Forge member Jacqueline Jones wrote this blog post about mistakes we make in DIY marketing- we found it extremely helpful! Check out the original blog post here.
A large majority of businesses handle their marketing in-house. Unfortunately, marketing efforts often get overlooked or handed off to someone who knows only a little about how to manage marketing for a brand.
If you’re a “solopreneur”, you may find that you simply have to do everything yourself because outsourcing can be costly.
There is nothing wrong with DIY marketing, but there are a few things you should attempt to avoid.
1. Only talking to your audience when you’re selling.
The majority of small businesses find themselves grasping at straws when it’s time to meet sales numbers. So naturally, social media posts and emails only go out when it’s time to ask for money.
Your brand’s content strategy should focus more on building a relationship with and educating your audience. If they trust you, they will spend money with you. When they spend money with you, they shouldn’t feel like they had a cheap one-night-stand because the communication ended with the sale.
Understanding the process you want your customer to experience is extremely important to building and maintaining a profitable relationship. Most marketers call this sales-funnel development.
2. Not using Call-To-Actions.
Publishing great content is a wonderful step to achieve in the process of marketing your business. It’s just pretty pictures and nice copy if you don’t have a call-to-action.
CTA’s tell your audience where to go next. This means you have to make a place for them to go before asking them to. Don’t forget to add links, instructions, lead pages, or whatever is the next step for potential customers to take. This is a common, yet avoidable, pitfall.
3. Thinking social media is all necessary to market your brand.
Do not do think that social media is all you need. Because social media platforms are free and accessible to all, many people feel that’s all they need to market their business. It’s just not true.
Social media is only one aspect of marketing a business. It’s a great tool, but should only be a part of your process. Marketing 101 would teach you the 4 P’s of marketing are price, place, promotion, and product. Social media falls under promotion, as does digital and print advertising, website development, t-shirts, and pens.
Marketing is far bigger than your social media presence. Spend time creating a strategy that covers all bases. It will make marketing your brand much easier and far more effective.
These are simple mistakes. Mistakes can be corrected. Invest the time, money, and effort in properly marketing your business. Doing what you love and you are passionate about is, actually, the easy part. Do what it takes to take your passion to the right audience.
After opening in September of 2017, Forge has grown and changed more than we could have imagined! We’ve learned so much over 2018 and thought it would be fun to recap the highlights of the Forge family over this last year.
We’ve saved a lot of entrepreneurs and remote workers from overcrowded, stuffy coffee shops. Our members love coming to Forge’s atmosphere with an unlimited supply of coffee and tea- plus a fun community of hustlers!
here’s what Forge can save you from
The size of the Forge family has continued to grow over 2018!
In January, we had 67 members.
In December, we have 121 members!
We have nearly doubled in size.
Celebrating Forge’s 1st birthday with some members and friends.
This year we hosted 22 educational Lunch & Learn events!
Josh Andrews of Gatehouse Law teaches at Forge each month.
In 2018 we hosted 12 Free Fridays for the public to come work at Forge! Free Fridays are the perfect time for people to try out coworking and experience the environment at Forge.
Forge also hosted 4 pitch night events to learn about new Birmingham businesses- Your Big Idea.
At Your Big Idea, three businesses present their big idea for feedback from the audience and panelists. It’s not a competition but an opportunity to support the growing businesses in Birmingham!
Your Big Idea: a pitch night for Birmingham businesses.
We organized 5 Founders Fridays to hear the journey of different Birmingham founders.
Erin Holtz- Founder of Pure Fitness
Not only do we focus on educational events to serve our members but we host lots of the fun, networking events. Along with several happy hours, we’ve also held yoga and pilates classes. The wine and chocolate pairing event with Match Chocolate was one of our favorites!
Kala Northrup- Founder of Match Chocolate
Free pilates class taught by Club Pilates
We love celebrating holidays around Forge- it’s a great excuse for a happy hour or friendly competition between Forge members!
Decorating pumpkins at Halloween
Pie competition to celebrate Thanksgiving
Holiday party with Forge friends and homemade eggnog
We’ve also doubled our monthly conference room bookings! Forge opens up its conference rooms and meeting spaces for both members and visitors.
The Vulcan Room with seating for 8 people
We truly love building the coworking community in Birmingham and connecting with entrepreneurs across the city. We can’t wait to see how the Forge family grows and what’s in store for 2019!
If you’re interested in trying out a Coworking Membership, join us in January! Buy one month and get the second month FREE! Email us for details: info@workatforge.com
Bham Now recently featured Forge member Retha Nichole in this article. Retha is a small business coach- read more about how she got where she is today!
Have you ever thought about starting your own business, but realized maybe the million reasons why it would be extremely difficult, and then just given up? Or are you a small business owner who just needs a little extra push here and some help with administrative tasks there? Enter Retha Nichole.
If you’re wondering, “There is one person who can do all of that for me?,” the answer is yes. Nichole has spent her life working hard to get to where she is today, and she wants to work with you to make your dreams and goals a reality.
What Does A Small Business Coach Do?
