Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in marketing but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Morgan Agho, a freelance marketing consultant based in Thornton, CO, USA.

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

Morgan Agho Consulting helps growing businesses achieve their goals through marketing and sales efforts. Morgan Agho Consulting specializes in the Food & Supplement space but also works with B2B companies who need marketing support. When a business works with Morgan Agho Consulting, they get the support of an experienced marketer and expert specialists, much like they would from an agency but at less of a cost.

Tell us about yourself

I have over 15 years of marketing experience in brand building and product innovation for fortune 500 companies and startups alike, including Meati, Godiva Chocolatier, Mega Red Vitamins, Natrol Vitamins, Earth Balance, and Gardein, to name a few.

Throughout my career, the companies I worked for got smaller and smaller. Eventually, I joined a startup Meati, as the company's second employee. I helped the co-founders build the brand and company from the ground up. Today Meati has over 200 employees and has raised roughly $275M in funding.

While at Meati, numerous founders and small businesses started to reach out to me for marketing advice. I realized how much I missed the early days of building a brand and realized I could branch out on my own to help these businesses grow while staying true to their mission and values. I am extremely passionate about brands that do better for people and the planet. At the same time, I have a lot of heart for small businesses that add value to their communities. Currently, my clients reflect these passions.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Starting a business involves taking risks, likely taking a pay hit to start, and many sleepless nights. At this point, I am proud of myself for taking the risk to start a business and sticking with it when it has not been easy to do so. I am excited about the clients I am attracting and the opportunities that have been offered to me. For example, I was asked to be a judge at Naturally Boulder's annual Pitch Slam, an event where innovative Food, Beverage, and Supplement brands pitch their businesses for a prize package that will help them accelerate the growth of the business. I've always enjoyed attending the event and have wanted to be a judge at it, so it was an honor to be able to do so.

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

I would say having to find ways to self-educate on topics that come your way that are outside of your area of expertise. Finding time, free resources, and mentors who can help educate you can be challenging.

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

  1. Find inexpensive ways to test the concept of your business before you invest heavily into it. Investment can mean your time or money. When testing your concept, you need to make sure there is a need and market for your product or service. The market you are going after needs to be large enough to financially sustain what you are offering. You can begin to test your concept by asking friends, family, mentors, and colleagues what they think.
  2. Give yourself a long runway to get your business going. Building a business often takes entrepreneurs longer than they think, especially before their profits are where they want or need them to be.
  3. Create a good network of people you can lean into for advice and support along the way, especially if you are working alone. It is important to ask for advice and opinions from knowledgeable, honest, trustworthy people to challenge your own opinions.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.morganagho.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morganagho/

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.

Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.