around the globe being a company that services, you know, uh, customers in about 170 countries worldwide.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:21] So let’s kind of drill down and, and help that entrepreneur that, that, uh, hypothetical yoga studio, uh, entrepreneur. So you’re, you know, you had this dream, maybe you work corporate and you say, hey, I’m going to open a yoga studio. So now I’m all in. I’m a yoga studio operator. And I realized pretty quickly that, um, in my head, I was spending a lot of time doing yoga and helping people with yoga and sharing my love and passion about yoga. But in reality, I have to get people in the door. So now I’m also a marketer, and maybe that’s not my, you know, go to skill set. How would I kind of leverage active campaign? Like what would you do on day one when you decided to open up your shop and, and to build out some sort of a marketing plan, leveraging all that active campaign has to offer?

Jeff Rohrs: [00:05:17] Sure. So you open up those doors. We’ve got a free 14 day trial, and we will onboard you with personal one on one training to basically set up the first types of email or other communications that you need to have going out to get your business underway. And that could be that you’ve got a website that you are perhaps selling subscription or memberships, and what you need is via whatever platform you’re using for the membership component. You need it to integrate with active Campaign to power those communications that confirm your membership, that then perhaps put you on a multi-touch kind of campaign to educate you about what to expect in your first visit to the studio, as well as how often you may want to come and what other services there are. So what we find is that when you’re that type of an entrepreneur and you’ve got that level of commitment, folks are pretty, pretty savvy as to how they want to communicate. And so those one on one trainings, combined with other educational things we do, like we have traveling study halls in cities around the globe where our customers and partners get together with our trainers over 1 or 2 days and actually get their hands on in the platform, learning how to do more and more sophisticated things with active campaign.

Jeff Rohrs: [00:06:35] But it starts with that first email. It starts with that first integration. Those are the keys to marketing automation. The integration is the heart and soul of it, right? So you integrate active campaign with something, let’s say a point of sale system. Now, something that happens in that point of sale system can trigger an email. That data from the point of sale system goes into your customer database. You begin to build a profile on which you can then trigger different messaging. So as that sophistication goes up, the training and the opportunities the individual has to learn increases. Well, some folks tend to outsource that. Maybe it’s a small family business and they want to have a brother or a sister or a son or a daughter, a husband or wife do that work. We often see that. But as the company gets bigger and they begin to hire marketing talent, that becomes a more specialized. And then we also see, as I mentioned before, partnership uses. So it’s an extremely flexible platform in that regard. It really depends on where the individual is in terms of their abilities and and whether they want to handle that stuff on their own.

Jeff Rohrs: [00:07:38] We find with a lot of kind of those savvy solopreneurs, they want to they want to get their hands on it because they want to control the messaging out of the gate. And then as it grows, they want to hand it off, and they want to automate more and more so that the business is running, you know, while they do the things they love. And that’s ultimately what marketing automation should do. It should make more time for the things you love, whether that’s, you know, surfing in the case of our customer, boat surfing, yoga, um, you know, that’s very much what he likes about, uh, having active campaign is it gives him more time on the waves, more time with his customers and the folks that he’s teaching how to surf. We’re teaching yoga. Um, for others, maybe they want more time in their business, uh, for strategy or training employees. So it’s really up to them. But the sky’s the limit when it comes to marketing automation, because as you add more systems, that’s more data. And data is just gold today to power those personalized communications.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:33] Now, do you still feel that email marketing, uh, should be, if not at the heart of but a large part of, uh, small to midsize business owners marketing?

