Advertising on a Shoestring Via Social Media with About 90 Marketing CMO LaShonda Brown-EP025

So you’re tight on funds and can’t spend a ton of money to promote your business. What if I told you it's possible to generate a six-figure annual income with an advertising budget of under $100 per month?

 

LaShonda Brown is a CMO and Brand Strategist based in Virginia who launched About 90 Marketing to help small businesses accelerate sales and increase their digital footprint. She is adept at using social media tools to help stretch marketing dollars, and she shares that expertise via her new Periscope and YouTube channel ‘The Bootstrap Biz Advice Show’ to educate entrepreneurs. LaShonda’s experience in the world of promotion was born of necessity- her first venture was Transformation Theatre Company, an enterprise she began at the age of 18 with a $500 investment. In just a year and a half, TTC raised over $20k for charity. She is also the Co-Founder and Producer of Life Focus Pictures, a video production company she began with her husband in 2011 that provides engaging video content for clients including municipal communication departments and small businesses.

 

Listen and learn how to expand your client base by leveraging social media and teaching your current customers how to refer your business. No more excuses and no more waiting until you have enough money to start your business. LaShonda motivates you to get your show on the road – today!

 

Key Takeaways

LaShonda’s go-to strategies for generating business

• Utilize your personal Facebook page
• Celebrate wins for clients

 

How to kick off your business on limited funds

• Don’t wait until you have enough money
• Go for it NOW, while you are inspired
• Once you’ve generated some income, invest that money in your next venture
• Leverage sponsorships and donations to decrease expenses

 

How to establish credibility when you’re young

• People will be as confident in you as you are in yourself
• Present yourself with assurance and people are unlikely to ask your age
• Demonstrate value and clients will be even more impressed when they learn your age

 

LaShonda’s advice for juggling multiple responsibilities

• Start building the foundation of your business while you have the least to lose
• Gain experience and put resources in place while your business is still a side hustle

 

How to stay motivated

• Engage in passion projects (creative outlets you love, whether or not they generate profit)
• Invest in caring for your business’ greatest asset – YOU
• Don’t monetize every aspect of your life

 

LaShonda’s secrets to growing your client base

• Invest in relationships with clients (i.e.: go to lunch, happy hour, pedicures)
• Equip your current customers to refer you using a recommended landing page
• Establish your accessibility through visibility on social media

 

Why it’s important to find your lane and stay in it

• LaShonda underestimated how quickly About 90 would grow
• She was tempted to say ‘yes’ to every project and ended up overextended
• Creating a workflow to handle a new project costs more $ than it generates
• Repeat customers are more likely when you do what you’re best at
• Knowing your skill set helps you make the best use of your time

 

LaShonda’s top tips for entrepreneurs

• Customers justify decisions emotionally first, then logically
• If you let your work rob you of your joy, it will also rob you of sales
• If you are excited about what you do, clients will be too

 

Connect with LaShonda Brown

Website

YouTube Channel

Periscope TV