Happy 3rd Birthday Endurance Marketing

Wow, I can’t believe it. Endurance Marketing is 3 years old today!

What started as a leap-of-faith solo business in the fall of 2010 has expanded very nicely over these past three years. And boy, have I learned a lot.

To commemorate this milestone, we’ll be sharing a series of posts that are “3-themed.” And I say “we” because I’m lucky to be working with an extremely talented and dedicated team that have been instrumental in helping me build the business, and the relationships, over these past three years. A big thank you shout out to Courtney, our content strategist, who is not only an amazing writer, but has been the best sounding board any small biz owner could ask for.

I’m also extremely grateful for our clients–who trust us to tell their story through content marketing and social media. Building relationships is what it’s all about. And we’ve had the pleasure of meeting some amazing people and helping some amazing brands.

Before I launched my business, I spent at least a year in planning mode. I got all my ducks in a row (aka: making sure I had enough money in the bank to survive after I quit the day job) and then finally, when I just couldn’t come up with any excuse not to JUMP, I dove in head first.

Here are 3 things I know now 

1. Don’t be afraid to change everything
   There isn’t much that resembles what I started with. The website is completely different. The colors. The logo. The overall brand’s look and feel. Even what we offer in our services, and how we work with clients has changed. And that’s okay. You don’t know what you don’t know. And if you hang on to what you think your business should be, it’s likely going to fail. When you come to that crossroad where you think it might be time to adjust–trust your gut.
2. Work on the business, not in the business
   I will be the first to admit, I have control issues. I like having it–control, that is. When I was in my first year of business, I subscribed to the “If you want it done right…” way of doing things. And that was fine–if I didn’t want new clients. In order for me to grow my business, it didn’t take long for me to recognize that something had to give. There’s no trick to it: You just hold your breath and let go. Easy, right? Seriously, in order to build the business and be an effective partner for my clients I had to learn how to do less of the day-to-day business tasks. And that starts by having the right people in place to take those on.
3. It’s okay to say “no.”
   This is a tough pill to swallow for new business owners. You want the business, you need the money, so you agree to everything. And you don’t set boundaries. It’s important to recognize that there are some relationships or projects that are just not a good fit for your company. It’s can be tempting to take on too much work or be blinded by dollar signs–but don’t do it. The time spent on those projects or clients that just don’t jive is better spent working on your business strategy to attract the “right” clients. I’ve learned that I just can’t be everything to everyone, and it doesn’t make sense for me to try to be. Focusing on the core services we do best helps. By simplifying our service offerings, we are able to attract the right clients so that we don’t have to say “no.”

There are a ton more things I’ve learned over these past few years, but those 3 things are important because they have changed the way we do business.

They say the joy of the journey is in the ride, and I’m feeling really lucky to be able to take this journey–and looking forward to many more years on this road.

We’d love it if you’d send us out a birthday wish. <TWEET THIS>

Oh, and feel free to send us cake, too. We like cake.

Be sure to subscribe to the blog as we’ll be throwing in a few surprise giveaways throughout the month.