Jeff Rohrs: [00:08:44] Absolutely. If it’s not, you are behind. Um, I have been in the email marketing industry now for, uh, over 25 years, and I used to do a presentation in the late 2000, uh, 2000. So probably like 2008, 2009 that I could still give today verbatim about email is dead. And what I would show people is articles from every year, and I could do it from every year since then to today, where somebody is declaring that email is dead and it’s not. It is the for many people, it’s the silent driver of the majority of their online revenue and their communications. And the reason is it is extraordinarily affordable. It is something that everybody has access to and checks, and it is not subject to the whims of ownership, as we’ve seen, perhaps with Twitter, where you have an owner come in, change the rules of the game, and now all of a sudden, people’s engagement dries up and they’re left holding the bag going, well, how do I reach my customers? Well, with email, you’re building a database of subscribers that’s an owned asset. The more subscribers you have, the more people you can reach, the more amplification you have and the more business opportunity you have. And so one of the cold truths of the last few years, I’ve seen many social media mavens who kind of shoot, you know, kind of, uh, eschewed, uh, email for other, you know, newer channels, kind of have the cold realization that they should have been building email lists, and now they are they’re going back to that. Well.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:17] Yeah. That’s something that I always recommend to my clients, is that you want to own kind of the ability to communicate with the people important to you. All these third party apps out there, um, that are encouraging you to create content and share stuff and build the following. At some point, they’re going to charge you to reach those people. And even if they’re not charging you right now, you’re not reaching the totality of your people that you’ve spent all this time and energy and money in, in putting on this platform. All you’re doing is helping them. Something a long time ago told me, if it’s free, then you’re the product and so on. All these on all these platforms, you’re really helping them get advertising dollars. You are the content for them that they’re making money off of you, and you don’t have any control over the people that you’ve been building up as followers unless you write them a check.

Jeff Rohrs: [00:11:20] You’re absolutely right, Lee. And that’s one of my favorite quotes in business. Uh, and I actually wrote a book ten years ago called Audience Marketing in the Age of Subscribers, fans and Followers. And it was all about this. It was about the fact that there are different types of audiences depending on the channel you’re in, and you need to understand when you’re building something on someone else’s land. That’s what happened with Twitter. That happened with a lot of different social media channels that ebbed and flowed. But if we look across the last 25 years, what has remained steady, the ability to go to a website, the ability to search and the ability to send and receive email now, we’ve added additional channels over those years. One of the ones that is now central to our lives is text messaging, right? Sms has grown dramatically. It has not eclipsed email when it comes to the communications around, let’s say, e-commerce discounts, subscriptions, newsletters, etc. but it is a critical cog in the machine and one that again, you can power with marketing automation when it’s the right channel to communicate. But you’re you’re really hitting around this important idea of owned audiences, which is what email is, which is what a base of of of text messaging, SMS subscribers is. And it’s actually kind of the foundation of a big event that we’ve got coming up for Leap Day, where we’ve linked arms with a lot of other, uh, B2B software providers in the industry, uh, to create an event that’s going to help, uh, customers and businesses of all sizes learn how to make more time.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:50] So let’s dig into this Leap Day extravaganza. That active campaign is, um, kind of headlining. Uh, tell us about the event and some of the partners, uh, and what what a person can expect.

Jeff Rohrs: [00:13:05] Yeah. So it is called the Active Campaign Leap Day Extravaganza. And it’s brought to you by Active Campaign Calendly. Uh, gold cast and the juice and calendly is synonymous with time because they are a calendar application that allows you to get much more efficient with scheduling by enabling people who want to schedule time with you to access your calendar. Gold cast is the platform for this virtual event, and the juice is a great B2B subscription. Uh, that. If you’re interested in B2B content about marketing, I highly recommend subscribing to them. The reason we’ve all joined together is like our customers and our partners. Everybody’s being asked to do more with less these days. And so that drive towards efficiency and productivity means that Leap Day is really the perfect day to be reflective on this, right? What is this year give us? It gives us 24 hours out of the blue. When you really take a step back and think about that. That’s kind of crazy in a modern society that every four years we just have to throw another day on the calendar in order to catch up. But we thought about it in, in a different way, and that was one of the promises of active campaign is efficiency. That’s intelligent marketing automation. Automate things so that you have more time.

