Podchaser Logo Rate on Podchaser

Episode 81

E81: The Evolution of Branding and Marketing: Insights from Dawn Foster

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Dawn Foster, owner of D Foster Marketing Consulting, on my podcast Hourly to Exit. 🎧 We delved into all things branding, marketing, and scaling businesses.

Here are some highlights from our discussion:

🌟 Dawn emphasized the importance of understanding that branding is more than just a logo or a trademark. It's about evoking emotion and creating a consistent experience for your audience.

🚀 We explored strategies for scaling a business while maintaining a personal touch. Dawn shared her two-phase approach, focusing on both client service and her own role in the business.

🤝 Dawn also offered valuable insights into the challenges faced by business owners inundated with marketing advice and the importance of personalized solutions tailored to each unique business.

📈 Plus, Dawn unveiled her latest offering: a free diagnostic tool to help businesses identify their next steps in branding and marketing. Check it out on her website: https://www.dfostermarketing.com

🔗 Want to stay connected with Dawn and dive deeper into the world of branding and marketing? Connect with her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnpfoster

More About Our Guest:

Dawn Foster, CEO of D. Foster Marketing, is a seasoned expert in the world of branding and marketing. For almost 20 years, she has worked with and led both large and small marketing teams to build brands and marketing strategies that span the globe. She has been recognized as an Austin Woman’s Way Business Awards Finalist and listed among the Most Influential Black Women on LinkedIn. Dawn’s achievements also include being an Under 30 CEO, receiving the Graphic Design USA American In House Design Award, being featured in Quotable Magazine, and contributing expertise to renowned platforms like Marketing Sherpa and Thrive Global. 

She has been a valued Branding and Marketing Panelist, mentoring through business accelerator programs Additionally, having served as a Board Member of The Nourish Foundation, Dawn is dedicated to giving back and supporting aspiring talent, having personally mentored dozens of individuals and played a pivotal role in launching and sustaining 120+ brands. Dawn is an unapologetic branding and marketing nerd, with a passion for research, analytics, and great storytelling through words and images. She is passionate about helping business owners build and evolve their businesses with the right branding and marketing strategies and tactics. 

She has helped transform businesses and business owners into powerhouses through research, strategic planning and content development, education, and empowerment so that they can achieve success and reach their goals. As a business owner, her goal is to see others win, support her community, and do what she loves.

Connect with Dawn:

Connect with Erin to learn how to use intellectual property to increase your income and impact. hourlytoexit.com/podcast.

Erin's LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinaustin/

Think Beyond IP YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVztXnDYnZ83oIb-EGX9IGA/videos

Music credit: Yes She Can by Tiny Music

A Team Dklutr production

Transcript
Speaker:

Erin Austin: Hello, Dawn.

Speaker:

Welcome to Hourly

Speaker:

The Exit.

Speaker:

Hello.

Speaker:

Dawn Foster: Happy to

Speaker:

be here.

Speaker:

Erin Austin: Yeah, I'm

Speaker:

very excited to be here.

Speaker:

We can't get enough

Speaker:

marketing and branding

Speaker:

advice.

Speaker:

So I know the audience

Speaker:

will be very interested in

Speaker:

what you have to share today.

Speaker:

But before we get started,

Speaker:

would you introduce

Speaker:

yourself to our

Speaker:

Dawn Foster: audience?

Speaker:

Sure.

Speaker:

So I'm Dawn.

Speaker:

I'm the owner of D Foster

Speaker:

Marketing Consulting.

Speaker:

We are a branding and

Speaker:

marketing consulting

Speaker:

firm, but we also function

Speaker:

as a full service agency

Speaker:

and yada yada.

Speaker:

What that means is we are

Speaker:

strategists.

Speaker:

We'll tell you who,

Speaker:

what, when, where, why,

Speaker:

and how, when it comes to

Speaker:

your branding and marketing.

Speaker:

And then if you don't know

Speaker:

how to execute it, we can do

Speaker:

that as well.

Speaker:

We're a team of creatives.

Speaker:

Erin Austin: Fantastic.

