You've got to start somewhere

Welcome to the new Marketing Mentor blog, from Ilise Benun, Peleg Top and our new member of the team, Colleen Wainwright (that's me!)...

When Ilise and Peleg approached me about collaborating on a blog as part of their Marketing Mentor project, I was thrilled. And then I was terrified. And then I was baffled.

Why a blog? (Why me!?!) Ilise and Peleg are already so good at disseminating information, they've created a whole community of walking testimonials to the ideas Marketing Mentor promotes through coaching, seminars and newsletters. But as Ilise explained to me very patiently (Ilise is very, very patient), that is precisely the answer to "why a blog": the community.

Through Marketing Mentor, she and Peleg have come to understand that no matter what our individual field of endeavor, we all struggle with the same issues. And through the blog, not only can the two of them share what they know with more of us in a more immediate way; we can share what we know with them—our problems and questions, our triumphs and answers, and make them better coaches—maybe even better small business owners! Everyone shares. Everyone learns.

Everyone wins.

At least, that's the idea. And if my time spent developing the blog with them is any indication, I think they're spot on. I've always enjoyed blogging (as you can see here or here), but not only has focusing my thoughts on marketing for this project made me smarter about marketing, it's made my head nearly explode with ideas for new projects, to the point where I'm looking at more opportunities than I can handle!

Which gives me another idea: as a sole proprietor or small business owner, how do you handle all the stuff that comes your way? Do you get better at saying "no", better at managing "yes" or some magical combination of the two?

Comments

[Pat Wells]

My husband and I are managers of a self storage facility. Do you have any good ideas on marketing our storage units?

Thanks,
Pat Wells

[Colleen Wainwright]

Wow. That's a pretty enormous, open-ended question, Pat.

My best advice would be to first gather as much information as you can. Who rents? Why? What sort of situation are they in when they come to need storage space--i.e., what kind of problem do they have--and then how can you let them know how you solve it better? What kinds of places might they go, things might they read, etc?

The internet is a wealth of info, of course. You're already reading this blog, so I'm assuming you read others on marketing. Maybe you already know about it, but there's a blog about self-storage: http://www.selfstorageblog.com/

Get involved. Start a dialogue. Read about how similar types of businesses market. But beware: what starts out as a research project can blossom into an obsession--you may find yourself blogging about it soon...

[José Angel Santana, Ph.D.]

Dr. José - I'd like to say that working with Ilise has been and continues to be a terrific experience.

Youand - Why?

Dr. José - Because, Ilise is honest. Ilise is also a great listener and has deep insights about how . . . I created you! And, about what's the best way to share Youand and me.

Youand - Really? Well, thank you Ilise!

Dr. José - Yes, thank you Ilise!