Sage – 30|90 Marketing

Welcome to An Agency Story podcast where we share real stories of marketing agency owners from around the world.From the excitement of starting up the first big sale,passion,doubt,fear,freedom,and the emotional rollercoaster of growth,hear it all on An Agency Story podcast.An Agency Story podcast is hosted by Russel Dubree,successful agency owner with an eight figure exit turned business coach.Enjoy the next agency story.

Welcome to An Agency Story podcast.I’m your host Russel.This week on the show,we have Rachel Harris Ledet founder of30|90marketing,a strategic marketing agency based out of New Orleans,Louisiana.Before starting30|90Rachel accumulated over16years of experience in corporate marketing positions.A curious mind and no stranger to doing what it takes to get the job done.She is known to hop in cars with stakeholders,armed with a notebook and all in the name of creating value.Hear how she’s mastered that dichotomy of risk and being deliberate on our agency journey.Enjoy the story.Welcome to the show today,everyone.I have Rachel Harris Ledet with30/90Marketing here with us.Thank you so much for being on the show today,Rachel.

It’s a pleasure,Russel.Thank you for inviting us to be part of this.

Absolutely.If you don’t mind,start us off with a quick overview.What does30|90Marketing do and who do you do it for?

We are a strategic marketing agency based out of the greater New Orleans area and our service offerings are broad in the sense that we jump in,become part of the leadership team of small and mid-size organizations.Sometimes that can range between doing slight rebranding work.It can be something as simple as making sure they have promotional materials so that their sales team can continue to do their jobs,or it can be as large scale as an entire commercial development project that needs a website,a social media campaign,a rebrand,apparel and event planning for their grand openings.We like to say that our firm acts as an in-house marketing department and we collaborate so well with the team that’s there,we joke that they sometimes think we work there because we like it that way.We like to be part of the strategy and the implementation from large scale planning to small stuff.That’s the type of service line we’ve built with our clients over the last five years.

Sounds like that keeps you pretty busy.

It does keep us busy and it’s different every day,which is the blessing in it because we enjoy how dynamic our work is.

We’ll get more to that,but this is a question I just thought of.I need to ask this more often,but what is the inspiration behind the name,if you don’t mind sharing?

When I decided that I was going to break out and go out on my own,I knew it was coming,but I can remember one specific day when I was working in-house in a marketing and business development role and just knew that it was time.Like any good marketer,I started doing research and wanted to find something that was unique and also had a web domain available,which is a difficult part in naming and branding any company.I talk to clients with this all the time.You don’t wanna get lost in the crowd and you don’t wanna be so hard to say that people can’t remember you.I had a notebook full of names,Russel,and went through,I can’t even tell you how many things.The thing that stuck with us,30|90,tied to our roots in the New Orleans business community.While we do service clients around the country thanks to Covid,we got tied into people all over the place,but our roots are in the greater New Orleans area.We love the culture and the food and the flavor and the history of our community.I’m going to Jazz Fest with my kids in a few days and we would be remiss if we didn’t cling to that heritage and our backgrounds.The latitude,longitude of New Orleans is loosely30|90.That is where the name comes from.Also when I first started,I was working very heavily in the AEC space,which is architecture,engineering,and construction.I still do a lot of work in that community and I liked the angularity of using numbers in the name,and I thought that would maybe ring true for people who are used to dealing in the mathematics side of their technical field.That is where30|90came from.

I love it.A dual-sided nature.Very creative.The naming process is often one of the most difficult processes,but maybe the most I don’t wanna say irrelevant,but there might be more important things to spend as much time on.But we all do it,right?Reminds me of our story of our agency.Let’s go back in time as well.What were you doing before you got into the agency space?

I spent about15,16years working in-house in corporate marketing positions,and over the years I’ve ebb and flowed between marketing and business development departments.At some point I think my bosses realized I could do both,and so I was flip flopping between them.The beautiful thing about that is that I have a very good sense now of how beautiful marketing still has to have legs and it has to still connect to the sales process and to the actual revenue generating of a company.One of our differentiators is that we can understand how to actually sell and then create marketing that makes sense along with that whole strategy.Our messaging is probably a little different than just giving you something nice to look at because we know the end goal.I did a few roles,but I worked heavily in the technical services space.What that did for me is,I was not technically trained in what I was delivering,and so I listened for years.I found advocates who would coach me up,let me do ride-alongs,would be okay with me interviewing them.I have a joint journalism degree as well as a marketing degree.I would literally ride in the car with my project managers with a notebook and just ask questions while they were driving so I would understand what was happening.That set me up well for becoming an entrepreneur because as so much of our job is just listening and taking things in and trying to formulate responses and summaries and,talk for our clients.Working in-house was a beautiful thing as far as my training and understanding things that weren’t necessarily my subject matter,and also being able to speak on behalf of other people.