Speaker:

How long have you been in

Speaker:

business?

Speaker:

Dawn Foster: We are turning

Speaker:

six this year.

Speaker:

Well, congratulations.

Speaker:

That thank you.

Speaker:

Erin Austin: Fantastic.

Speaker:

Well, we are near neighbors,

Speaker:

I guess, know, when you're

Speaker:

online, you could get to

Speaker:

know people from anywhere

Speaker:

in the world, but we are

Speaker:

both, in the DC metro area.

Speaker:

And so we are currently

Speaker:

struggling through a.

Speaker:

Snowstorm here, but, we hope

Speaker:

that it is a sunny day.

Speaker:

So that is lovely.

Speaker:

So I'd love to get to know

Speaker:

who your ideal client is and

Speaker:

how do they know, like,

Speaker:

I need to go talk to Don.

Dawn Foster:

So my ideal client

Dawn Foster:

is I'll give some, I guess

Dawn Foster:

the unexpected aspects of the

Dawn Foster:

type of client that we are

Dawn Foster:

looking for.

Dawn Foster:

And that's the business owner.

Dawn Foster:

Not only are you either new

Dawn Foster:

and starting something, or

Dawn Foster:

you've been at it for a

Dawn Foster:

while, you've seen some

Dawn Foster:

success, and you're ready

Dawn Foster:

to hand off your branding

Dawn Foster:

and marketing efforts to

Dawn Foster:

a team of people rather

Dawn Foster:

than bringing someone

Dawn Foster:

in house.

Dawn Foster:

What's really important to

Dawn Foster:

us for our clients is we

Dawn Foster:

want you to care about what

Dawn Foster:

you do just as much as we do.

Dawn Foster:

We absolutely attached to

Dawn Foster:

the business that we're

Dawn Foster:

supporting all of our clients.

Dawn Foster:

Some way, somehow we

Dawn Foster:

can either get behind the

Dawn Foster:

mission or who that business

Dawn Foster:

serves at the end of the day.

Dawn Foster:

we want our clients to

Dawn Foster:

have that same passion

Dawn Foster:

about what they're doing,

Dawn Foster:

why they're doing it.

Dawn Foster:

And we want them to

Dawn Foster:

be thirsty to learn.

Dawn Foster:

We are always here to share

Dawn Foster:

what we're doing, why

Dawn Foster:

we're doing it.

Dawn Foster:

And we want our business owners

Dawn Foster:

to understand that, because

Dawn Foster:

I believe that the more you

Dawn Foster:

understand about single

Dawn Foster:

aspect of your business,

Dawn Foster:

you're a better business owner.

Dawn Foster:

Each piece of the puzzle

Dawn Foster:

somehow connects

Dawn Foster:

to another piece of your

Dawn Foster:

business.

Dawn Foster:

So the more you know,

Dawn Foster:

the better decisions

Dawn Foster:

you can

Dawn Foster:

make.

Dawn Foster:

Erin Austin: Yeah, I agree

Dawn Foster:

with that.

Dawn Foster:

I will say, like, one of

Dawn Foster:

the things I'm struggling

Dawn Foster:

with lately is feeling like,

Dawn Foster:

you know, as a soloist, like,

Dawn Foster:

feeling like I do have to,

Dawn Foster:

like, learn all these things

Dawn Foster:

that aren't my particular

Dawn Foster:

expertise, like marketing,

Dawn Foster:

for instance, and how to

Dawn Foster:

balance, okay, getting to know

Dawn Foster:

just enough I can make.

Dawn Foster:

You know, decisions that

Dawn Foster:

make sense versus like

Dawn Foster:

really getting into the weeds.

Dawn Foster:

and, uh, so I can stay in my

Dawn Foster:

zone of genius, which is not

Dawn Foster:

marketing.

Dawn Foster:

And, but still, there's so

Dawn Foster:

many, podcasts and resources

Dawn Foster:

and email newsletters,

Dawn Foster:

Alyssa, they're all about how

Dawn Foster:

to be a better.

