Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in advertising services but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Alysha Dominico, CEO of Tangible Words, located in Ottawa, ON, Canada.

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

We build HubSpot systems to help other companies experience relief and greater profitability.

Tell us about yourself

We realized that websites were a formative process. You grow up a little every time you do your website, but website development is not enough. So many website projects stalled because that was a heavy lift to articulate who you are as a company. We realized we could help companies get unstuck and developed a process to facilitate that "who you are," and we have since extended that to look at key processes in a company they need and how to help them build those processes to grow their revenue and efficiency in making revenue. Now we help companies build their marketing, sales, and retention processes and systems. We look for ways to track what is and isn't working to help companies gain control over what is or is not working. We help them wrap their arms around problems they can't see but which might be holding them back. We help identify and build processes like "this is the way you sell," "this is the way you retain customers," and "this is the way you market." We help them find ways to automate what can be automated with software and train their team members around what must be done manually. It's really exciting. I love being able to spot problems, articulate them, and our entire team unites around a determination to solve these kinds of problems. I love helping other companies grow the way Tangible Words has figured out how to grow.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

We have won a lot of awards for our work, and every one of them has made us all proud. Some big highlights were winning a Bronze Stevie for Sales and Customer Service, being ranked as a top 25 Canadian business podcast, and our recent Web Excellence award. But above all, I am most proud of the team of people we have recruited to work with us. The enthusiasm and determination they bring each day to problem-solve how we'll create relief and profitability for our customers each workday inspires me.

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

I think most people struggle with managing their time and feeling isolated. I cracked this open by dividing up my time between "people time" and "thinking time." We get paid to sit down and think at Tangible Words, and you need time to be quiet and work things out; you can't often do that productively in a meeting. We restricted our days to certain kinds of activities, so we weren't bopping in and out of these conflicting head spaces. Mondays are for team meetings, and Thursdays are for client meetings. The rest of the week is for thinking and productive work time. We use slack and Vidyard to communicate problems or ideas between those days, but we don't have a meeting about it, so we can think through the problem and respond with the quiet we need around us to do more productive work.

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

  1. For every problem you have, there's a book to teach you the lesson. Find the book and read it!
  2. Get someone to help you set up a CRM that connects from your email.
  3. Get someone to help you build a repeatable, reliable, predictable sales process.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://tangiblewords.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tangiblewordscontentmarketing/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tangiblewords/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TangibleWords
LinkedIn (Personal): https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyshadominico/
LinkedIn (Company): https://www.linkedin.com/company/tangible-words/

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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