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Procurement What is procurement? What is it in the land of small businesses? This is a term that is used to describe the process of bidding and winning a contract with government - town, city, county, state, federal. On the flipside, there are procurement departments who have to create these contracts and get them posted publicly; then they have to review all the things. I've been told that it's a race to the bottom regarding rates/pricing, which is why you see such shoddy wo

The most tossed around word in my radar is "authenticity." Be more more authentic. Write authentically. Less targeted, more authentic. I catch myself advising small businesses to be more authentic in their content marketing. "Authentic" seems to be the new "sustainable." What do they mean when they say "be authentic"? Here's what it is: don't chase what the others are doing. Take a note, reconfigure it to your brand, your ethos. There's no one way to be authentic to yourself

Special email edition here - math! I got an email the other day which triggered me to write this. (Sometimes my ADHD does work out for me.) Read on about attribution and cleaning up your list. I've been on the email list for a local bike shop since the pandemic. You remember 2020 when everyone was biking or rollerskating? And baking and growing gardens… I stayed on the list because I like the owner's voice and I like seeing what he has in stock. But his latest email was even

In the social media universe (and digital marketing overall), you tend to see content designed to offer solutions to problems. The existing content tends to overlook a group of prospective customers - those unaware of the problems that your business can solve for them. This Problem Unaware group could grow into a profitable community within your realm, if they were aware of what you have to offer. As business owners, it's our responsibility to light the way for them. Let's re

Have you heard of Print-on-Demand (POD)? This is a business model where goods are not created or printed until ordered. There are third party sites like Redbubble, Printful, Teepublic, Printify, and the OG, Cafepress, that offer people like us a way to create an income using their sites and printing apparel, stickers, pins, hats, and so on - all without managing inventory. This is also a fantastic way to control waste - you're not printing stuff and then dumping them into a l

So I'm watching a TikTok about a young person sharing how you may want to search for a job, if you're looking for a job. She's spelling out quotes and ANDs. This is what's called a Boolean search. (Pronounced "boo-lee-en.") This type of search is how you make your Google searches more helpful, too. Let's go back to LinkedIn because while you may be an entrepreneur, your network might not be. Plus you may want to consider this as you hire more staff or influencers or creators.

Signage This past weekend was Anime Expo in LA. In the decades of marketing and near-decade of nonprofit events, signage is an issue. Still. If we're looking at pop-up markets, maker events, trade shows, conferences, and so on... too many small business booths look like a little worse for wear. If I walk by your table and can't figure out what you do, who you're for, or why I should care in 3 seconds - you’ve lost me. What’s wild is I see amazing, talented small business owne

How Do You Represent Your Brand Online? When’s the last time you looked at your product shots, influencer posts, or stock images with a fresh eye? If your graphics only show thin, able-bodied, cis-het people, that is a gap. Most of us do not look like the Village of the Damned. As your business evolves, your marketing lens should evolve with it. Really thinking about language and visuals that reflect the people you actually serve. Here’s a quick temp check to use before you h

In April, about 5,000 people and I went to SoFi Stadium to hear the Canva co-founders release new apps and updates at Canva Create 2026. My favorite part of this presentation was the live orchestra playing intros for each segment. The rest of the keynote was short dives for each release. You can see it here but if you are a Canva power user, you probably can speed it up. New Tool: Flourish The BEST thing I learned was that they acquired Flourish. This is a data visualization