Jeff Rohrs: [00:14:13] And so instead of doing a usual run of the mill conference, we’re pulling together all of these customers, all of these speakers, all these sponsors, and every single one of the sessions. All of this is for free, by the way, is going to be about how to make more time leveraging technology, strategy or process. And so there will be technology providers showcasing how you use their tools. We’ve got an author of a new book called Time Boxing about doing one thing at a time. Well, we’ve got great speakers from across the marketing universe, and this is 29 hours straight of content on February 29th. And the way we pull that off is the magic of time zones. So we are running effectively for your listeners from 4 p.m. eastern on the 28th of February until about 8 p.m. eastern on the 29th of February. And if folks want to register, it’s totally free. They just go to leap, Leap Day, dot live forward, slash Atlanta, and you can go ahead and register there. Folks from around the globe are going to be participating. And we’ve got content for entrepreneurs, marketers, folks who are interested in improving their career, interested in improving their SEO, their email, their marketing automation, their events. There’s something for everybody who is an entrepreneur or a marketer.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:28] So, um, how am I going to consume this content? Is this something that if I don’t if I miss it live, I can get a replay? Or is this like a perishable that, hey, you, you better be there or you miss out?

Jeff Rohrs: [00:15:40] Uh, thank you for asking that question. Because in putting it together, the last thing we wanted to do was convey that you got to sit there for 29 hours straight. Now, I’m crazy enough to do that, but I got to make sure this thing comes off without a hitch. Uh, but folks are welcome to dip in and out throughout the, uh, the broadcast on the 28th and the 29th. And then we will be making it available on demand through the end of March. Uh, and that provides everybody with a chance to find the content that is of interest to them and participate in it and, uh, and ultimately get the value that hopefully they find several things that are going to help them be more efficient this year. I should note, though, that the benefit of participating in the live event is that many of our sponsors, many of our speakers, are going to be participating in the live chat. So they’re recording sessions, but they’re going to be in the live chat there to answer questions. And each of our sponsors is creating virtual booths so that, as folks say, oh, that’s interesting. I want to learn more. They don’t have to go search for it on the web. They can just move on over to the booth and they can ask and answer those questions. We’re also providing for our community of of customers and partners, uh, a help and education area, so that we can answer their questions right away. So it’s going to make for a really fun, uh, 29 hours, uh, of content. But yes, it will be available on demand and all of it for free.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:58] And if somebody wants to learn more about active campaign, where should they go?

Jeff Rohrs: [00:17:02] Yeah. For active campaign, just go to active campaign.com. As I mentioned at the top, uh, we offer two week free trial for new customers. You can come in, sign up, you’ll get, uh, one on one introduction to the platform and learn about it over those two weeks. And our folks will do their best to show you how it can benefit your business. And if it’s for you, great. If it’s not, we understand. And, uh, the the leap Day extravaganza is for customers, partners, and anyone doesn’t have to be a customer or partner. And again, that’s at Leap day dot live forward slash Atlanta.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:36] Good stuff. Well thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Jeff Rohrs: [00:17:42] Thank you very much and I hope you have a great day.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:44] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

About Our Sponsor

OnPay’sOnPay-Dots payroll services and HR software give you more time to focus on what’s most important. Rated “Excellent” by PC Magazine, we make it easy to pay employees fast, we automate all payroll taxes, and we even keep all your HR and benefits organized and compliant.

Our award-winning customer service includes an accuracy guarantee, deep integrations with popular accounting software, and we’ll even enter all your employee information for you — whether you have five employees or 500. Take a closer look to see all the ways we can save you time and money in the back office.

Follow OnPay on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter

Our Mission

We help local business leaders get the word out about the important work they’re doing to serve their market, their community, and their profession.

We support and celebrate business by sharing positive business stories that traditional media ignores. Some media leans left. Some media leans right. We lean business.

Sponsor a Show

Build Relationships and Grow Your Business. Click here for more details.

Partner With Us

Discover More Here

Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy

Connect with us

Want to keep up with the latest in pro-business news across the network? Follow us on social media for the latest stories!

Business RadioX® Headquarters
1000 Abernathy Rd. NE
Building 400, Suite L-10
Sandy Springs, GA 30328