Day 3: Marketing

I took some time this weekend to think about where my initial focus should lay and it was clear to me that it is marketing.  I will not be able to generate revenue without customers, and I won't have any customers unless they know about me.  I searched the web and was able to find a Marketing Plan template that was simple and straightforward.  It helped me to codify my mission statement, short/long term marketing goals, as well as a SWOT analysis.  I have found this sort of thinking is invaluable to focusing my efforts.

As part of my initial marketing efforts I have decided to perform the following in hopes of getting my name out there.

• Develop a website and promote using SEO
• Advertise using Google Adwords
• Attend local networking events
• Purchase a list for telemarketing
• Monthly ezine

I think this will form the foundation of my marketing efforts in the beginning.  I have to be careful where I spend my marketing dollars and ensure that I get the a strong ROI.

I took my brand attributes, images, and metaphors to come up with some potential company names.  I came up with several that sounded promising:

• Insightful Leadership
• Assured Leadership
• Executive Leadership
• Purposeful Leadership

With my list in hand I set off to determine if there were other companies with similar names and the domain names were available.  In my research the most desirable domain is .com, followed by .net, and finally .biz.  I checked all of three of them with the intent of purchasing all three to limit any confusion and prevent other companies from using a similar name.  I know it may sound hokey, but I always like to run ideas, big purchases, etc by my family in hopes of gleaning wisdom from them and prevent me from making big mistakes.  I will see what they think about the names I have come up with and if they might have any other suggestions.

So I thought about it over the weekend, discussed it with David, and decided to pull the trigger on my office space.  The building I chose in downtown Seattle is a very prestigious address and I was able to negotiate a 1 year lease for $325/month.  That was a little above my budget of $300, however in the grand scheme of things that $25 dollars a month was worth the increased productivity.  I move in on March 1 and I can hardly wait!

If you will pardon me to dream a bit I am so excited about this business opportunity and looking into the future I see great possibilities.  I want to write a book, I want to create a podcast, I want to become a speaker.  The only thing I don't want is employees.  You see the things that attracted me to going into business for myself was the following:  1) Autonomy, 2) Ability to influence others for good, 3) Exercise Creativity, and 4) Challenging.  This is one of the only jobs I know of, for me, that will provide me with all four of these criteria.  That is what gets me so excited to embark on this journey.