Lura Harrison
If I had a nickel for every time I've heard a business owner say: "I wish I could just do the work I love and let someone else do all the marketing." . . .
Yes, it's a small or solo business owner's dream, but that's just it. It's a dream.
No matter how good you are at what you do, without customers, it's just a hobby.
Somebody has to do the marketing. Either you do it yourself or you outsource it. But, even if you outsource it, it pays to understand how the pieces work together to keep money flowing into your bank account.
Fortunately, I love marketing.
To me, it's like opening a new 1000-piece puzzle, laying out all the pieces, and envisioning how they'll all fit together.
Growing a Business Is a Lot Like Solving Puzzles
First, you have the picture on the box. Why is that important? Because it shows you the end. It brings your focus back to what you're trying to create. And knowing the outcome is essential to piecing the puzzle together properly. It's the same with any business.
You need to start with the end: What outcome are you trying to create? And it is about creating. That's what makes it fun. (If it's no longer fun, go back and rediscover your vision.)
Next, you build a framework. Any good puzzle builder starts by identifying the pieces that create the frame. It's your guide to structuring the puzzle. It's the same with business. Your framework is your plan; it's your roadmap.
Last, you identify patterns, start connecting the pieces, and before you know it, magic happens! All those fragments take shape, bringing your vision to life.
As you can tell, I love solving puzzles. It's a lasting gift from my father.
When I was little, every payday, my dad bought me a new puzzle. And while dinner was cooking, he'd crawl onto the floor with me and counsel me on a strategy for putting it together. Little did I know that he was teaching me how to problem solve.
Those evenings on the floor built my lifelong love for problem-solving — and, today, I use these same skills to help business owners take charge of building and protecting their reputation online. Helping small business owners grow is my absolute dream work.
From Corporate to Small Business to Speaking of Reputation
Along the way I earned an MBA in Marketing from the University of Michigan, worked in corporate marketing, and spent 25+ years as a small business owner myself, specializing in marketing, training, book editing, and content development.
My deep dive into reputation marketing began several years ago when I started doing audits for my clients to see what was being said about them online. A real eye-opener and, sometimes, a very painful one.
Business owners are rightfully angered and hurt by unfair comments made about them online. Worse, these reviews can damage their businesses. I soon realized the only winning strategy for them is to be proactive: build, market, and monitor their reputation before someone else defines it for you.
Why I Came Out of Retirement for This
AI and Google's "generative searches" have changed the rules of marketing for small and solo businesses. For both businesses and marketers, this shift has been a huge, often unwelcome, jolt.
This shift intrigued me enough to swap more pickleball-playing time for launching SpeakingofReputation.com — a resource for businesses who want to stay visible, earn great reviews, and rank where customers are looking.
Check in often, as I will tackle the questions I'm asked most often by businesses. Got a question of your own?
To your best,
Lura