1661 – Looking Under The Soil with The Business Growers’ Laura Johns

0:28Hey there, thoughtful listener. million dollars in revenue. Just head to upmyinfluence.com and watch my free class on how to create endless high-ticket sales appointments. You can even chat with me live and I'll see and reply to your messages. Also, don't forget, the thoughtful entrepreneur is always looking for guests. Go to upmyinfluence.com and click on podcast. We'd love to have you.

0:58with us right now laura johns laura you are the founder and ceo of the business growers you're found on the web at the business growers.com laura thank you so much for joining us thank you josh for having me i'm so excited i love your energy well thank you so much right up and around the bend uh around the gulf of mexico and you are based in jackson mississippi is that right jackson Mississippi serving tech companies, which is a little confusing to a lot of people. So I'm excited to tell my story. Yeah, well, please share what you do with the business growers and how you serve your clients. Yeah, so we are a fractional CMO and implementation team component for founder-led companies, typically 50 or less employees that, you know, they really get to the point where a lot of times the founder themselves is running sales and marketing, and they realize that they They're really going to stick to what they're good at.

1:49So maybe they can't afford a full marketing team or they don't really need a full marketing team. It's not till you get way big that you need an in-house web and SEO person or that type of thing. So we really feel that function both from the implementation side and then also from that high level strategy. They need somebody usually to sit on a board call or an investor call and tell everyone the lay of the land and what's happening and how that growth is, you know, how they're making money off their marketing dollars, that type of thing. So we serve in both those areas. So a little non-traditional type of agency, but a marketing agency nonetheless.

2:22Yeah. And how might someone know that they are ready for you versus, well, I'm just going to try to staff up my own marketing talent internally. Help me or help someone understand, you know, maybe what paths are available to them and kind of what the pros and cons are of each. That's a great question. I'm glad you asked that because, you know, I think that a lot of times we can hire, you know, as fast growing companies will hire someone and have really high expectations of someone maybe three to five years out of college. So maybe somebody got an integrated marketing degree or PR degree or business degree, and then we bring them in at a, you know, in a marketing position and really have expectations of them to be able to do it all.

3:08Well, it's really hard to be a social media manager, a graphic designer, a web developer, an SEO specialist, and a digital ad expert. So the reality is that we actually work really well with clients who have an in-house marketing person, but that person kind of serves as the, you know, I'm hearing, I'm the boots on the ground. I'm hearing the conversations our CEO is having. I know kind of what we're looking to accomplish, but they necessarily can't fully execute because they don't have the skill set to do that. So different paths might look like you have an in-house person that's serving as your in-house liaison and project manager.

3:43And that person is working with us day to day to get things done. But the CEO is not really having to be super heavily involved in the day to day. So that's an ideal scenario. We work with a lot of CEOs who, you know, we get on calls every week, every other week. And they're telling us what their vision is. And we're saying, OK, well, here are the options to execute that. That's one option, too. And we kind of offer which this is actually built because I've always been in startups. startups. And I've always been the, you know, the sole marketer typically in a startup. So I've had to work with agencies and vendors.

4:13So I see, and I created a path no matter where that, that company is. So if you're coming in and you need, you're like straight up startup, you don't have a logo, you don't have a business card. We have a path for that. If you're a little bit more advanced and you've got all the foundation, right. You just need to tweak your messaging and make sure you're speaking right. We have a, we have a path for that. And then if you're like, if you need a full in-house team, you don't have anybody helping you and you need all of it, we have a path for that. So it kind of really just depends on where you are.

4:43But knowing you're ready is when the CEO realizes that they are spending time in marketing functions and that's not really their skill set. That's when you need somebody, whether it's in-house or outsourced. Yeah. Laura, what would happen? How would you imagine the conversation would go if someone said, well, I mean, we have branding. We feel like it's good. We don't know for sure. Like, how might you discover to see if they're on track versus maybe there's some opportunities? Yes. So typically, people would say branding, and then I also throw in messaging. That's part of the reason why I named the business growers, because how important the foundation is.

5:23I'm not really great with plants, just FYI. My mom is really great with plants, and she comes to my house every time. And she says, you know, Laura, the plant, this plant's not growing because it's root bound. And it's like all this stuff going on under the soil that we don't really like to look at. So I always tell CEOs, you got to really look at what's under the soil. So one good test to do that is to one, check and look at your marketing materials, look at your website, look at your business card, look at your collateral piece that the sales team is spending, you know, is using, look at your email signatures.

