FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE®: FRACTIONAL MARKETING & REAL TALK ABOUT ENTREPRENEURSHIP

In this special guest episode, I’m joined by Kate Weed. She is the founder/owner of Luckyfish Marketing and an expert in fractional marketing.

Kate shares how her career journey led her to marketing, explains fractional marketing, and gets real about her most and least favorite things about entrepreneurship. Tune in to hear Kate’s advice for women who want to start their own business and what she loves about midlife and beyond.  

📍Connect with Kate:

🌐Website: https://luckyfishmarketing.com/

📸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innovate.kate/

Want to know what Kate says in Part 2 of our chat?

Join my ELEVATE membership to hear Kate talk about the resources she uses in her business, emerging trends in marketing, and more gems for women who own small businesses. 

Visit my website for a promo code to get your first month of ELEVATE for only $10 (Exclusively for women in midlife and beyond. New members only.)

✅Don’t forget to subscribe/follow for more inspiring content on navigating midlife and beyond!

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Transcript

FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE®: FRACTIONAL MARKETING & REAL TALK ABOUT ENTREPRENEURSHIP

{MUSIC INTRO}

Karli: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE®. I'm Karli Newman. I'm the founder, owner, and guru of this community of women in midlife and beyond, and I'm so excited you're joining me here today for another guest episode. 

I have here with me today, Kate Weed. She is a small business owner and entrepreneur. She owns her own business, Luckyfish Marketing, and I can't wait for you to hear what she has to share today about entrepreneurship, about her life experience, and how she ended up where she is today, and for her to drop some gems for us.

Now, you're here listening to part one of our conversation because it's public. Anyone can listen to this part, but if you want to hear more from Kate, and I know you will, you can check out my ELEVATE membership, because part two of our conversation is exclusively for my ELEVATE members. So, before I start blabbing on any further, I'm going to introduce Kate.

Kate, welcome. How are you today?

Kate: Hi, I'm so good. Thank you so much for having me, Karli. I'm so excited to be here.

Karli: You are so welcome. And I want you to kick it off. Tell us how you got here. What's your story? Why do you do what you do? Tell us all about it.

Kate: Yes, yes, I'd be happy to. Well, it has been a long and windy road, to say the least.

I actually originally am from Edinburgh, Scotland. so that's kind of like a fun fact. Most people, um, would not think that. I have no accent. I am very American, as my family says. I grew up in Dallas. And then my dad is definitely an entrepreneur. He started a computer consulting business, which moved our family to Phoenix.

And I've basically been here ever since. I went to U of A in Tucson for college. I double majored in business economics and management information systems, and honestly kind of like fell into marketing after I graduated. I started working for a TV station, literally just like getting coffee and being an intern, and then eventually found my way to radio. I loved being able to tell a story with my voice only. You know, that was all you had in radio. And I worked for a sports and a news station, Arizona Sports and KTAR News, and um, I loved it. I just absolutely loved it. I've been a sports fan all of my life, news is always like breaking, something is always happening and new, you're always on your toes. 

And then while I was working in radio, was kind of when social media started to like take off and I thought it was the coolest thing that you could connect one-on-one with people online.

As my radio career kind of tailored off, I really fell into that social media world, um, and so I kind of got to put this mass media experience that I had in TV and radio, and, um, this one-on-one connection that social media and digital marketing allowed me to do, and I kind of paired those two together.

And, um, I was, like, off and running. I had several different marketing jobs, eventually worked my way up to be a director of marketing, and, um, I loved it. I see marketing as, puzzle pieces, and, like, fitting all the different puzzle pieces together. So, after a few years of working in the corporate world, I took a page out of my dad's book and said, I think I can do this on my own.

So I started my business about seven years ago. So it's been a lot of ups and downs and changes and um, left turns and right turns and backpedaling and forward motion. But any entrepreneur knows that's that's how it is. That is entrepreneur life. That is what it's like owning a business. 

And so now I'm a fractional marketing director, at Luckyfish Marketing. And I have a small but mighty team that supports me and that's me.

