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Hi there, it’s Amy Dardis with 406 Marketing and Design and I have thoroughly been enjoying my summer and I hope that you have too. I really been taking the time to just kind of reflect on our business and reflect on why we do what we do and really where we want to go moving forward. It’s been really fun to sit back and to be able to think through those things and really how it affects everything else that we do and I recently read this really great book and it was called Start With Why and that book really resonated with me in everything that we do should stem from why we do it and so I sat down and I was like okay why do we do what we do and why do other businesses do what they do. I feel like when it comes to marketing, when we think about getting our brand out there and reaching new customers and growing our business, we get so focused with the how and the what and like okay what do we need to do to get our message out there and how do we need to do this and so that’s what where we had kind of spending a lot of money and we’re like okay. I need to do Facebook and I need to do AdWords and I need to have this campaign going and I need to do TV and I need to do radio and we think, if we just get in enough places that then people will come swarming through our doors and our business will grow and I’m learning that is actually not the case. And more and more I guess I see flaws with marketing strategies and I’m like that’s not going to work like that’s empty. There’s, no value in that. Which is really brings me back to the fact that I used to hate marketing. I thought it was just shallow and fake and just salesy. And I just got this horrible feeling when I thought about marketing and I still do when it’s done in a specific way but really when we talk about marketing, when we talk about getting your brand out there, it really has to do with what is your brand. What is it. What is it that you are trying to accomplish? So let’s not think about the what and hows let’s think about the Why. Why did you start this business? What is it that you were trying to do for your customers and what is the end result in all of that. What is the heart and the vision and the passion behind what it is that you do because if you want to be successful, if you want to really make a difference and have an impact, then you have to see clearly what it is that you’re trying to do and then everything else that you do needs to support that. It all needs to follow through, we cannot over promise and under deliver. So when I look at it like all these marketing strategies and tactics and people say, oh great customer service and come in now and you can win a gift card and you know we try and incentivize people to buy into us instead of inspiring them and motivating them to buy into us. Because we’re actually walking the talk and we’re actually living what we preach and we’re actually doing something that is worth following, we’re leading by example. Instead of trying to bribe people to buy into our brand and to buy into our vision. So now, when I sit down with people I’m like okay, what do you do like how do you make a difference and what is it that’s going to draw people. And let’s forget about the incentive and let’s forget about the first free 30 days and let’s forget about that you know that a bribe really is what it becomes. Let’s inspire people let’s have it be a ripple effect and it starts inside it starts within you as a person and it starts internally within your company to be able to say that you treat your employees so well, you treat your existing clients and customers so well that you don’t need a huge marketing campaign because It is rippling out. And I think sometimes we’re terrified that if we don’t blast it out, if won’t tell everybody else how great we are then nobody is going to know except that goes against what actually happens is the more we tell people how great we are that more people don’t, like oh, yeah, whatever you know what it’s like when you don’t have to say it because it shows because people are talking about it because we did such a fantastic job for them. That is when true loyalty happens, that is when true growth happens in your business because you are leading by example, and you’re doing it from within. Sometimes I see businesses and they’re a mess internally. They have all kinds of you know, tension and uncertainty and I’m like okay what’s your vision for your business. Uh. I don’t know. Do your employees know what that is? How are you guys working together as a team? What is your culture and there is no answer. And I’m like okay, you want to, send out marketing campaigns to other people when you can’t do it right in your own building, in your own office. So if you want to be fantastic as marketing, if you want to see growth in your business. If you want to see the impact and change you have to start with what is right in front of you and sometimes what is right inside of you so that you can do the work that you need to do and your actions will speak so much louder than words. So when it comes to your marketing, I would say look at what’s going on inside. If you personally do not have a very crystal clear vision of passion and a fire for what it is that you’re trying to accomplish and for what it is that you want to see happen within your business within your clients lives, within your community, then you need to start right there and go back to the basics and say why am I doing this? What Is the end goal? Because if you can’t figure that out nobody else is going to either and all of your marketing in all of your messaging out there it’s not going to make sense and it’s not going to stick and it’s not going to have the attraction that it needs to have. So start with You. Start with inside don’t worry about what’s popular don’t worry about what’s trending, let’s do what’s right. Let’s do what’s real and, let’s see things actually make a difference and I feel, like that’s what it takes to be great. You have to be willing to inspire yourself and inspire other people around you and not just manipulate them. So I hope that this is helpful for you today. I know we’re doing this in our own business and it is hard. I will tell you it’s hard to look to take a hard look and to realize what is really going on. It’s like going to counseling for your business and it takes time and it takes effort and it takes hard changes to make it work but when it does people respond to that fire people respond to that passion and they will see that light and that dedication and you won’t have to say anything because other people will be saying it for you and your actions will be saying it for you. I hope that this was helpful for you today and I hope you guys are enjoying your summer and I look forward to seeing you guys next week.