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A Brief History of My Universe
Hi. My name is Randy Marquis and I will be your guide on this adventure. Today, I own Tumoki Marketing & Design, a boutique agency specializing in customized marketing and design services for small businesses. But it’s taken me almost 25 years to get to this point. If you’re going to take my advice on how to market your business, I should first share how I built my business.
I graduated from Franklin Pierce College (now University) with a degree in Communications. My first job out of college was managing a bookstore. My second job was managing a public-access television studio. Working in marketing wasn’t even on the radar, although creating things and working for myself was always a vague goal.
In other words, it doesn’t matter when or where you start. Just that you do. You can always acquire the skills, or the talent needed to move your business forward. Your education and your experience, or lack thereof, shouldn’t limit your dreams.
20 Years in 2 Minutes or Less
My first job related to marketing was with a now-defunct online auction enablement startup called GetEz. I had exactly zero experience with the job’s requirements. They hired me because I showed them a pretty crappy website that I’d built for my film production company. Plus, I had a degree which, in the words of my supervisor, meant I “could be taught.”
Like most dot-com startups, the company went under in less than two years. But boy did I learn stuff! I had enough knowledge to land a job with a growing email marketing company called e-Dialog. I created and sent emails to lists of over 1 million recipients for such well-known brands as American Airlines, Office Depot, and the NFL. Over time, I ascended into a management role and supervised a team of coders across three time zones.
Wait, did I say “coders?” Yes. My earliest experience in marketing was on the technical side. I started by learning to hand-code websites and emails, knowledge that remains handy even today. I also learned about marketing strategy, setting goals, and executing to deliver on them.
When my young family and I moved to Los Angeles (to help me pursue acting… which is another story altogether), I dipped my toes into the freelance market. I worked for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and held an Emmy award (they’re heavy!). I worked in some guy’s (really nice) house building emails for a designer of school uniforms. Finally, I took a gig building a web-to-print portal for Pace Lithographers. That gig became a full-time job for nearly a decade.
As the company grew from a commercial printer into a full-service marketing agency, so did I. As Director of Digital Marketing, I shepherded the company through two rebrands: first into Pace Marketing Communications, then The Pace Group. Ultimately, the job provided the skills, experience, and connections for me to launch Tumoki Marketing & Design some 10+ years later.
You’ll notice that most of my experience came from working with small businesses and startups. They are the ideal places to develop new skills. Such companies must be quick and nimble to succeed. Have you ever seen the animated movie Robots?
The entrepreneur’s mantra.
If I didn’t know how to do something, I learned how to do it. Because it had to get done. In many cases, no one else had the skills, the role, or the time to do it.
But enough about me…
Let’s Talk About You
I think, since you’re here, I can safely make the following assumptions about you:
You founded, own, or work for a small business, or have a desire to do so.
You have a side hustle you hope to grow enough to quit your day job.
You’re a one-man (or woman) band or have few employees.
You don’t have a marketing background but know you need to learn enough to effectively market your products or services. But you don’t have time to waste hours sorting through jargon or understanding every nuance or setting of the software or platform you’re trying to use.
Of course, I know what they say about assumptions…
So, I invite you to shoot me a note at [email protected] and tell me a little about your goals. What media do you want to learn more about (e.g. email, social media, paid ads, search engines, blogs)? What questions do you have? What are you hoping to accomplish?
What to Expect (Since You’re Expecting)
If you stuck around this long, I hope you’ll stick around a little longer. Because every so often (likely once a week), I’ll send you an email that answers at least one question (and probably more) about marketing. Examples might include:
Why are my emails going to spam?
What are keyword types (and do they still matter)?
How long does it take for SEO to “work?”
When should I post to Facebook/Instagram/X/Your Social Platform Here?
I’ll try to avoid jargon, or at least explain it when I use it. I’ll try not to be too wordy (I know, too late). I’ll try to give you something actionable. I’ll try to be entertaining without being too corny (again, too late).
Ultimately, I hope to give you enough information to be able to do some of these marketing things yourself, or at least to understand why they’re important for growing your small business.
I’ll see you in your inbox soon.
Randy
P.S. If you know anyone who might also benefit from a newsletter like this (including you if you haven’t already), please go here to subscribe.
P.P.S. If you’re curious, GYST stands for Get Your Sh*t (or Stuff) Together. In other words, I’m here to help you get your, umm, act together and grow your business.😄