5:54Are all those consistent? Do they look and feel the same? You know, there's a reason that my two-year-old knows that we're at Target when we pull up at Target because they have done such a good job with brand consistency. So from a branding standpoint, seeing if everything looks and feels the same, because when you walk in somewhere, that's part of the experience. When you walk in the door to someone's house, everything, how it looks and feels, consistency is important. And then also from a messaging standpoint, ask, you know, five people in your business to tell you in one sentence what you do.

6:25And if it's drastically different, then we need some work. So those are two from a branding side and both from a messaging side, both two quick exercises you can do to know if you need some help. Yeah. What if someone says, you know, I think we got things locked down pretty well. What we need now is just way more visibility. What do you see working well for that very top of the funnel awareness, lead gen, kind of attracting folks in? I would say, what are your greatest tips? Yeah, yeah. Well, I will say thought leadership, especially for these founder led, you know, organizations, you know, we typically work specifically in B2B tech.

7:06So, you know, our area of expertise is continually having that conversation that hits a pain point. And so, you know, a lot of the, I think that one thing that we do, a lot of businesses actually do really wrong is social media. So if you're having a conversation with someone and they're, you know, let's just say you've got a buddy that every time you meet with him, he wants to, you go to have a drink and he wants to talk, he wants to sell you insurance, for example. If he does that every time you go, then you're not going to want to go eat with him again or have a drink, beer with him again because he just wants to sell you something.

7:39So the same thing goes for our, the way that we communicate as businesses. So if we're always trying to sell something on LinkedIn, then I'm going to disengage. age. So one of the things that I love to tell people to do is show up authentically on social media, be a thought leader and do it, you know, from your heart. And that's really what gives the very best posts that I've ever posted on social media. Me personally is me sitting in a hair salon chair with my laptop out and just saying that sometimes work looks like the CEO of a company and getting her hair highlighted with her laptop out and people loved it, you know?

8:12So I think, you know, one of those best things that doesn't have to be complicated. I think one of the things that we're seeing really good success with is people just being authentic and showing up on social media, both as a brand and as an organizational leader. Yeah. Well, someone, Laura might say, and this is interesting, might say, well, that's unprofessional. Yeah. Yeah. I would ask the thousands of people who have responded and said, thank you for saying that. And, you know, I think that, you know, you kind of got to go back to the basics. Maybe it is unprofessional, but social media is a social platform because people care.

8:46I mean, I live in Mississippi. Everybody wants to get in your business. That's just part of the way that we work. So being able to see something that's not poised and not perfect and looks like it's a little bit personal, and maybe I'm not supposed to be here. Maybe I'm not supposed to see this. That's what people love. And I think that that's really one of the most underrated uses of social media is really just showing up and being yourself. And I think that if people like it and they'll, they'll really respond to, to what you have to say in your business. Where did the, where did the business growers come from?

9:16And like the name, because I know you have a pretty decent sized team at this point. Yeah. Yeah. So the name itself, or just like, where did, how did we get here? And the entity. So, so I actually, I call myself an accidental entrepreneur. I think a lot of us can speak to the same. So when I had been a CMO at a tech company and started a family, my husband took a job a couple of hours away from where we were based. And it was before COVID. So it was back when people really expected you to show up in the office to do your job. And so I was at a business that I needed to be there every day. And so I had to go part time because my husband took a job elsewhere and I needed to be, you know, two hours away.

9:59And so I was driving a good bit. Anyway, long story short, started doing some consulting on the side, realized I really loved it. And then fast forward post COVID decided I really want to do this. I've, you know, had my children, I'm ready to dig into entrepreneurship and true business ownership rather than just a side gig. And so actually, the company that I was working for full time, the CEO, also great visionary, great entrepreneur, I told him that it was really time for me to step out. And he said, how can I support you? And he became my first client, which was amazing. So that was really the stepping stone to get me to give me the confidence to do it.

10:34And here we are a little over two years and 15 amazing, very just wonderful women working for our team. So it's been a great couple of years. Yeah. What does the discovery process typically look like? Like, let's say that there's someone listening to us right now and they're like, okay, I really love what Laura's talking about. I love her energy. Yeah. I'm curious what working together might look like. Like, how do you kind of navigate that, figure that out? Yeah, I just start with the discovery call, because like I said, we have different paths based on where you are in your business. Not everybody's in the same place.

11:15Some people don't really know what they need. A lot of people don't really know what they need, which is which is fine. And so a lot of times it just starts with a quick discovery call. I like to know what you've done in your business, what's worked, what hasn't. Have you really done anything in terms of have you made an investment in any sort of marketing that has given you a return on investment? I do an audit. Typically, if we want to do the full blown audit, that comes with a fee just because it takes my team a lot of time. If you want to do a quick audit on a call, we can do that as well.

