Don't fear marketing ... it can be done with integrity!

At the start of the New Year I traveled to Savannah, Georgia for a marketing retreat and to meet someone who has been integral to the success of FreeFall Laser and to my personal growth: my marketing coach Ilise Benun of Marketing-Mentor.com. Although we have worked together for three years, this was our first time meeting each other in person!

Over the course of two and a half days, I honed by marketing plan for 2020 alongside a dynamic group of women business owners. When a business is a solo venture, it's easy to feel isolated—but for me, not anymore! I have such gratitude for these women who, without hesitation, shared their experiences, challenges and feedback. What I love most about Ilise's approach to marketing is that it's centered around generosity and building genuine relationships. 

Does your creative business need a boost? Did your artistic training fail to prepare you to market your work and build a sustainable practice?  Ilise offers a free 30-minute consultation and there is a ridiculous amount of free marketing advice on her website and in her podcast. 

We owe it to ourselves to learn the tools we need to maintain sustainable creative lives!

Update!

It is six-months since the marketing retreat and boy have things changed! By mid-March my six-month marketing plan that I had worked on diligently for three months vaporized. I have faced a few 180 degree turns in my life and ventured into unknowns but this was different. Instead of feeling like I was going in the right direction even if I couldn’t see what was a head, I now felt like I was walking into a void. It took a while to feel some firmness in the shaky ground under my feet and to be able to see one month, then two months a head. While everything could change in a moment, I’m find some comfort in knowing that I can be certain that uncertainty is going to continue for a while.

A few months ago Ilise said something that I repeat to myself every time I feel fatalism creeping in, “What can you do today that your future self with thank you for?” It reminds me that I can take control of what I have control over and be proactive, adaptive, and inventive on how I navigate my business through this time.

A global pandemic may have vaporize my marketing plan but it did not take away the skills I learned from Ilise. It is with those skill that I move forward.

How has my business adapted? Online teaching! When this year started online teaching was on my “maybe next year” plan. Now it is front and center. It’s a little overwhelming but I was made for this!