6 Free At 50 Marketing Basics for Beginners: A Post for Anyone Ditching the 9-5 to Become an Entrepreneur
Start building by using the basics, even if you have marketing experience in your corporate life.
In my last experience in corporate life I was on a marketing team. Previous 9-5 jobs included campaign work and growing a small local business in our community. But as it turned out, starting out in entrepreneurship required everything from a mindset shift to new training. Why? I'd never BEEN the brand. The face, the business, the ONE. And I was about to jump into a journey of creating something without a "boss," a C-Suite, or corporate guidelines.
Sound familiar? Is this something you're working on? How do you decide where to focus your time and resources for building life outside the 9-5?
April 2024's spotlight in my Ditching the 9-5 Facebook community has been basics when going from employee to entrepreneur. Why? I did a poll on marketing topics and hitting the basics won out. But that’s so broad! So I’m breaking it down into bite-sized bits you (and I) can dive deeper into independently.
Read on if you're ditching the 9-5 for entrepreneurship.
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6 marketing basics I figured out as creator of the Free At 50 blog and Daphne Reznik L.L.C.
Marketing Basics Focus Number 1: Mindset.
Aside from transparency in politics, authenticity in corporate branding, mindset may feel like the most overused and nearly obsolete term out there for entrepreneurs. I get it. That said, it really is a thing.
In context of marketing basics for entrepreneurs here is the mindset shift: YOU are the brand; you no longer have to be on guard representing someone else. THIS is where authenticity truly can be authentic: it’s your voice, your mission, your beliefs, your business, and YOUR BRAND.
Ditch the ill-fitting corporate logo’d shirts when you ditch the 9-5 and wear what you want. Be YOU and your business’ ideal, not someone else’s. Obviously I’ll add the caveat that you don’t want to intentionally hurt anyone, be offensive etcetera- that should go without saying. But YES, you can basically say and do (and wear!) what you want.
Admittedly this shift might take getting used to, but you got this.
Image by Orna from Pixabay
Marketing Basics Focus Number 2: Budgeting.
You thought I was moving right to branding because it’d be a natural shift, but no. After the mindset shift, budgeting is vital. As always when building a business or even at the “thinking about ditching my 9-5” stage, you must:
1) Know your expenses (necessary vs. flexible).
2) Determine how much time and money you’ll invest into marketing.
Whether you decide on $100/year or $1000/month, set a budget and be willing to invest. And for any financial investment you make, ensure that you’re ready and able to invest the time necessary.
Examples:
1) Purchasing a marketing course or e-book: schedule time, create your list of tasks/action items… and do them.
2) Join a marketing program or membership: take the courses, dive into the promo opportunities… again: schedule time, create your list of tasks/take action items, and do them.
RECOMMENDATION: If you want help organizing your needs and investment in marketing, let’s chat. Book a FREE call here – type MARKETING BASICS in the booking notes.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Marketing Basics Focus Number 3: Branding.
Where do you start? Understanding YOU are the brand when you ditch the 9-5 and go solo. (remember focus number 1- that mindset shift!)
Branding is everything from colors and fonts to a look and feel. And more. It’s your mission, goals, voice, and message.
I’ve actually laid out my tips for branding in a blog post and offered links to help. Take a deeper dive into personal branding, with action items, on this post here.
Marketing Basics Focus Number 4: Online Platforms.
Where should you be? It doesn’t have to be everywhere. You can definitely set up accounts on multiple platforms but go in with a strategy.
- Test the platforms.
- See what works.
- Learn where your people hang out. [for 1) learning 2) collaborations and 3) clients!]
RECOMMENDATION: Track your analytics! I use the $10 digital blog planner from This Splendid Shambles to record and review social media stats each month. That includes plans for content going forward. Get it here- you’ll get tracking pages AND content planning for blog writing AND social media posts!
DEEPER DIVE: Click here for my post on simplifying social media, STEP BY STEP.
Free At 50 Facebook graphic created on Canva
Marketing Basics Focus Number 5: Trainings and Courses.
Whichever direction you go, courses and trainings will be overwhelmingly helpful. So yes, I’m saying this is a basic: knowing you need to do trainings and courses, then using the budget (and your time!) to invest in them.
How do you know where to start?
You can break it down into priorities- branding, email strategy, Instagram for business owners, running a Facebook group… and so on. One a month, one a quarter, or as you evolve and move into a new category of marketing.
TIP: A membership can include multiple trainings and even full courses! I highly recommend the membership with the Digital Acceleration Academy (DAA) I did for 2 years: click here to check it out as part of a bigger offer.
You can go month-to-month with DAA and the courses cover everything from lead generation to building a Facebook community.
Marketing Basics Focus Number 6: Tools (including Groove!).
Some are free but you may want to upgrade (or need to at some point). Consider these 3 as foundational:
- Graphics and branding. My recommendation: Canva. (and yes, you can get it for free!)
- A place online- from a website to simple landing pages and funnels. My recommendation: Groove- if you sign up for free now, you have until May 1 to get a lifetime deal. Read more here.
- Video storage. Again: Groove. That said, take a deeper look at repurposing all of your content using video – click here.
Free At 50 Facebook graphic created on Canva
Your call to action: do the basics and grow your business!
- Bookmark this page- file it under an appropriate place: TOOLKIT, MARKETING, TO-DO, ACTION ITEMS… whatever is best for you to get back to it.
- Get started.
- If you want customized assistance: book a call with me to get sorted 1:1. Click here and type MARKETING BASICS in the booking notes!
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