In short, a small business coach can do or be anything that you specifically need in your small business. On a day-to-day basis, Nichole does everything from helping with administrative tasks to setting up systems for her clients, and even encouraging them and helping them really focus in on their goals. She refers to entrepreneurs as ‘visionaries’ and describes her process of working to help her visionary clients focus on the here and now so they don’t get caught up in the future.
“Daily, I coach small business entrepreneurs on how to make their business more efficient and better. What i’ve found is, it’s not necessarily that small business people don’t have the ‘business gene’ — it’s that they need someone to keep them accountable. Most small business people are visionaries, and they want to do and run and be everything. But there has to be someone in their world that says “let’s stay focused on this, because this is where we are.”
How Does Being A Certified Life Coach Fit In?
“The reason I started to get into life coaching is because I found that for small business people, if there are pieces of their life that aren’t right, it hurts their business.”
Nichole explains that for many small business owners, their business is their life. So, while we may not think of one small thing in our daily life affecting our work life, it is not the same for entrepreneurs. When something is off in their day to day life, it can greatly affect their business. However, most people do not think that way — something that Nichole is hoping to change. She works to make entrepreneurs aware of this so that they can adjust and grow in their business as they need to.
Nichole’s Background
Nichole has had a wide range of jobs. She grew up in Texas, and after college, she worked as a flight attendant so she could travel. After that, she moved to Atlanta and worked in high end real estate. She eventually began owning her own real estate and learning about entrepreneurship and business-building.
From her time in Atlanta, she was “bit by the small-business bug”, but she also had another unique talent: she loved helping people in the field of small business. (It’s evident as soon as you meet her — Nichole is one of those wonderful people who truly wants everyone to succeed.)
Next Up: Coaching
She decided to put her passion and talent for helping others in the small business field to work and she created her own business, Retha Nichole. She works with all different kinds of businesses.
Following a move to Birmingham and the unexpected passing of her husband, Nichole decided to open a bakery. However, she soon learned how much personal life can affect business, and made the difficult decision to close the bakery.
She uses this real-life experience to help her clients maneuver the tricky work-life balance that is especially difficult for entrepreneurs. Nichole has since gone through many seasons of life and is now in the process of getting her life coaching certification to be able to help people even more.
You can learn more about her personal story via her website, Instagram or Podcast! Yep, she is a busy woman.
Hear Nichole Speak
Nichole speaks at Christian women’s conferences throughout the year. Some of the topics she speaks on are:
Finding your God-given purpose
Pursuing everyday balance
Finding God in trials and suffering
Living in community
Prioritizing abundance in Jesus
What’s So Great About Working From Forge?
Nichole has her own office space at Forge, and she loves the energy of the coworking space. In addition to the cool, modern space, Nichole shared that she loves being around others who are working hard to achieve a goal. “For entrepreneurs, we are in a world of the internet,” Nichole tells me. “So it allows you to work from home; and while I think you can be successful working from home, it takes a lot of discipline. There is something about being in a space with others that drives you and pushes you to be better. I chose to work at Forge for that exact reason.”
Are you having trouble deciding what to put on your Christmas wish list? Look no further! We asked the Forge members for all of their Christmas ideas and we have a wide variety of great suggestions!
1. Lindsay: “I really want a smoker… I love to cook for my friends and family and feel like you gotta have the right tools for the job! I’ve gotten pretty good on the grill and now wanna try the slow style of a smoker.”
2. Ginny: “TBH, I want new tires so I don’t have to buy them myself!”
3. Courtney: “A Razor scooter that I can ride around Forge!”
4. Bailey: “An Away Luggage suitcase is definitely on my list this year. As my family lives on the West Coast, I tend to travel a bunch throughout the year and this suitcase is beyond easy to travel with, super durable and even has a USB port to charge your phone or iPad!”
5. Emilie: “AirBnB gift card! I’m a big fan of gifting experiences over “stuff.” My husband and I love travel! Over the past 7 years we’ve explored from Bali to Ecuador & so much in-between. AirBnB gift cards gives us a personalized gift we absolutely will use, but with the luxury of using it on our terms.”
6. Connor: “Nintendo 64 – Our team at forge needs one for ‘productivity breaks.'”
7. Kellyn: “I encourage everyone to give to their passions. Do you love animals? There is the Greater Birmingham Humane Society. Do you want to lend a helping hand to Birmingham’s homeless population? How about the First Light Shelter. And what about supporting the amazing work of educators and therapists helping those with developmental challenges? Give to The Exceptional Foundation.”
8. Glenny: “An Instax share printer. I have been a photo booth devotee for decades and I got my first Instax camera 10 years ago, before the current craze. My photographer husband realized I would love having a photo booth in my purse. Film for the Polaroid-style camera comes in packs of 10. That constraint makes me more thoughtful about how many pictures I take. Now that there’s an Instax printer, however, I am giddy and it’s hard to slow down. The Instax Share app allows you to print any photo on your phone in an Instax format. I have been so pleased to send actual printed pictures to friends and fam. Deciding what to print has made me thoughtful about the pictures that matter most to me. I would love for more people to have that experience.”
