Will this program help even if you consider yourself “hopeless” when it comes to marketing

Small business marketing is hard.

I know.

I spent the first part of my career doing consumer research for some very large consumer product brands. I knew a lot about advertising and promotion and how to create successful brands. I thought it would be super easy to apply all of my consumer brand expertise as a small business marketing coach.

I was so wrong!

Marketing a consumer brand is abstract. While companies do a lot to make brands feel personal to consumers (such as this brand is like your helpful next door neighbor or this brand is like your stylish older sister) brands are not human beings.

Marketing your small business is very, very personal because to a large degree, you, the owner are the brand. This is especially true when you are selling very personal services; when you are a healer or a coach or a creator. This is because it is nearly impossible to separate who you ARE from what you DO. Your unique style and mindset and personal gifts color everything your clients and customers experience.

I initially bombed as a coach because despite my skills and experience I felt very shaky when it came to helping my clients grow their businesses. I would promise my clients that, yes, I could help them get more clients, sell more expensive offerings and so on.

But in my heart I didn’t believe I could do this. 

I kept hiring expensive business development coaches in the hope that they had the secret sauce to magically make me successful. But every one of them told me that it was just a matter of me “getting out there” as much as possible. When I talked about my insecurities they dismissed my concerns telling me I needed to “suck it up” and “do whatever it took.”

I felt like a fraud and of course this energy showed up in all the marketing activities I did. People sense when your heart isn’t really in what you’re doing.

I was lucky that one of the business development coaches I spoke with told me that if she made only one recommendation it would be to practice self-compassion!

I was stunned by this recommendation but I was so burned out I was willing to try anything including self-compassion.

I am so grateful I was willing to follow this coach’s advice. Practicing self-compassion actually helped! And my self-compassion practice and meditation kick-started my interest in what was actually getting in my way when it came to creating a successful business.

I’ve learned that no matter how talented we are, no matter how good our ideas, no matter how much we desire success we must address those scary little gremlins that come up and tell us we can’t have what we want to create.

I know so many brilliant, talented people who stall out because they’re either in a stalemate with their gremlins or they’ve simply given up.

And dealing with gremlins like resistance and insecurity and scarcity isn’t something we can do intellectually by reading a book or taking a class. Gremlins reside in our bodies; in our physical memories. This means we need to actually get in touch with our physical selves and meet these gremlins. We need to reach out and appeal to the greater web of life that surrounds and supports us. 

I actively connect with the other-than-human world and with the unseen world of spirits because I feel truly supported and because when I am resourced by this web I no longer feel it’s me alone against the world. We need our human community AND the gifts and support of the other-than-human community.

Even if you are uncomfortable with the idea of connecting with plants and animals and deities, you will still benefit if you’re willing to be open to the benefits. If you don’t actively reject this support.

My spiritual growth and practice led me to the idea of Marketing Root Work. That we need to attend to both the root system: the unseen ecosystem that supports us AND to attend to the nuts and bolts marketing activities.

When we do both, we find ways of marketing and connecting that work for who we are, we have a lot more self-acceptance and comfort with our authentic selves, and our efforts to connect with the people who truly want our creations seem to magically show up. 

So if you are a creator who has tried many different approaches to sell what you create and you’ve found most marketing to be disheartening and ineffective, I ask that you consider taking care of your root system, your inner landscape, in addition to doing things to connect with people. 

And I ask that you consider how a community of like-minded, like-hearted people might support you and your creative practice. Because as human beings we are not “made” to go it alone. I believe creators very much need a village to support their creative process and business. 

If you feel that the marketing root work community will help you but you still have some serious reservations, I encourage you to complete an application, send it to me, and then let’s talk about whether the community Is the best fit for you.