Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lisa Raebel, Founder of Rebel Girl Marketing, LLC., located in Pewaukee, WI, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Rebel Girl Marketing, LLC was founded in March of 2018, focusing on helping small business owners understand how to create marketing campaigns that make sense and attract more qualified leads. My ideal clients see marketing as a mindset versus a line item on an expense sheet. They understand that everything you do in a day is part of your marketing, both internally and externally.
Tell us about yourself
I am not a good employee. Let’s start there. My career has been spent helping both large and mid-sized organizations get bigger, either through selling or marketing their services to their clients. And I was pretty good at it… until I wasn’t. As I became a wife and mother, my priorities shifted, yet corporate America didn’t seem to care, so I left.
The reason I say that I am not a good employee is that when I recognized that the internal workings of big business sales and marketing departments were broken, I spoke up about it. Big business does not like to be told they are doing something wrong or unfair, or processes that could be done more easily are bound by red tape, or… you get the idea. Knowing I had to leave my last job as a marketing director, I found myself at a women’s retreat trying to seek the answer to my question: “what next?” While walking on a tile labyrinth as part of an answer-seeking exercise, I found myself going from my question of whether or not to stay in ‘for profit’ or go back to ‘non-profit’ work to asking myself if I should work for someone else or for myself.
WHAT?!? Entrepreneurship was never on my radar. Ever! Running with this bat-crap-crazy idea of starting my own business, I called some of my successful entrepreneur friends and set up lunch meetings with them to run my business plan past them, secretly hoping they would tell me I was crazy and to go get a job. They didn’t.
My approach to marketing consulting was (and still is) to help small businesses and sole entrepreneurs with their marketing on a gig basis, with no long-term contracts, including full transparency of idea sharing, and they kept all of my work once we were done working together. My mission is to help small businesses stay in business. Lackluster sales and marketing are two of the four reasons small businesses tend to fail (according to Forbes magazine). Small businesses are the backbone of any community, and it is my mission to help them succeed.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Authenticity. I have found the freedom to be myself, speak my mind, do what is right vs. what is popular or expected, and be the best version of myself every day (ok, almost every day… nobody is perfect). People hire me because they know I am honest and will always have their back. My family comes first in all areas of my life. Building a lifestyle business that allows me to work when I want and with whom I want to work has been one of the best decisions of my life.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Saying 'No." You want to help everyone, yet that eventually leads you down a path of frustration, stress, and no time on your calendar for family, friends, or fun. Picking and choosing what makes the most sense for your business and being ok with saying no is the best thing you can do for yourself and the ones you love.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Talk to entrepreneurs who have already found success. Ask them what they know now that they wish they knew or did when they first started. Then take their advice!
- Be ok with changing your focus once you are in business for a little while. Analyze what is working and what is not working, and make the necessary adjustments quickly.
- Perfection isn't real. If you wait for something to be perfect, you will never start. Be ok with good enough (as long as personal safety isn't involved!) and adjust as you go. The best way to get where you want to go is to simply start.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://rebelgirlmarketing.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebelgirlmarketing
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaraebel/
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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