What a fascinating approach.I can only imagine all the different ways that probably served you.Is there any one particular nugget of advice going through that process that you always think back to?

I would call it the hovering technique.I worked with a lot of engineers for a few years and they are geniuses in their craft.They don’t always wanna sit and talk or sit and write.Some do,but they were elusive and they would be at job sites and not at their desks.I would need to get information from them.A lot of that marketing world is gathering project information,resume materials,and you’re bidding on these bigger projects,so you’re tying scope to delivery and things like that.I would literally hover around their offices and fly in when they were available.They’re very busy people and you’re a young marketer trying to just get a seat at the table for five minutes.And while persistence is certainly the moral of that story,I think being approachable and kind in your direct approach to answers is a balance.That’s something I’ve carried with me as I work with clients.I am often telling them what I think the best thing is for them in an authoritative manner,but doing it in a way that they are bought in and feel comfortable and that you’re not bullish about it,is how I get my fingers into things.That’s literally how I started riding in cars with people,because they would not have time for me.I needed to get things from them to turn in assignments for my job.I would ask them,where are you going?Can I come with you?I still do that with clients.I’m like,if I can’t get with them,I will ride in their car or catch them while they’re driving and interview them or buy them lunch so they have to talk to me.If I know I’ve gotta get something,I will make it work.We are very nimble and that’s hovercraft technique,just being around.It’s definitely a high tech world.There’s a lot of talk about AI and marketing things these days,but while I love tools and technology,there is nothing like talking to people,and that is certainly a career theme for me.

I imagine we could do a whole segment on all the little nuggets you picked up what sounds like a massive learning experience that you had.As you were talking through that made me think of like a business version of Carpool Karaoke or something like that if you’ve never ever seen that.When did you get to the point that you decided you were done with that path and you were actually gonna start your own agency?What did that look like?

There were a few key factors that made me make the switch.I was working in-house at the time and was in some leadership positions in my community.I was answering a lot of questions for people and giving a lot of free advice and making friends with principals at various agencies.We would talk about things and they would see me at events and I was gaining more comfort level in leadership.At some point I thought to myself,I sure do tell people answers to things for free a whole lot.I was having some discontent at work for a few reasons.Beyond my personal department,but there were some transitional things happening that were making me question what I was doing.I had enough people who I could confide in about providing marketing services to.I had some mentors and some friends and some professionals who I called on and said,look,you have to keep this confidential,but I’m thinking about doing this.Do you think I can do you believe that I can do it?Do you know anyone who would hire me?Several of’em said,yes,we will when you’re ready.I’m so calculated.I like to say I’m a risk taker,but I’m a calculated risk taker.It was a important for me to know that it wasn’t just an idea in my head,but that people who had worked with me believed that I could implement.I knew going into entrepreneurship that I had one or two clients waiting for me,which was huge for me.The other thing that was a very important part of it is that I was getting remarried at the time and had a partner who had listened to my dreams and ideas and never questioned that I could do it.It was the first time that I felt like I could just blab on about what I wanted to do and what I thought I could do better than what I was seeing.My husband,Lenny is definitely entrepreneurially minded and I think was open enough to listen to my banter and said,you can do this,let’s just do it.Being a parent and being a working parent,I think one of the biggest struggles that we deal with is finding insurance when we have kids.That is still something that a lot of entrepreneurs talk to me about.I was just talking to someone two days ago about,working for yourself and being self-employed and what that beginning phase looks like with insurance.Having support not only financially and that emotional support,but knowing that our family could still go to the doctor and that he was behind me was a big reason that I said,okay,we’re gonna flip the switch on and do it.When I tell you,Russel,we decided,and it came upon me within a day.It was like,alright,we’re gonna do the damn thing.I built a landing page and I created a logo in two or three days talking to some friends of mine who were in graphic design.It was like once the curtain was ripped open,it was happening.It was pretty fast and furious in the beginning.

That’s awesome.Reminds me of my own similar story.I think we came up with the idea on Friday and by Monday we had a website and we were calling people and then it was no looking back from there.Once you were in to make that leap,did it immediately confirmed to you that this was the right way to go?Or did you run into some walls that maybe made you think,okay,did I make the right decision?What were the emotions in those first few months?

