Many online business owners get their start in the corporate world before they set out to become entrepreneurs. It’s a place where we can learn some great skills, but we can also develop a faulty perception of how valuable our talents truly are when we’re playing by somebody else’s rules.
My guest Lindsay White left her corporate job in 2019 and set out to create a freelance business that was able to not only replace her corporate salary but exceed it, all while giving her the flexibility to work exactly how she wanted to work. Now she’s the owner of a successful marketing agency and helps other women gain the marketing skills to go out on their own and build their own successful freelance marketing businesses.
Listen to get all the details about her career as a corporate Director of Marketing, and how she shares her framework and processes to open up a world of possibility with her clients.
Highlights from this Episode:
We talk about:
- Learning Director of Marketing role in an in-house agency in the corporate environment and beginning freelancing to take control over her future, and run and scale her own online marketing business
- Connecting with the first client creating a strategy, and recognizing the opportunity to fill a need in the online space.
- Empowering women to recognize their talents and confidently offer their skills to a broader client base
- The simple steps you can take to create a values-based business to help align your business with your goals, and stay off the hamster wheel of hustle while building or growing your business.
- Managing the balance between increasing cash flow and growing your services without burning out through planning what offer model is sustainable for you.
- The actionable steps to take TODAY to start moving the needle forward in your service-based business.
- The benefits of hiring a Director of Marketing for those looking to hire
- The 3-month cohort program Lindsay created to educate and certify DOMs and help build the skills and confidence to support your business and pivot into the new role.
Captivating Quotes from this Episode:
5:30 leaving the corporate world for freelancing
But I was just growing more and more unhappy with what I was doing where my time was being spent my commute every day, And ultimately, I found myself living for my bosses and not really living for myself… And so I left my corporate job, and I went out on my own and I started freelancing. I started freelancing in the kind of general VA space, I was doing a lot of social media management, a lot of email marketing, and with that, you know, doing a lot of the general VA tasks. So as I was kind of embarking down that path, I wanted more I wanted, you know…, I wanted to make more money… I had recouped my corporate salary, which is amazing, and a huge goal of mine that I had hit. But I was ready for that next level… And in the online business space, you just don’t know what that is. And so now, where I’m at now is I’m a director of marketing for my clients
7:30- How she developed her Director of Marketing Certification Course
…And then, I built out a full plan for the year to help her achieve those marketing goals that would then in turn, help her achieve those business goals. And we grew her business. And we grew her marketing presence and established a marketing presence for her. And she was thrilled, of course, because we achieved so much together. And so that’s kind of when it clicked was that this is a huge opportunity that people are not doing in this freelance space. And there are very clearly so many people who need that help. And so I started serving my clients as Director of Marketing and doing that same exact, you know, cyclical plan for all of my clients. And so that’s now what I teach other women how to do is how to do that exact direct marketing director of marketing framework and provide it for their clients
11:15 Focusing on your back pocket value– what gaps you can fill
So you want to have something in your back pocket that you can pull out and show the value that you can provide, it can be really surface level, it can be really easy. Oftentimes, I’ll listen to podcasts, and people will tell you, you know, don’t give away all of your cookies before someone pays for it, right, don’t give away all of your value for free. I don’t necessarily take that mindset, I take the have something in your back pocket to show how valuable you are and how they can’t live without you. And so when it comes into a cold pitch perspective, find the gap find something that, you know, you see that gap for me, I saw the gap of not having any content out there and not having any email marketing. And I dove in on that gap that I saw. So find something where you’re like, hey, I can provide value and explain the value that you can provide, it doesn’t even have to be related to you doing the work for them. But like, Hey, I noticed you don’t have an email list, I know you have amazing content, I would love to know is that something you have in the works is that something that you’re planning on doing, I would love to get on an email list with you, if this isn’t something that’s in the works, I would love to have a conversation, that’s something I help my clients do. So you know, come at it from a non-intrusive perspective, and have that back pocket value that you can provide them and show them, you know, an email list helps get your content in front of 1000s of email subscribers, or whatever the case may be. Show them something that they might not already know.
15:34 Start with your core values
So it doesn’t matter where you are in business, we can go through the same process, it would look the same for every single person. And Ken, it will give you like a high level overview. And then you can, you know, pick apart ask questions, and we’ll go from there. But what I always advise is start with your core values. And if you don’t know what those are, you can literally Google values, think values library and find like lists and lists and lists of words, I always try to stick to five, five, you know, value-based words like family legacy, freedom, spirituality, and health, those could be your values, right, and so write those down. And so the first tip that I have is write down your core values on a post-it note, and I want you to put it on your computer, I want it to like be on your laptop screen. And anytime that you were faced with a decision, or a client is asking you a question, or someone might be a little bit of scope creep going on with your clients, I want you to look at that post-it note and make your decision based off of those values.
26:41 Self Awareness of your Core Values is Key
It’s great to put them out there and tell your audience or your clients, you know, these new values you’ve come up with. But the self-awareness is just as important of a part because as soon as you’re aware of these conscious steps and efforts to create a business that’s more values-based and structured in a way that’s going to help you work in a way that you’re going to continue to be fulfilled. It’s so important to keep that momentum going.
Connect with Lindsay:
Website: https://lindsaywhite.co/
Email: Hello@Lindsaywhite.co
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaywhite.co/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lindsay.klasing
Links from this episode:
Director of Marketing Certification Waitlist
Director of Marketing Hiring Form
Freebie: Director of Marketing Roadmap
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