Insanity: doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
That was us. The corporate world had driven us to insanity. For the past 20 years I had been in distribution and sales mainly with Anheuser-Busch, InBev. I was very good at what I did. As I worked my way up in the company, it required that we moved on average every two years for each promotion. My wife, would start and stop jobs as I got promoted to a different job in a different city. Then fast forward 2 years and we would do it all again. It was starting to take its toll on our two children’s relationships with other children, the constant stress of packing, unpacking, setting up just to pack it up again as soon as we got comfortable. A change had to be made, we needed to plant roots. We decided that we were going to move to one place and raise our kids. We chose the Atlanta area for its proximity to family, the ocean, and mountains. I took a job selling Red Bull. I reached a point (and maybe it was a mid-life crisisJ) where I had been doing the same thing for so many years that there had to be a greater purpose than selling sugar water.
First I want to talk a little bit about our background so hopefully you can understand why we are starting this. Cardinal Ridge Group is a woman-owned small business that will serve other small business with their marketing, content creation, and brand awareness. It was formed in 2018 by Jessica Palacios, (my wife) as an idea to help small business grow their client list through management consulting and digital marketing. As a previous small business owner in photography, she saw the correlation between social media presence and sales. Because of this background, she knew that she could help others create new and consistent content to help give them one look, voice and feel. Her passion to help other businesses thrive is what constantly motivates her. She is in awe of the expert level work people do, but crushed when they are not able to fully share their products and story with the consumer.
In May, I jumped in with Jessica and Cardinal Ridge Group.
I left a good paycheck, great benefits, and a safety net for the potential of more fulfillment. I also considered that I can always go back to the corporate world. Would you pass on the opportunity to try to achieve your dreams rather than watch it sail on by because you are afraid?
FEAR. The biggest thing to overcome when starting a business is fear. What if we don’t make enough money to pay our bills? What if we fail? What if, what if, what if…I am here to tell you that fear is a very good motivator to not start something. How do you overcome that fear? That varies from individual to individual, but there are two motivations to overcome that fear. One is belief in yourself, and the second to be passionate about what you are selling. From Cardinal Ridge Group perspective, we saw a need to help small business grow their brand awareness and sales. I use the example of a baker who owns their own business. They might be great at baking, but have no idea how to put together a marketing campaign. That’s where we come in and two things happen. We help a small business grow and therefore reduce the likelihood of failing and we sold something that we believe in. There is also the payoff.
I liken this whole experience to a rocket. A rocket is an amazing, giant fear inducing cylinder full of highly flammable liquid. Why on earth would anybody willingly strap themselves to the top of a rocket? Well I am sure you have all heard of Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin. They can say they walked on the moon.
They knew that the risk was worth the reward. They overcame their fear and landed on the moon. While obviously not as dangerous, starting a business is very similar. Will our business explode on the launchpad? Will it explode as it goes? Or are we going to land on the moon and be successful? We have to believe in what we are doing and the way to get there is worth the risk. Let’s strap in. Start a business we said. We can be our own boss we said. We can set our own hours we said. Is it scary to leave a corporation? You bet! From this and future posts I want you to take away two things. 1. That if you are considering starting something yourself, that you see our wins and losses as we grow and 2. That this allows me an outlet to discuss issues (or vent them!) and gain perspective with others.
Are you the best baker in the world but nobody knows that? Why? Is it because you spent your time perfecting your craft and not on how to get the word out that your cupcakes are the best? Would you even know where to start? If you are that baker (or any other small business out there) we want to help you. We want to help you grow your brand so much that you don’t need us anymore and can afford a full time sales and marketing rep. That will be a celebration. (with cupcakes!) Let us take part of the business off of you, so you can focus on the product or service that you are passionate about! Let us help tell your story so you gain more clients and sales. We know as a small business money can be tight so let us maximize the amount of sales to be generated. We want you to have a hard time keeping up with the amount of cupcakes you have to produce because sales are so good!
Sincerely,
The CRG
I you would like to discuss setting up a meeting with Cardinal Ridge Group to discuss services, please contact us at jessicap@cardinalridgegroup.com or 470-310-3060.