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You are effectively in the middle of your career. So what did you do previously and how did you decide to start your own business with Wright Touch?

I had come from a lot of different backgrounds and business structures, eventually growing into a corporate role and then becoming president of a local communications agency. We experienced substantial growth in my time there, but I've always struggled because I felt my vision for the growth and future of the business wasn’t shared by the leadership or ownership teams I was working with. Being a marketer and strategist in nature, I've always been a bit people-centric, whether that be customers or staff, and generally, those tactics are not the ones that bring the most immediate return, so they're not always the most popular. But in my opinion, those are the ones that give you long-term sustainable growth and create brand loyalty that really makes a brand stand on its own.

So, being internal to teams was hard. Having a lot of really great ideas and not being able to bring them to fruition is frustrating, so that really propelled me to decide I want to do this on my own. I want to be able to go in and work with multiple companies to say, “hey, let me help you get your growth to the next level, and do it in a sustainable nature, so you're not throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall that isn't going to get you the return you want.” Then it leaves it in their hands to do what they want with it, and I don't have to get frustrated if they don't execute it to the extent I’ve suggested.

What exactly does Wright Touch offer then to its clients?

The primary focus is on brand and growth strategy. There's a big focus on the comprehensive nature of “What is the message?” What is the core of the brand and what value proposition do you have to offer to your clients? That being said, I have a lot of clients that are more campaign focused. So instead of doing full-out business strategy, maybe they have a new product or a new service, or a new vertical and they need help determining how they communicate that they’re going into uncharted territory. They need some research to back up how they’re going to do that.

We often hear from entrepreneurs on the show that it took them a while to find their niche, a singular clear set of solutions and not all the possible solutions they could offer. What did this process look like for you carving that out?

This is a good question. In some ways, I think I'm still going through it and I think any business should always be going through it because as a brand you always need to be ahead of constantly changing conditions and the economy. The fact that finding those core messages is what I do for a living gave me a little bit of a leg up.

I think for any business owner it's really difficult to look at your business objectively. It's really hard because there's the emotional pull… It's your baby. I think it helps to have someone come in from the outside to look at your business to listen to you, listen to your customers, listen to the people that work there, and use that information and research to help guide the core messaging of the brand instead of what you as the business owner might be drawn to.

We initially spoke about a company’s brand messaging not just being externally focused, but actually having internal alignment implications, can you talk a little more about that?

This is something that I find really, really interesting. Part of my process is I'll go through and I'll survey audiences. For example, I want to hear from the people that have worked with the company, the people that have touch points with them, but haven't worked with them, and I want to hear from the people that work there. I recently was doing a strategy where 90 plus percent of the people that were working there didn't know what their brand was and didn't know what the future of the organization looked like, but they were doing fantastic work.  These are the situations where there is a huge disconnect and a significant opportunity.

That brand message is really important because it it's the center of what is going to develop customer and brand loyalty. But it also creates that connection and purpose for people internally. I think the companies that do that well are the ones that go to the next level because their internal teams are equally as invested in the success of the company because it all ties back to the customer.

What advice would you have for your younger self or others considering entrepreneurship?

Don't be afraid to take the leap. I have listened to a lot of stories of successful women entrepreneurs, and there's this constant conversation of being “pushed off the cliff”. Their heart knew they wanted to do it the entire time, but fear held them back. So for me, I’d say don't wait to get shoved off the cliff,  be ready to take the leap.

My other advice would be to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and reach out to people asking for connections. Whether they're someone that you kind of know, maybe someone you saw speak once that you found inspirational, someone that you know is notable in the community, etc. reach out and ask for coffee. People are really open to sharing their experiences and getting diverse perspectives and input is really beneficial to helping you grow.