Why Small Businesses Matter
Shop small, do big things for your community
Why Small Businesses Matter puts a spotlight on the local merchants who donate their time, talent, goods, and services for the betterment of our community. The shop local movement spreads virally as local businesses who are “tagged” have the opportunity to share their story!
You're IT Made For More Marketing!
Four questions with Jenna Lloyd, founder of Made For More Marketing.
Why did you start your business?
When the pandemic hit in 2020, I saw the challenges many local businesses faced. They had to quickly pivot from selling in physical spaces to selling their goods and services online, sometimes for the first time.
My husband, and my very first client, had a local BBQ Restaurant, Odeens at Ridgefield Public Golf Course. Overnight, we had to set up a website with online, contactless, curbside ordering, establish a social media presence and quickly build up an email list to share specials with local customers.
I wanted to help local businesses get set up online to survive and thrive in challenging times. I took the knowledge I had as a Professor in Digital Marketing and Social Media at NYU, paired with my 20 years of experience marketing high-growth startups, to create affordable, done-for-you marketing packages, to help alleviate some of the struggles.
What is your best-selling product/service?
Small business owners have to wear many hats. In addition to creating and delivering products and services, they have to manage the budget and finances, recruit and train staff, liaise with suppliers, plan promotions and marketing, etc etc.
Understandably, my bestselling services are those which help them to expand their impact, without adding to their ‘to-do’ list - such as making me an extension of the team and outsourcing their marketing to me.
I'm aware many small, local businesses need support and aren’t positioned for that level of integration. For that reason, I am currently piloting a new, 4-week coaching package to help them set intentions and create a 6-month marketing roadmap so they can look ahead and calmly take the next best step with confidence.
I believe you can’t pour from an empty cup. I, like many small business owners, spend a lot of time considering the needs of other people. To cultivate balance, I zealously prioritize my well-being. I work with local coach Lizzy McDonald, take yoga classes and sound healings at The Angel Cooperative, walk the trails of Stormfield, swim in Topstone Lake, and pop into Mark Twain Library to relax with a good book, which I often pair with a coffee from Tusk and Cup.
Have you "reimagined" your small business?
The two biggest challenges I see for small business owners in this season are loneliness and burnout.
From 2023, I'm alchemizing mindfulness and marketing to create a slow marketing approach which, like slow living, is a more intentional, gentle, and reciprocal way to practice business. I'm casting out the fast-paced, always-on, must-do, mile-a-minute tactics and focusing on the best way for you to share your story meaningfully, over time, to attract those who need to hear it.
Secondly, I’m inviting female founders to unite together at a regular, local ‘Foundhers Circle’. Together, we’ll rest, meditate, and share challenges, resources, and rituals that help to fill our cup, so we can show up and serve our community, sustainably, for years to come.
Jenna would like to nominate Lizzy Mc Donald to be featured next!
Visit Made For More Marketing online here, and check out their Facebook, and Instagram pages as well!
HamletHub thanks Fairfield County Bank for making our Why Small Businesses Matter series possible!