9. Pierce: “I’d like to get a bass guitar for Christmas. I used to play and I’d like to pick it back up.”
10. Russell: “A nice DSLR Camera for those epic food pics!”
11. Rebecca: “Does wanting my LLC count?” <— yes it definitely does!
12. Kelsey: “Allbirds tennis shoes! Some friends say they’re the most comfortable shoes they own.”
13. Lauren: “Bluetooth headphones- they would make my life so much easier!”
14. Jami: “One item on my Christmas list is a trip to Disney. It’s actually a gift I am giving AND getting. Long story short, my husband and I weren’t able to go on our honeymoon due to a massive blizzard. He commented to me earlier this year that he’d never been to Disney and was bummed about it. I’m surprising him with a Disney make-up honeymoon in the spring.”
15. Retha: “The calm blanket! It will help me rest better when I’m at home and need to stop working!”
We loved this blog post so much that we snagged it (with their permission!) from our friends- Two Ravens. Dave Cowart wrote this one- be sure to check out the original post here!
There are plenty of articles proclaiming how great a place Birmingham has become. The food scene is world class! Shipt is showing what we’re capable of! The new mayor is going to fix everything! But nobody’s saying much about our disadvantages. Truth is, we have a lot—other cities have measurable leads in economic, educational, cultural, and societal measures. Our public image is shaded by the state as a whole. And regional cooperation is best measured under a microscope.
But don’t despair! In a bit of metaphorical judo, many of these disadvantages can actually be leveraged into advantages. One of the principles of judo is jū yoku gō o seisu, or “softness controls hardness”:
Resisting a more powerful opponent will result in your defeat, whilst adjusting to and evading your opponent’s attack will cause him to lose his balance, his power will be reduced, and you will defeat him. This can apply whatever the relative values of power, thus making it possible for weaker opponents to beat significantly stronger ones.
Instead of comparing ourselves to other cities and trying to emulate the paths they’ve taken, we should instead focus on what makes us unique and use our weaknesses as strengths. I’m not talking about finding the silver lining in a storm cloud; I mean actual, actionable changes we can make.
What are our greatest weaknesses? Size is an obvious starting point – we’re the 49th largest metropolitan area and the 104th largest city in the country. Population size isn’t everything, but it means we’re low on the list for outside investment, whether that’s attracting a corporate headquarters or a major sports team or even just niceties like the availability of same-day delivery or car-sharing. How do we use that as an advantage?
Since our city is smaller, we’re more likely to have friends in different industries. Sure, most people have lots of connections in their field, but we don’t have the density to support isolated bubbles like a financial district or a collection of tech campuses. This means that we’re more likely to be serendipitously exposed to the obstacles and breakthroughs of other industries, giving us the chance to treat our entire city like a huge Innovation Depot.
There are other advantages to being a smaller city. Cost of living is low, our worst commutes are laughable in other cities, and seeing familiar faces on the street can ward off the social isolation experienced by some people in large cities. The pace is a little slower, and people tend to be friendlier when there’s a chance you probably have a mutual friend. These factors can be crucial when recruiting against other larger population centers.
But why are we comparatively small? Growth in the metro area is slow, and it’s been getting slower for years. The city itself has actually been losing population. The good news is that we haven’t sacrificed our natural areas to develop real estate. Within a few miles of downtown, we’ve had Ruffner Mountain for decades and now we have Red Mountain Park. That doesn’t have to be the end of the story though. The same mountain that currently divides the city from its wealthiest suburbs has also shaped the city itself, both geologically and geographically, preventing sprawl in certain directions. Natural and historical areas in close proximity to downtown are still largely unspoiled and ready for enjoyment and preservation.
Industries that were previously a leading cause of the metro area’s growth are now declining or outdated. The steel industry has moved on, the financial industry has consolidated elsewhere, and we’re now home to only one Fortune 500 company. Those industries were the fuel that powered our economy and gave us the nickname “The Magic City,” and they occupied some of the prime real estate in town. They also employed many of the people that shopped and ate in the heart of downtown. Now that the furnaces and mills have closed and the shops and restaurants have moved away, all that land and empty real estate are available. The McWane Center and the Pizitz have revitalized empty department stores, Sloss Furnace is now a museum and the home to a successful music festival, Back Forty just opened a brewery/restaurant at the old Sloss Docks, and Amazon is building a fulfillment center on former U.S. Steel land. Just this week, DC Blox announced that they’re building a flagship data center at a closed steel mill a few blocks from UAB. It’s hard to imagine many other major urban universities having that kind of available land nearby. It’s important to focus on developing these previously-abandoned areas in a way that weaves young and innovative companies throughout the city.
Our airport is substantially smaller than others in the southeast. Ignoring the behemoth to the east, it still sees just a fraction of the boardings as Nashville, New Orleans, and Memphis – cities whose metro areas aren’t that much bigger than ours.
Population vs. Enplanements (commercial boardings) by City
Tourism is a strong industry in those cities, but there’s clearly a lot of opportunity for growth. The good news is that people there who are looking at the future, realizing they have to innovate, and are already making plans. Enjoy the short security lines and easy parking while it’s not too busy.
Nobody on the outside is paying attention and expectations are low. It’s time to work together to leverage our disadvantages while still doing things our own way.
