2022 NEW YEAR
Stepping away from work or routine during holiday time allows many of us that critical introspection time. We have the luxury to ponder what is meaningful to us, time to rest, play, and if we're lucky, have a few revelations.
The last year and a half has been a great time for change, disruption, introspection, and revelations. Over 10.4 million people quit their jobs, and half a million new businesses were started, as reported by salesforce.
END OF YEAR INTROSPECTION
My own introspection time focused on the loss of another loved one triggering a revisit of my actual purpose. Painfully, this required a visit down the right fork to the ghost of marketing past as I again realize I am not promoting the full breadth of our business and talents of my brilliant teams. If you've questioned your own path, perhaps my personal detour here will give you ideas. I hope you'll share your experience in this realm in the comment section below.
(image credit: Jens Lelie)
After managing many businesses and later landing my chosen career in film & TV, my path forked when my car was hit, causing a spinal injury and forcing me to leave the career I'd trained and succeeded in for decades.
THE LEFT FORK
The road to the left fork led me from running dozens of companies in earlier years to starting a marketing firm to help friends and colleagues gain corrections to the limited advice they’d received from well-meaning “marketers”. Those who'd not owned, run or sold businesses simply gave promotional tips without the strategic business context or experience knowing the 4 other critical parts of marketing to grow a business – especially a digital-only business.
Small businesses rarely get the strategic help to integrate marketing into their business holistically. That's the critical left fork that I direct to put a business back on track to succeed. I strove to create an approach and tested team that affords clients vast savings of time, cost, and frustration.
The benefit to clients is having one Director, like one Chef, bringing the marketing communications vision, and brand consistency between all media, deadlines and costs in synch, which enables a great ease to owners or CEO's. By directing specific experts on my team to handle the tactical promotion, like social media, web/digital, design, and similar, my clients are freed to run their business while I keep watch on the details - and secret spices, where needed.
I realized the entire right fork of my business was abandoned at the crossroads. (except my “Walks with Bliss”, once my back healed)
This secret spicing at the crossroads is the ingredient that brings those tactical parts of marketing into context so it all works harmoniously. But it’s not something I’ve ever “promoted”, just the element that makes our "marketing sauce" more nutritious.
Secret Spices: A Few Examples
These are some of the extra spices I bring in the area of business management to ensure the marketing works effectively - like the nutmeg & cinnamon in pumpkin pie:
FINDING ANYTHING! RESEARCH
Finding just about anything at any time is critical for businesses. When you need something, you need it now!! I once was called at midnight to secure an elephant & trainer for a TV commercial that started shooting the next morning at 5 am. Solving multiple, daily, near-disasters defined my previous career in film, TV & events. - OR - Finding locations for events, weddings, or business offices, including those needing a commercial kitchen. Some run from this, but I thrive on the challenge.
SYSTEMS: OPERATION & FINANCIAL, TO SAVE TIME
Time is money! Creating operation plans for staff training, so managers or owners can monitor actions, growth, & goals. Setting up systems in finance, marketing, sales, or operations to streamline work, save staff time and money, and bring more ease. I bring in team experts to help any areas exceeding my knowledge. Efficient systems give you time to make marketing work - and that's how you make more money.
REACHING GOALS
Having a plan with action steps just makes it easier - and more likely to work! I Conduct business or departmental assessments to define the strategy for reaching business goals so owners/CEO’s gain big picture clarity.
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
Creating systems for ease and efficiencies of internal communications and remote access saves time and money for your staff at businesses or non-profits. Ah, right and left hands working together, beautiful!
STAFFING & INTERNS
Developing sources for finding, managing & hiring interns, staff, or contractors if you prefer not to work with a recruiter. Writing job descriptions to attract candidates, vetting them, designing interview questions & testing to ensure qualifications- yep we help with all that.
I also conduct exit interviews for contractor (gig worker) clients to evaluate their value so pricing can be adjusted, or improvements made, if needed. They can now focus on the bigger picture as the business is growing.
VENDOR PRICE NEGOTIATIONS & PERMITS
Resourcing & negotiating prices with outside vendors to save tens of thousands of dollars $$ in expenses is a significant gain for small businesses and non-profits. This includes negotiating event permits with city departments, police, parking, fire, or other institutions.
“My experience with Allison Bliss Consulting was staggeringly positive. Like a magician with a web-wand she helped me transform my visibility from practically hidden to high profile. . . high integrity, sharp intellect, and savvy, strategic marketing finesse to help any business or individual in whatever field they work within.” - Carolyn Hallett, Bellingham WA
SPONSORSHIP & OUTREACH
Creating strategic plans & promotions to outreach to organizations or the public for civic engagement, awareness building, business development, or non-profit sponsorship funding.
Ask about our successful campaigns for Kickstarter, too, where all clients have exceeded their financial goals!
MAKING CONNECTIONS
Bringing resources and contacts to help cut through red tape, make important connections or source needed products, tools, personnel or other business needs. Getting it done when you don’t have time; priceless! Our collective team just makes it happen. Period.
MANAGING ACTIVITIES/PEOPLE
Project, staff, and volunteer management is simply second nature for me. The value to clients is in time, stress & cost savings. I honed this capability by managing 200 new people each day on complex, multi-location film sets, tracking activities for legally-required reporting (i.e. unions, payroll, insurance, budgets).
RESOURCING TOOLS, APPS, MORE
Resourcing can take incredible amounts of time if you don't know where to look, don't have the time, or haven't had to drill down to the dirt on some common business needs, i.e.; best insurance to fit specific type of business, security, tools, equipment, or programs. We'll handle it!
BUDGETING TEMPLATES
Developing budgeting templates to save businesses time and to get bids submitted more quickly helps to secure more sales. Small businesses lose sales by trying to customize every project or product, only because they often don't have help in this area (nor believe it can be done). it can. We'll show you.
In addition to the ancillary secret spice support, we bring our complete marketing services to businesses, on retainer or as-needed basis, your choice.
“I appreciate the ‘one-stop shopping’ aspect of being a client of Allison Bliss Consulting, knowing when I need writers, publicists, researchers, or even event, film & TV production personnel, all I have to do is call Allison!
Allison helped me refine and define my goals and gave me a one-year specific and strategic plan to follow, offered ‘anytime’ phone calls if I have questions, researched new locations for my business using the specs I requested, and after taking me through a page-by-page website review, provided me with a detailed list of what to change and how to go about it.” (more) - Linda Constant, Nature, Nurture
Want some help boosting business?
Now that you know what we really do, let's schedule a call to find out if our marketing communications services (and secret spices) might be a great fit for your unique business to save you time, cost, and bring more ease.
If you have extrapolated this detour to your own business, please share your own revelation with the rest of us in a comment below. Knowledge is Bliss! 510-879-7600