The first few months I think you’re always second guessing yourself a little bit,especially when you’re doing something new.I was fortunate that I had one or two friends who are also consultants of similar kinds in the industry,who were very kind to me and would let me ask questions.One was in my same market,one was in Houston actually so we weren’t in the same market,but she would let me ask questions about invoicing,strategy,and billing,and some of the more boring things that you need someone to tell you in the beginning.I was a little less fearful because I had people who were championing the first few business structure things that can be confusing.Cuz there is no book that says this is how you serve as a technical marketing consultant in the first30days.Maybe I should write one.It was a lot of trial and error.It was scary.We were building a house at the time,and I was moving from one neighborhood to another so there was a lot of life transition happening.I think anytime you’re in that flux,you’re constantly figuring out what’s next.I got real serious with understanding what I needed to ask for help in,and I developed sort of a list of10or20allies in my community who I could call every six weeks or so and say,who do I need to call next?How can I get with this person who needs my services?You have to be vulnerable when you’re doing something like that and know that you have to raise your hand and ask for help,or else you’ll be,sitting on an island without any work.Maybe that’s the business developer side of my career background is like when you have to get scrappy,you can get scrappy.There’s certainly been times of fear.The first three months of the pandemic were challenging because nobody knew what was happening.Not only were we home,but nobody knew what revenue was gonna come in for their business and if they could continue marketing.I certainly questioned what I should be doing at that time.Anytime you get real with you yourself,you start to find answers pretty quickly about what you’re meant to be doing.Thankfully,every time something has felt a little shaky,I’ve gotten some like great sign that it’s all gonna work out very soon after that.I do have a lot of faith.I think sometimes God shows up for me when I need it most.Sometimes you just gotta hang on when you’re not sure what the hell is happening.Building confidence as an entrepreneur means that there’s gonna be days that you feel less confident and there’s gonna be days you feel like a rockstar.That’s just the ebb and flow of any business unfortunately.Every day is a new day and there’s no certainty in many things in life.We do the best we can to keep it fun and invigorating and inspiring,but also stable.That’s always the business challenge.

That’s all we can do.Isn’t that the truth?I love you can tell the methodical very strategic way it seems like you approach everything.From a business perspective,has it all been up and to the right?Has there been any major snags you’ve encountered so far in your business journey?

There have been a few mistakes,of course.I can remember one specific large project I was working on.I actually used this in a conference when we were talking about coming out of trials and tribulations.I used this as an example,I went off my normal methodology of creating a large scale document for a client and did it how they were asking me,which was not the way I normally did.As you can imagine,at the11th hour not for my own wishing,but things were getting pulled together the last minute.I try to lie on deadlines in my company and cheat our deadlines so we’re always a day or two ahead,but this was a very last minute thing and the whole thing blew up and files got saved over.The client was upset and I was upset and embarrassed.It was not a shining moment for us.This was about a year and a half ago.Of course,I immediately apologized when I realized that a piece of the document had been deleted.Took full ownership of it,cuz what else are you gonna do?We tried to correct as much as we could.The client ended up winning the account that they were going after,so the end of the story was fine,but I think for us,it taught us that the way that we have built the process works for a reason.We’re much more likely to say,no thank you if something is going to force us into a way where we aren’t as safe in how we’re going to produce.That was like big thing for me.And while I like some of the people there as humans,I don’t love working for that firm.It’s not for that reason.There’s other reasons,and I think there’s another beautiful thing about being an entrepreneur where you can say very graciously,we’re not for each other and that’s okay.Through some small experiences,we’ve stepped down or removed the amount of involvement we’ve had because we love working with the people that we work for and work with and we don’t have to work with everyone.That’s the beautiful moment in making mistakes and in learning.We laugh about things all the time.Things are gonna happen.Taking yourself not too seriously and owning up to little blips here and there when they happen as quickly as you can,is the only way to provide customer service in a high quality way,because we’re all gonna have things that come along the way that are not perfect.

Trust the process and own it.Love that.One of the hardest challenges can be for any business,especially if you’re trying to grow it all,is getting new clients.What’s worked for you and what’s not worked for you when we talk about the notion of client acquisition?

