How to Escape the Feast or Famine Cycle by Alec Poulin

They’ve dubbed it the Great Resignation, the Big Quit, and the Great Reshuffle. Since Covid shook the world people have had time to introspect and ask, “is this it”? More folks than I can count are entertaining the idea of starting their own business, going out on their own, or creating a side hustle, even four years post-Covid. It’s difficult enough that our dollar is worth 25+ cents less than it was a few years ago, so naturally people need to earn more. But is that all? My guess is they simply recognize there’s more than being shackled to a salary at a job they’re indifferent about.

“Life is short. I know, I’ll start my own business! I can make my own hours, my own rules, I won’t be stuck, and I can tell people to kick rocks if I want. This’ll be great!”

Sound familiar? Almost ALL companies start this way, and it usually works out for a while. Working for yourself can be the most rewarding and liberating experience on the planet. But unless you’re a self-practicing, high-paying doctor or a lawyer, the first few years can be a never-ending cycle of feast or famine that many entrepreneurs unfortunately never escape. (School of hard-knocks graduate speaking here).

So how do we break this? How do we get past that hurdle of initially growing your business to that $100k per year mark, $500k per year mark, $1 Million per year mark? How do we graduate from “solo-preneur” to business owner, to financially independent, so we can get back to enjoying that initial honeymoon phase of freedom that we originally resigned for?

It’s easy, you NEED MORE MONEY.

Marketing is about generating one thing, revenue. It’s not about views, it’s not about website traffic, it’s not about posting on social media, and it’s not about how many cool bumper stickers and t-shirts designs you can conjure up. Now, I hope those things are making you money, but if you’re spending thousands of dollars on random marketing avenues, then when you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  

Most marketing companies only know how to do a few tricks. They dupe you into seeing their tricks, liking their tricks, then get you to sign a contract to perform those tricks for a year without ever considering the most important thing which is YOUR BUSINESS. There’s no consideration as to which tricks may or may not work, which areas need to be emphasized or ignored, and which parts you’re already excelling at. My passion is working alongside businesses to help them grow. I’m not interested in getting paid a retainer to do meaningless chores on your Instagram. I want it to grow.  

Catering a marketing strategy to your business is as much about finding out HOW to market as it is to market in the first place. If you’re a service-based company operating in the community every single day, why wouldn’t you spend $5,000 on the best vehicle wrap in town if you know more eyeballs will be on your business? If you have a tiny location in a hidden part of town, why wouldn’t you buy better signage? If you’re a local retailer, why wouldn’t you be feeding the Facebook ad monster as many cookies as you could afford in tandem with direct mail?

My favorite part about marketing is working with folks to personally strategize for each business.  I consider your brand, your business type, its location, ideal customer, your pricing, your budget, and your goals so we can formulate a plan for success. I care, we care, and if your marketing company doesn’t specifically articulate this, then they probably don’t care. I hope we can grab coffee if you’re tired of throwing random marketing at the wall hoping something sticks. If you’ve gained anything at all from this post, I hope you like and comment. I’m relatively new at this venture so the more dialogue at this point the better.

I hope you continue to follow me on my journey as an entrepreneur, a veteran, and a Christian. Please like, comment, and share if you gained anything from this blog. I look forward to chatting again soon!