Karli: Thank you so much. I had no idea some of those things about you, so I'm so happy that you shared those. I love learning new things about people I know.

Fractional marketing, I had to look it up. Your website has a very good description of what that is, but most people listening, I'm guessing, aren't going to be familiar with that term. So will you explain what fractional marketing is? 

Kate: Yes, I would be happy to. Fractional is kind of, uh, it's a little bit of a newer term that people are using. You might hear someone say like a fractional HR manager or a fractional CFO.

So fractional really just means the benefits of having a director-level employee, like a director of marketing who does strategy and planning and manages your team and interprets reports and things like that, but at a fraction of the cost. So I am essentially like a part-time marketing director.

So I have all the skill sets of a director-level person, but none of the commitment of a full-time employee and benefits and an office and all that stuff. So it really has taught me to be flexible and adaptable, and clients really like it because it's not a full-time investment.

The average marketing director in the Phoenix area makes about $188,000 a year. That's a massive commitment for any business owner. And then you've got your onboarding time and the benefits and all the other things that go along with it. So, I offer the same skillset for a fraction of the cost.

Karli: What types of businesses typically hire you?

Kate: So I typically work with established businesses. So businesses that have been around for a while. I love working with local businesses, you know, businesses that I'm familiar with. I, love Arizona and the Phoenix area and it's obviously a market I know.

So typically established businesses that have usually like multiple locations. I do work with some e-commerce companies, too. But really businesses that know they need to take their marketing to the next level, need that director-level skill set but aren't quite ready to either hire one full-time or it just doesn't make sense for their business to hire one full-time.

I like to say that I'm industry agnostic, so I don't work with one specific vertical over another. I've worked with car dealerships and dentist's office and Pilates companies and all kinds. For me, it keeps it interesting. And it's oftentimes good for business owners to have someone from an outside perspective, give them some insight into their marketing from someone who's not maybe like ingrained in the industry.

Karli: Yeah, that's a good point. Okay, so while we're on this topic, I want you to mention if anyone listening wanted to know more about what you do and what your services are, where can they go to learn that information?

Kate: So the best place to go to is luckyfishmarketing.com. I've got lots of stuff up there, some case studies, some other information about what I do and my background. The other way is you can always find me on Instagram. My Instagram handle is @innovate.kate. Uh, cause that is one of my favorite things to do is always be innovating and thinking forward, and thinking outside the box.

Karli: I can tell from your experience that that is the case. Let's jump into the entrepreneurship part of your story a little more in-depth because when you were describing your journey, the word that came to my mind was pivot. You have pivoted quite a bit, which has led you in some different directions.

So tell me what you love most about entrepreneurship and then on the flip side of that, what's your least favorite thing?

Kate: I usually say, and this is, I have found this to be true from the moment that I started to this day today, is the best part about being an entrepreneur is that I'm in charge. I'm in control.

The worst part about being an entrepreneur is that I'm in charge and I'm in control. So many good things and so many challenges, that come along with it. You have to be disciplined. You have to be organized. You have to be motivated. You have to be willing to go through the actions, even if you're not motivated, because the buck stops with you.

And It's a great thing, but also I think one of the most challenging parts about being an entrepreneur. I also think that there is this sort of glamorization of entrepreneurship and that everything is just making fun social media videos and like money is just falling from the sky and for 99 percent of entrepreneurs that is just it's not true and you really have to be adaptable.

I mean, I've gone through several different business models over the years. I had to adapt and be flexible with COVID when people were putting their marketing budgets on hold. But I think just being persistent and being able to push through and trust yourself is critical, I think, to being a successful entrepreneur.

Karli: As you're talking, I'm like shaking my head yes, yes. I love being the one in charge, but sometimes I really hate being the one in charge. I so feel that. And I'm so glad you brought that up too, because it is a lot of work. And you mentioned that you have a small team working with you, but I'm assuming you didn't start out that way.

Kate: No, I did not. No, it was, it was just me. I actually started with a business partner at the time. we started a full-scale marketing agency. So we kind of dove right in, which again was a great thing, but also a major challenge. It's really hard to have a business partner. 

