Hey there, business homies! ☕
Remember January when we were all “new year, new goals, let’s crush it!” and had our Q1 roadmaps perfectly planned out? Yeah, about that…
The Grand Plan That Wasn’t
Picture this: Our team huddled around our laptops, fueled by perhaps too much caffeine, virtually mapping out what we thought would be THE comprehensive course for startup founders. We’re talking the whole enchilada – business formation, financial forecasting, scaling strategies – a veritable “Startup Bible” that would solve ALL THE THINGS.
We were practically high-fiving ourselves before we’d even finished the outline. Classic.
The “Oh Wait” Moment
Then something happened that every business owner knows all too well – we actually gathered feedback from our clients.
Conversations went something like:
Client: “This startup course sounds amazing, but honestly, I just need to figure out why my Instagram posts are getting crickets while my competitor’s dance videos are going viral.”
Us: nervously starts to sweat and review the outline…
Another client: “I don’t need help with my business model. I need help making sure people actually know my business exists!”
Us: nauseously shuffles extensive course outline under a pile of papers
Us: “Oh… um… right.”
It turns out, we were solving a problem that wasn’t the most pressing issue for our community of small business owners and it was beyond humbling. It’s like planning an elaborate dinner party only to realize everyone just wanted sourdough bread. (If you have gone through the course we created and pivoted toward, you know all about the bread lol)
The Pivot That Saved Our Sanity
Instead of pushing forward with our original “teach all the things” approach, we hit the brakes, listened closely, and created a streamlined digital marketing course specifically for small business owners who:
- Know their business but feel like they’re shouting into the digital void
- Are tired of throwing money at Facebook ads with nothing to show for it
- Want to understand if their marketing efforts are actually working or just keeping them busy
The Ironic Plot Twist
Here’s where it gets deliciously ironic (like rain on your wedding day, but actually ironic): While creating this marketing course, we realized we weren’t fully marketing our own marketing services! Yes, we talk a ton about our web design and branding services. What we didn’t talk about was how our expert developer, Adi, can create e-commerce websites like a wizard. We weren’t talking about how writing content for almost 20 years is the backbone of anything I create. We for sure weren’t talking about how we have been working with small businesses and non-profits for over a decade and how that expertise we started applying to our own Boom clients through consulting.
The bottom line is we were underselling ourselves. We are a design studio for small businesses who also offer a consulting element to implement the right operational processes into your business.
So we did what any self-respecting marketing consultancy would do – we practiced what we preach and clarified our service offerings:
- Strategic consulting (the “here’s what to do” part)
- Design and creative services (the “make it pretty” part)
- Implementation support (the “we’ll actually do it for you” part)
Key Takeaways (Because We Know You’re Skimming)
✨ Listen before you launch: Your brilliant idea might not be what your audience actually needs right now. Check in with them first.
✨ Smaller can be mightier: Sometimes a focused solution to a specific problem is more valuable than a comprehensive course covering everything. As an overachiever, that’s a hard concept 🤣 But, think about when you are learning a new skill-it’s easier to digest in baby steps and small increments.
✨ Check your own marketing: Are you clearly communicating what you actually offer? (We weren’t, and we do this for a living!) You need to check in with your business to determine that you are fully highlighting the things that you are good at and do very well. Don’t underestimate your expertise or knowledge!
✨ Pivoting isn’t failing: It’s responsive entrepreneurship. It’s business jazz – improvisation based on the feedback you’re receiving. I think a pivot is a good thing when it’s helping your business community.
Content Creation and Design Without the Overwhelm
Moving into Q2, we have a set content calendar and overall strategy for the directions we want to take Boom and the results we want to obtain for our clients. With that being said, we also are leaving a little bit of wiggle room for the whimsy and any chance we see to pivot in a way that benefits our audience, we’re going to take it. Here are a few updates:
- Services page facelift: When we started to think about how we wanted to present the design and consulting services that we offer, we wanted to showcase it in a way that fits where you are in your business growth journey. Take a look at how we divided services based on recommendations for your unique stage and let us know what you think!
- Content Creators, listen up! Our people have spoken. We are never short on ideas and started to practice what we preach about checking in with our audience about what’s needed and boy, did they let us know! Because we can’t seem to stop creating helpful things, we’re working on a Content Compass guide to help you create blogs, newsletters, and emails without staring at a blank screen wondering if you should just give up.
The guide will help you:
- Generate content ideas when your brain feels like jello
- Create a sustainable content calendar that doesn’t make you want to cry
- Write in your authentic voice (not a robot version of yourself)
- Busy business owners, we have something for you, too. We have fullyyyyy launched our Website in a Day offering and it has been a real hit with small business owners who need a quick website without having to wait for branding, content ideation, or full customization, in addition to the services our clients know and love centered around fully embracing the nucleus of their business goals through design.
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Remember, the most successful business owners aren’t the ones who stick rigidly to their plans – they’re the ones who listen, adapt, and occasionally admit, “Well, that idea was a beautiful disaster, let’s try something else!”
What’s the biggest pivot you’ve made in your business? Bonus points for sharing your “this isn’t working” moment!
With kindness,
-S