We talk about sales and lead generation a lot because we’re a marketing firm and we admittedly are lax in how we do outreach.We are doing a few initiatives right now,where we’re building content to go after certain target audiences.We do work on our SEO and our website so that we’re hitting the right things in our community.We do little outreach campaigns here and there.We’re very fortunate that we have a large referral network,and most of our clientele is word of mouth,or in the case with two of my clients right now they’re business owners who have multifaceted ownership.We work our way through one organization and by the nature of that,get brought in on multiple other things and get to grow our portfolio organically through the relationships that we’re already working.In a close-knit community like New Orleans,it is,I don’t wanna say easier,but it has definitely been the traction that has allowed30/90to prosper.Of course,having a growing team means that you have to have more work in the door.That is something that we’re talking about building out,having more recurring monthly work to stabilize because that is so important.We do a lot of project-based work where we get in,get scrappy,produce great stuff,and bounce out.We do that for people but we also like to be part of a growing process and that helps our team get to know the clients and work well in getting some of those retainages in place.Make a very big difference in stability for a small agency like ours.We’re only four people.It’s my job to take care of them and I take that very seriously.I wanna make sure that we’re balancing having the time to do good work,but also having client work that challenges us and that’s interesting.We all enjoy the different days and the dynamic nature of switching between one project and the next.It’s important that we don’t get bored.I know I get bored very easily with monotony,and having different business types and different client types is what lights my heart on fire.All that’s to say is that in our next iteration of business development,I’m using what I think is my best tool to gain new potential leads,which is to do public speaking,trainings,workshops,and outreach.I know that when I’m in front of people and get to connect,it’s the most authentic way for me to help,but also to earn that trust so that they can ask more questions and hopefully be a potential client.We are coming out of,such a yucky time where people weren’t connecting.Now that there is conferences and conventions and things that are getting back to normal over the last year,my team is helping me to get more in front of groups because I do love that mentorship part.I do think that,as much as SEO is amazing,and Google ads and social media can be helpful,just speaking to people has always been the way that I find the best potential clients and get those successful projects off the ground.

All comes back to human connection.

It all does.

Speaking of growth,what is your long-term vision for the business?What are we talking about10years or more from now?

What I would like to do is to grow our team to more of a maybe eight to10person firm.I’d like to stay small and nimble but I’d like to give opportunity to my staff to grow in their leadership roles and then maybe to build out a little more expertise in certain areas like having a writer,maybe having one or two more social media support.Having an extra graphic designer too.I’d love someone to come handle finance because Russel,no marketing person wants to do their QuickBooks.It’s like the thorn in my side.I’m a creative.

Don’t I know it.

I don’t wanna do it.I never wanna get too big for our britches.I don’t think that’s the desire of my heart but I would like to continue to grow the type of accounts that we’re working on and give opportunities for people to have a great work life.I’m a working mom and I know what it’s like to work in a situation where you feel like you have to choose between your work life and your home life.I just don’t believe in that.I think that people can be great parents and great workers,and great in their hobbies and great in their friendships.I wanna create a work environment where people can thrive and be creative and productive,but also happy.It’s important to me that we build that culture into what we’re delivering because being miserable at work,it’s just not worth it.I don’t want a life like that,and I don’t want my team to have a life like that.I want happy people who are doing great work.That’s my10year goal.

Nothing wrong with that.Little off topic,because you seem to be very passionate about the New Orleans community.For all the folks that are listening,I’m sure they’re gonna pass through New Orleans at some point.What’s the hidden gem that’s gotta be a must do for someone coming into New Orleans?

We are the sort of festival captiol of the world.I think we have almost300ish festivals throughout the year so there’s usually something fun happening.We’re actually in Jazz Fest time right now,and I have not been to Jazz Fest in several years,but we’re gonna be going with our family next week.Excited about that.There is so much to do in New Orleans that is not the iconic French Quarter Bourbon Street experience.We have some great historical tours.We have great hole on the wall,family owned restaurants.I could send you a whole list for the next time that you’re here.We have a beautiful aquarium that has just been renovated in a fantastic zoo run by the Ottoman Nature Institute,which I think is one of the greatest gems of our city because of how it’s lined with these historic200year old oak trees.It’s a great family hangout,and it’s in a beautiful part of uptown New Orleans where you can ride the street car and go eat great food.How could I pick just one?I don’t know that I could pick just one thing.But I would love to send you a list of my top10non touristy New Orleanian things to do that you and your family would have to partake in next time you’re here.Maybe some live music and festivals is the quick version of what I would say you have to experience when you’re here.

I’ll take that list hands down and we’ll put it on the blog when we publish your podcast.There you go.Go check that out there.Last big question for you,Rachel.Are entrepreneurs born or are they made?