We're on great terms, but it's a challenge. We went through several financial struggles. One of our biggest clients stopped paying us and I didn't really understand what that meant. I'm a marketer. So I'm like, just give me the budget and everything will be fine.

And she was the financial person and she's like, we're not fine. This is not fine. Those are some of the things that you have to learn. So we ended up parting ways, but then after that it was just me and I thought, okay I've got to roll up my sleeves and figure this out. 

So I went back to what I knew which was being a marketing director and even then going through several iterations of I charged hourly for a while and then I tried to do contracts and I've settled on where I'm at now, which is I just do month to month.No long-term contracts. No commitments. I gotta earn my retainer every month. And I found that that's what works for me, but everyone's different and you just have to find what works for you.

Karli: Again, that pivoting. You think one thing is going to just be so easy, or it's going to totally turn out and you get into it and it's like, Oh my God, what was I thinking?

But sometimes it's like what you don't know. enables you to go into territory that if you did know, you never would have gone into.

Kate: mmmhhmm. Absolutely. That's what they say. You, don't know what you don't know.

Karli: it's totally true. And I think that, when you are in it by yourself, you are forced to learn so much.

I still am a solopreneur, so any component of the business, it's me. and that's a lot of hats. It's a lot of time. It's a lot of effort. To your point, when you first started explaining about being an entrepreneur, you have to be dedicated.

You have to be organized because if you're not, it can be complete chaos. It's not always as glamorous as you might want to believe that it is.

Kate: Amen.

Karli: I love supporting other women in whatever it is that they do. So being able to have you here and talking to the women who are listening and watching this to help them understand how you went on your journey. To be able to have your information should they want to reach out to you and just connect over virtual coffee or, in Phoenix, actual coffee and just chat and learn more from you.
I know that you're so open to that, which is just beautiful. So thank you.

Kate: Yes, absolutely. And just to like underscore that is if you have a specific question or you just are getting started or you're not sure where to start or you're like marketing seems so overwhelming. I love talking to anyone, especially women business owners.

I love talking to anyone about marketing and sometimes just even having a 30-minute chat with an expert can just solidify, okay, I am on the right path, or okay, got some insight that I needed that I didn't know before. So yes, please, please, please, please reach out to me. I'm happy to talk to you.

Karli: Thank you for that, Kate.

Very good segue there. So I'm sure women in the audience are thinking about starting a business or maybe have had a little spark for a while and have just never let it come to the surface. 

So what is one piece of advice you would share with a woman who is thinking of starting her own business?

Kate: Oh, great question. I would say just start. Just start. Take a small step towards entrepreneurship or whatever goal or thing that it is that you can't stop thinking about. Maybe it's just putting pen to paper and writing down your idea. You know, maybe it's paying for that LLC, you know, paying, that $85 or whatever it is to start that LLC.

But just taking like one small step. I think sometimes people feel like they have to have it all figured out, they have to have their, you know, revenue projections and like their marketing plan and their website and their business cards. No, you don't. No, you don't. You don't have to have any of that.

You just take small little steps and make progress. And momentum is a magical thing because once you get going, it's easy to keep going. It's kind of like pushing a car, you know, like if you're starting to push the car, it's really hard at first, but once you get going, it's like, Oh, you know, this is easy.

And the other thing I would say too, is that perfection and balance are myths. So, don't believe it. There's no such thing. I really believe that there's, it's more like seasons of life and sometimes you're in a working season and sometimes you're in a resting season. and to just give your, give yourself some grace and don't get too caught up in that, what you see on social media, because it's, it's not real life.

Karli: I'm so glad you said that because, the one little thing at a time, you don't have to have it all figured out. And I wish I could go back and do it again, knowing that, because if you can start really, really small and just move forward, you can do a lot without a website. You can do a lot with just an email, and talking about what you do. Those are just really good points of advice. Thank you for sharing those. Little tiny baby steps, just kind of chip away. They still move you forward, even though they're teeny tiny. 