11:43And then from there, I actually tell you where I feel like you fit best, which path you fit best in and can give you recommendations that way. Now, that doesn't mean you have to choose that, but I can certainly tell you here's where I think you are. I call it no grow scale. So you're going to fit either the no package, the grow package or the scale package. And then we can kind of move up from there. So so basically, I would give you my recommendation on where we need to start. And that might mean a whole website build from the ground up. That might mean just tweaking the messaging on it. It really just depends on where you are and what you've done to this point.

12:14Yeah. Your website is. Oh, Laura, gosh, I had it pulled up here. Just second. That's OK. That's all right. The business grows. I got too many screens going on. The Business Growers. Yeah, thebusinessgrowers.com. Dot com, yep. Yeah. When somebody goes there, what would you recommend they do? Because I know you've got some resources here as well. Yeah, there's a get started button. You can contact me if you're interested. We also have a good bit about our team and really the clients that we serve best. I've always been personally, and this is not really a fancy strategic decision, but I've always worked in technology marketing.

12:46And I feel like that's really my strong suit, taking really complex technology solutions and making them make sense to the buyer. So we are focused on tech. There's a get started button that you can schedule a quick call with me. That's the best way to move forward and have a conversation. Yeah. You have an assessment here also. I'm curious about that as well. We do. Yeah. It's not popping up for me the first time, but we actually like to, that is a good way for me to tell, you know, honestly, if you fill out the assessment where you are. So it's a great way for me to do a little free assessment before we have a conversation, but it's just answering a couple of quick questions about your business, what you have, what you may not have, what's worked well.

13:27And that, that again is a really good qualifier for me pre-call, but it's not necessary to get started. Yeah. Just out of curiosity. So I know that you're in over 50, you have clients in over 50 % of the States. Yeah. And, but you're based in Jackson, Mississippi. Little old Jackson, Mississippi. Yeah. So I'm the only tech focused marketing agency in the state of Mississippi. So that's, that's exciting. And I was going to ask what advantages there might be to being in, you know, it's like, you're not in Silicon Valley or Austin or one of those major, major tech hubs, but you know, again, in, in the world we live in today I would imagine you've seen some pretty good advantages, maybe in hiring, recruiting, cost of living, cost of living is, you know, and honestly, Mississippi, you know, we're known as the hospitality state.

14:20So one of the great things is that we have a bunch of phenomenal, really great personalities in the state of Mississippi, which makes for really great relationship managers and client relationships. So we have really connected well. Our clients we work with, we are pretty high touch. We're not just a, you know, made very sure that we're not going to be the agency that hands you a website and we're off. The packages that we offer are all in partnership. So you don't just, you know, get away with a couple of months with us and you're done. That's not the way I work. So we are very high on relationships and making sure that our relationships are great, which obviously having women from Mississippi manages relationships.

14:57I think we hit home runs every day for that reason. So another thing I think is really great about Mississippi is because we're the hospitality state, we have a lot of people that are eager to make connections, to help you network. and I've really found that we've been able to kind of be a little Mississippi sweetheart in terms of technology marketing agencies and that type of thing. People have been so open to making connections for us and our reach in the state of Mississippi goes far beyond just the walls of our state. Of course, we've got just a lot of connections and I found that once you make connections, people refer business and that's how we've been able to grow in just a short period of time into 23 states in the U.S.

15:35side. Laura Johns, founder and CEO of The Business Growers. You're found on the web at thebusinessgrowers.com. Laura, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you, Josh.

15:52Thanks for listening to the Thoughtful Entrepreneur Show. If you are a thoughtful business owner or professional who would like to be on this daily program, please visit upmyinfluence.com slash guest. If you're a listener, I'd love to shout out your business to our whole audience for free. You can do that by leaving a review on Apple podcasts, or join our listener Facebook group. Just search for the thoughtful entrepreneur in Facebook. I'd love even if you just stopped by to say hi, I'd love to meet you. We believe that every person as a message that can positively impact the world, we love our community who listens and shares our program every day.

16:36Together, we are empowering one another as thoughtful entrepreneurs. Hit subscribe so that tomorrow morning, that's right, seven days a week, you are going to be inspired and motivated to succeed. I promise to bring positivity and inspiration to you for around 15 minutes each day. Thanks for listening. And thank you for being a part of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur Movement.