Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in marketing but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Danielle Dugan, founder of Etched In Marketing, located in Edmonton, AB, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Etched In Marketing is a small and specialized marketing company in Edmonton, offering customized, affordable, and effective marketing strategies and services to local businesses. We are passionate about relationships and community and invest personally in our clients’ growth.

I love working closely with my clients in order to establish a strong understanding of their business, who they are, and what they are trying to achieve. While I know I will never know their business as well as they do, my goal is to get pretty close. I also recognize that every business is unique. This is why every service package we offer is customized to fit the unique goals, positions, and resources of the businesses we work with.

Tell us about yourself

After completing my degree in marketing at the University of Alberta, I had a few different positions but just wasn’t loving what I was doing. I was born and raised in Edmonton and have always loved the small business scene, but often I would see these incredible hidden gems that were unfortunately very hidden. That is why I decided to start Etched In Marketing so that I could support local businesses with effectively communicating and marketing what they did so that everyone else could see how great they truly are.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

As a small business owner myself, I really take pride in having supported other local businesses through the tough times of the pandemic. While my clients span various industries, there is not a single one who didn’t need some type of extra support over the past two years, be it the ability to put their contract on hold while they waited to reopen, added communication support to regularly updated their clientele, or even the immediate addition of an online store so they could continue to sell products when they were closed to in-person shopping.

I understand how challenging and complicated it can be to juggle multiple tasks and projects at once, especially with the uncertainty we’ve faced during this time, so I really love that I was able to provide support however and wherever I could. Because of this work, I was able to help my clients not only survive but continue to grow through challenging times.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

I love running a business, but it requires a lot of work and dedication. Ultimately you are responsible for everything, and it can feel like you have to be on 24/7. This can leave you feeling spread thin, like you aren’t doing enough, making it challenging to balance the other important aspects of your life.

It’s taken me time to learn how to set realistic expectations for my times and boundaries for my work, and really this is still something I am still working on. But I love what I do, and at the end of the day am grateful for the opportunities I have with my business.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Be Flexible - As you start working on and growing your business, it will evolve from what you originally had in mind, sometimes by choice and sometimes out of necessity. You need to be flexible and ready to re-evaluate your goals, plans, and direction (just don’t lose sight of who you are and your purpose.)
  2. Have patience - It is important to ensure you are being patient with your business & yourself. It will take time to grow your business, and it will take time for you to learn how to run it. You will gather information and tools as you go and make mistakes, which is okay. Have the patience to stick with it and learn from all you experience.
  3. Find a community - It is important to connect with other small businesses owners & entrepreneurs. It can get lonely running a business, but having a community that understands what it is really like and can relate to the struggles helps. Being part of a community also helps to provide motivation. It gives you a cheer team to celebrate your success with.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Don’t wait for the “perfect” moment if you are thinking about starting a business because that won’t come. At some point, you just need to start working towards it!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.etchedinmarketing.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EtchedInMark/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/etchedinmark/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.