I'm going to give another little plug here for my ELEVATE membership.
Part two with Kate, we're going to dive deeper into some of the resources that she uses, what her own marketing plan and strategy looks like. We've got good, juicy stuff in part two of our conversation, but you only get to hear that if you join my ELEVATE Membership. You get exclusive access to part two of my conversations with any of my guests that come on the FLIPSIDE OF MIDLIFE® podcast. 

So I hope that you will go to flipsideofmidlife.com, go to the ELEVATE Membership page, and check it out. It is worth joining, my friends. You get tools, you focus each month on a different topic that relates to women in midlife and beyond, and it is a community exclusively for women in midlife and beyond. You can also connect in that membership, and it just is a really feel good place. So I hope that you will check that out. 

Okay, Kate, at the end of every part one conversation I have with my guests, I wrap with this question. What is one thing that you love or are most looking forward to about midlife and beyond?

Kate: So I turned 40 last year and I'm coming up on 41 here soon. And I would say there's two things that immediately come to mind. One is clarity. I feel so clear about who I am and my values and what's important to me. And that clarity has given me confidence. Confidence in who I am, you know, as a person and how I sort of move about this world.

I read this quote and I don't remember who said this, but that confidence is public self-acceptance. And I just thought that was so good. You know, I grew up, in like diet culture and like the Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, era where all the marketing to women like me was here's what you can change about yourself.

And I really feel as I've kind of moved into like what I would consider to be midlife is that I've just been able to kind of ignore all of that noise and really look inward. And I, I like myself. I don't know why people ever worry about getting older. Cause it's great. It's freaking fabulous. I love it.

I really feel to me, this is the most clear that I am about what's important to me and the most confident that I am. I may not look like I did when I was in my 20s, but on the inside, I am and it feels good.

Karli: Yeah. Those are good things.

Kate: Thank you.

Karli: Yeah, I'm obviously much further along in this season than you are.
I'm 57, so I'll be 58 later this year. But, you do, you gain a comfort level with who you are and appreciating that this is me, take it or leave it, I don't really care. It's me. 

We grew up being taught that we had to look a certain way, just so much that society and our culture and marketing has communicated to us to sell us, whatever, to make us pay a lot of money to try to reach that perfection world, which you mentioned earlier, it is a complete fallacy and there is no such thing. So for you to have found at 41, that confidence and that clarity and that self-acceptance, that's pretty beautiful. You are, light years ahead of where I was at your age. That's for sure.

Kate: Well, I'll say too Karli, like props to women like you who have come before me and paved the way, because it's, I'm only 16, you know, what is that, 16 years younger, but still, I mean, we need, and there's a whole generation that's going to come before me, you know. And so, thank you, Karli, for paving the way for women like me, because if it weren't for you, I don't know that I would have, you know, been able to have this, this confidence.

So thank you.

Karli: I do think that GenX, which is my generation, is talking about aging in a different way, talking about menopause and perimenopause and not being afraid to say it out loud and have these conversations. And to stand up to a work environment that isn't conducive to women or to us being leaders and good communicators and business owners, all of that comes into play to exactly what you said.

Set the next generation up for success, the next generation of women in particular, and I think that is so important. We need to continue, all of you listening out there, all of you watching, continue to talk about your experiences. Connect with other women in midlife and beyond so you know you're not alone.

Learn from the women who have gone ahead of you and that you are surrounded by, and extend a hand out to those women who are coming up behind us so that we can pull them up and let our ceilings be their floor. I think that that is a really beautiful thing if we can continue to just magnify what we are experiencing and help women find those things and those feelings earlier in life.

Kate: Agreed.

Karli: Yes.
Okay. Well, I'm going to wrap part one of my conversation with Kate Weed. Again, you can find her at luckyfishmarketing.com. You can find her on Instagram @innovate.kate. 

We will be back in part two, go to flipsideofmidlife.com and go to the ELEVATE membership page so that you can join and have access to part two of my conversation with Kate and all of my other guests.

Kate, thank you so much for being here. I so appreciate you sharing your wealth of knowledge and I can't wait to dive into part two with you. Thank you so much.  

{MUSIC OUTRO}