Service-based businesses often start in a fairly simple manner. Someone with a dream decides that they want to put their specific skills to use to benefit a certain set of clients. By striking out on their own, they get to make all the decisions about what services they offer (and don’t offer), who they work with, and when they work. Initially, it feels like freedom. And that might last for a while. Eventually, though, a healthy business will grow. Growth is great! It means that you made the...

Does it truly matter whether you work with a marketing agency in the same physical region as your business or with an agency that’s located anywhere else?

Many small business owners have convinced themselves that email marketing is dead. They don’t want to direct any marketing resources or budget into this activity. In my professional opinion, this is a mistake. I do understand why business owners think email marketing can’t be effective for their business. They usually come to this conclusion for one or all of the following reasons: My email list is too small, and I don’t know how to build it. As a consumer, I hate getting so many marketing...