Starting a business to overnight success? Well, sorry to break it to you but it’s not really a thing! Starting a business is hard work, but the hardest part of all is just getting started! That is why on our very first episode (holy crap!) of The Duo On Air Marketing Podcast, we are breaking down the very first things we did when we first started our small business.
We dive deep into:
- How we named our business
- When we said yes to our first client
- Making it legal
- Dealing with business finances
- Our system for project management from day one
- How much did we pay ourselves?
Here’s a sneak peek at a couple of our favorites from the episode.
We Hired A Copywriter — maybe one of the most unexpected things to do when starting a small business.
Why? Because we knew who we wanted to be and who we dreamed of working with, but we didn’t know how to articulate it on paper without stumbling over our own words. Without any cash flow, we leaned on friends in the industry and asked around for someone who could craft our story at a minimal expense.
Through a friend of a friend, we found a freelancer who helped us literally become ‘Duo Collective’! She built our mission, vision and ideate our business name. Everything we needed to kickstart our journey into entrepreneurship.
We said YES to a client before we were ready
Before we even solidified our business name and made things legal, we decided to say yes to a client who was looking for help in all things marketing for her business. We knew that in order for this to work, we needed to prove that we could do this. You can sit around and plan things all day long, but the real learning and growth happens in the hard work. So we decided to take a chance and test the waters with someone who was just as excited to partner with us from the start!
This is often something that surprises new entrepreneurs and small business owners. We are so scared of being “new” that we try to hide it. However, so many potential clients crave just that! People want to get in on the ground floor! They know that you are not only going to work harder for them, but they are also getting a steal of a deal!
Curious what else we discussed in this episode? Go ahead and have a listen!
Believe it or not, but we still reminisce about those early days in the very beginning of starting our own business. It’s like the honeymoon phase of entrepreneurship. If you are here now, try and enjoy all those exciting, butterfly, oh-crap moments. And the best part is… the journey only gets better from here!
Programs & Products Mentioned
- Asana: our favorite program management system
- Val Marlene Creative: our business coach that helped drive efficiencies in not only our workflows but also our finances.
- Profit First: Our method to how we run our business finances
Our Current Drink Orders
because why not?!
Abbey: Topo Chico
Courtney: Latte
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Abbey Oslin and Courtney Petersen are Minnesota-based marketing experts, educators, and co-founders of boutique marketing agency Duo Collective, which specializes in SEO, social media strategy, and branding for small business owners and creative entrepreneurs. Click here to learn more about Duo Collective, or to inquire about working with our team.
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