I love that question.I think that you are born with a curiosity of spirit and I think that there are certain things about certain people where you’re always asking why.Status quo never fits quite right.You’re always wondering what else you can do.There is just an inherent nature about certain people.I remember when I was trying to pick a college major and I just kept thinking I wanna do four things.I don’t wanna pick one thing.I laugh because around35or so I said,to hell with this,I’m gonna do all the things I wanna do.I don’t have to be one thing.That is something that is maybe born into your nature,the yearning for wanting to do a lot of different things.While I’m definitely a marketer by day,I have a few side hustles that are more passion projects than anything and I can’t step away cuz I love it so much.I do on the flip side wanna say that anyone who is serious about wanting to learn something can absolutely learn self-discipline,autonomy of work,managing a team,working in QuickBooks.Any of the things that a good business owner can learn,the right mentorship,the right classes,the right training,the right interests.I wouldn’t say any person should not wanna be an entrepreneur because they don’t know it already.We’re all learning as we go.I don’t think any of us has all the answers.That is totally a belief that I have,that you can learn anything you want to learn.If I can learn chemical engineering scope for proposal writing,then the average person can learn how to write.That curiosity of spirit and always wanting to know more and always wanting to grow I do think is a personality trait that maybe you see,in a kid early on that’s just there.

Absolutely love that.If people wanna know more about30|90Marketing,where can they go?

30|903090marketing.com is our website.We would love to hear from you.We are also on LinkedIn30/90Marketing and Instagram and Facebook30/90Marketing.It’s pretty simple to find us.We would love to connect and if your listeners wanna go watch my very dorky reels of me talking about various things in the marketing world,they can see what it’s like to launch a new reel program while you’re learning.I always say,there’s that quote about not comparing your beginning to someone else’s middle,and that’s where we’re at.We’re giving it a go,and we’d love to have your followers follow along.

There you go folks.Go participate.I’m sure they’re not that dorky and there’s some great content in there.Wow,thank you so much for taking the time outta your busy schedule to be on the show today and share all your insights and wisdom and look forward to your continued success and appreciate your time today,Rachel.

Thank you so much,Russel.It has been a pleasure.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of An Agency Story podcast where we share real stories of marketing agency owners from around the world.Are you interested in being a guest on the show?Send an email to podcast@performancefaction.com.An Agency Story is brought to you by Performance Faction.Performance Faction offers services to help agency owners grow their business to5million dollars and more in revenue.To learn more,visit performancefaction.com.

About a year and a half ago,I was meeting with a mentor and friend for a sort of ad hoc mastermind in Austin,Texas.I was meeting with two friends who are both consultants.We don’t necessarily do the same thing,we have a little bit of crossover and we were meeting to just lay out all the things on the table and get help from each other,and we’re gonna do a half day session.One of our friends says,look,I invited someone else.I hope y’all aren’t upset with me about it,but I have this other friend and then he proceeds to warn us about her for30minutes.He’s warning us about this fourth person who’s gonna join us because she’s gonna go out on her own soon.She invited herself in and he’s saying,some people she rubs wrong and I just don’t know if y’all are gonna like her and now I’m apologizing about it.We’re looking at him like,whatever,it’s fine,just let it go.Anyway,a half day session goes by.We talk about all kinds of things with business ownership and marketing and outreach and services and all that stuff.We absolutely love her.She’s incredible.Her name is Kristen and she’s become a dear friend of mine.And so we’re looking at each other at the end of this meeting and we get in an elevator with him.He’s the kind of the connector of the group.We say dude,what were you talking about?We love her.In fact,we like her a whole lot more than we like you.He cracks up laughing.He’s oh,thank goodness I’m relieved.It’s a funny story that we have shared at several conferences.We tend to go and speak at conferences together,but it was just this beautiful moment of being in a room with a stranger kind of being told you’re not gonna like this person.And then having no expectations and just hearing things out.Now not only do she and I collaborate on different things,but she’s become a huge cheerleader for me.She’s a brilliant marketer and she and I are planning a conference together hopefully this fall as business partners.I love that story because walking into a room with no expectations and leaving with a dear friend.It’s just a funny story about our path and how we both come up in our business over the last two to three years and just the valuable relationship with someone who could be seen as a competitor in some ways,but who has become just such a dear friend.

Did you ever ask him?The most thing I’m curious about is what,was he trying some reverse psychology here.He knew you were gonna like her or what?I can’t imagine.

No.She’s a little I don’t think she’s polarizing,I love her,but she’ll say that she’s polarizing,people in her career sphere either love her or hate her.I think she’s just a little direct,which I am all about,raw connection.Just be who you are.I don’t need you to be anybody else.He was warning us as if there was gonna be this rub once we got in the room.It was a great day and a great connection.

What’s the saying that lack of expectations is the key to happiness or something along those lines.I’m sure there’s a more eloquent version of that quote.