Simple & Effective Website Design - Maia Internet Consulting

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in digital marketing but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Liz Hamilton, CEO & Founder of Maia Internet Consulting, located in Pinecliffe, CO, USA.

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

Maia Internet Consulting is a marketing and design agency that specializes in the independent lodging industry. Our typical customer is a person who has an inn, bed, and breakfast, hostel, hotel with less than 50 rooms, vacation rental/s, or a unique lodging experience. We are a small team of industry experts that offer marketing and WordPress websites to this industry.

Tell us about yourself

Small business owners often overlook the impact of their family on their success, as seen in my own background. Both my parents ran successful small businesses - my mother owned a bakery and tea shop, while my father had a camera repair store. This upbringing nurtured my entrepreneurial spirit and gave me valuable insights into the various aspects of running a business.

Maia Internet Consulting was established in the pre-digital era, before the advent of Facebook, Google, and high-speed internet. I honed my marketing skills at BedandBreakfast.com, a pioneer online directory for bed and breakfasts worldwide, which was later sold to Expedia. After leaving B&B.com, I then transitioned from marketing into development and became a WordPress developer to expand my knowledge. After working for a number of similar agencies in the same industry (all owned by men), I made the decision to strike out on my own as a women entrepreneur, first as a freelancer with a few clients and now as a company with a great team and clients, we love working with. My motivation is to be able to help our clients, support them as entrepreneurs, and be able to help them in their own business success.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Moving from a freelancer into a business owner. I think that one of the big challenges of building a business is when you realize you can no longer do it all yourself, and you have to start to hire people. Managing the business and staying out of tasks that you know how to do and can do quickly is really hard. While I am blessed with a very competent team, I have to work daily towards allowing them to do their jobs while I manage the business and client relationships. I think business owners struggle with this and it is a great accomplishment when we can move away from the daily tasks to actually running the company.

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

I think that the hardest part when you first get started is the feeling of being alone and having to make all the decisions with no one to bounce ideas off. Finding a tribe, group of peers, or mentors, I think, is really important. Another struggle, I think, and especially for women, is imposter syndrome. When I first started out, I had no idea that there was such a thing. I just knew that sometimes I felt like I was a fraud, even with more than 20 years of experience in the industry and clients that loved me. I think first, being aware it exists is important, and then being able to talk to mentors and peers can be super helpful. I found that going to conferences and taking some online classes made me realize how much I really did know, which really helped with any imposter syndrome I was experiencing.

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

1. Don't let others talk you out of having your own business. Many times friends, family, and work colleagues can tell you it is a crazy idea and it will never work. Test and see if your idea works and if you can create a sustainable monthly income ('sustainable' being the key) before you totally give up your current income source. Once you have a working and paying model, however small, then build on it.
2. Be very clear as to who your client is, by having a very clear image of who we serve it makes it easy for me to say no to clients that don't fit our business model. When you have a clear image of what you do and who you serve, you can put in systems. Systems allow you to hand off work to your team and help you grow. If everything is customized and no two clients are the same, or you are not offering similar or the same services to all clients, it will be difficult to build a business, and you will always be in the weeds doing the work.
3. Give back in any way you can. Rather than donate to every charity that calls me asking for money, we choose instead to offer one free website per year to a small local non-profit or a non-profit that is close to a client's heart. They don't take us long to build, but they can bring a lot to legitimize a small charity. This way, we can give back and help in a positive way.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.maiainternetconsulting.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maiainternetconsulting/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/maia-internet-consulting/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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