It’s been five weeks since I officially joined the Scrappy Face team and I’ve been having a lot of fun planting the seeds of our brand and building buzz around our launch.
But here’s the thing about building a business in the era of the social web – unless you have a product, a website or a brick-and-mortar store that actually opens its doors on a specific date, there’s really no such thing as a “launch” anymore. You start talking early and introducing the brand, and by the time you officially launch, most people think you already have.
The Art of Building Slowly
As Seth Godin pointed out back in 2009, the secret to marketing is to “plan on the gradual build that turns into a tidal wave” instead of one big launch. The secret to making sure your business grows right out of the gate is to start by finding ten people who like what you have to sell and want what you have to offer first, win them over so that they love it, then empower them to introduce you to ten more people.
You can’t show them what you’re working on and then tell them not to talk about it until you launch; you have to let them share it. Encourage them to talk about it. And do everything you can to let their excitement about you and your product, your business, and your brand spread. Because they want to talk about you. And you want them to talk about you, too.
Enough Vague Posts, It’s Time to Put on Your Scrappy Face
That’s what we’ve been doing at Scrappy Face for, well, the past year. We started building two and a half years ago and have evolved based on some of the challenges we helped our clients overcome and what our fearless leader, Kate Walling, learned while running her first startup, Secret Ingredients.
What we saw is that, more than anything, small businesses and startups need affordable, reliable, timely, and talented help whenever they need it.
What I love the most about working with small business owners and entrepreneurs is their do-it-yourself attitude that is fueled by passion and the desire to see what they love kick ass. But no one can do it alone. What small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs need more than anything is affordable, reliable, timely, and talented help whenever they need it to help cover the gaps and keep them on the track towards success.
That’s where Scrappy Face comes in.
From social media, marketing and PR support, to blog and web development, content writing and everything in between, Scrappy Face is a fairy godmother for small business—swooping in to help when companies need a boost.
And over the past six months, we’ve been telling people what we’re working on slowly – in our personal networks, on Twitter, and on Facebook where we ask you to “Put on your Scrappy Face.”
And it’s time to shout it out loud.
If you’ve been watching us and are curious what we’re really about – hold tight as we formally introduce ourselves.
If you’re new here, welcome! We hope you like it here!
Stay scrappy,
Laura
Editor’s Note: no LEGOs were harmed in the making of this video.