Dawn Foster:

And how do we, kind of dig

Dawn Foster:

through the weeds of all

Dawn Foster:

that detail, stay of at the,

Dawn Foster:

mile high level and still be

Dawn Foster:

a responsible business owner.

Dawn Foster:

I know there's a needle of a

Dawn Foster:

thread there.

Dawn Foster:

Is that a question

Dawn Foster:

for me?

Dawn Foster:

Erin Austin: Well, I guess

Dawn Foster:

I'll say that I imagine

Dawn Foster:

that you get.

Dawn Foster:

Clients who feel

Dawn Foster:

overwhelmed by the amount

Dawn Foster:

of information about how to

Dawn Foster:

be a better marketer that

Dawn Foster:

they get all the time.

Dawn Foster:

And maybe that's why they

Dawn Foster:

come to you because they're

Dawn Foster:

overwhelmed by that.

Dawn Foster:

So,

Dawn Foster:

Dawn Foster: yes, I see a

Dawn Foster:

few different things.

Dawn Foster:

One of the.

Dawn Foster:

Tricky things about the space

Dawn Foster:

that I'm in is the information

Dawn Foster:

about what I do and how I do

Dawn Foster:

it that is at the fingertips

Dawn Foster:

of everyone.

Dawn Foster:

We're in a digital age

Dawn Foster:

where you can ask the

Dawn Foster:

internets anything.

Dawn Foster:

But the tricky thing is, is

Dawn Foster:

that I've been in this space

Dawn Foster:

for 20 years.

Dawn Foster:

And I know that works.

Dawn Foster:

What works for a yoga

Dawn Foster:

studio may not work for a

Dawn Foster:

business coach.

Dawn Foster:

I know that those two

Dawn Foster:

things don't the branding

Dawn Foster:

and marketing tactics

Dawn Foster:

for both.

Dawn Foster:

It's not created equal.

Dawn Foster:

Every business has a different

Dawn Foster:

budget, a different

Dawn Foster:

audience, different

Dawn Foster:

bandwidth.

Dawn Foster:

All the circumstances

Dawn Foster:

are different.

Dawn Foster:

So that information

Dawn Foster:

that everyone is getting,

Dawn Foster:

it's not a one size fits

Dawn Foster:

all deal.

Dawn Foster:

so information overload,

Dawn Foster:

yes, that is a thing.

Dawn Foster:

People come to us, ooh, we see

Dawn Foster:

people come to us because they

Dawn Foster:

thought they knew what they

Dawn Foster:

were doing.

Dawn Foster:

We hear it isn't working

Dawn Foster:

very often.

Dawn Foster:

People come to us with what

Dawn Foster:

they think they need, but

Dawn Foster:

usually they need something

Dawn Foster:

different.

Dawn Foster:

But They're diagnosing

Dawn Foster:

themselves, like you don't

Dawn Foster:

go to a doctor and tell the

Dawn Foster:

doctor, I know this is

Dawn Foster:

what I have, just give me a

Dawn Foster:

prescription, that doctor is

Dawn Foster:

going to tell you based on

Dawn Foster:

all of their experience,

Dawn Foster:

what the issue is, and then

Dawn Foster:

make their recommendation.

Dawn Foster:

That's what we do.

Dawn Foster:

So we see both sides of it.

Dawn Foster:

People who.

Dawn Foster:

Think they know everything.

Dawn Foster:

And then people who understand

Dawn Foster:

like, okay, I tried this.

Dawn Foster:

Come help.

Dawn Foster:

Help me, please.

Dawn Foster:

Erin Austin: I can imagine

Dawn Foster:

that that is an issue.

Dawn Foster:

You know, this is an audience

Dawn Foster:

of experts and that, you Mr.

Dawn Foster:

Google, everyone seems

Dawn Foster:

to have an idea about

Dawn Foster:

what they need.

Dawn Foster:

And that self diagnosis is a

Dawn Foster:

huge problem.

Dawn Foster:

I mean, it even happens

Dawn Foster:

as a lawyer.

Dawn Foster:

Well, someone said, well, I

Dawn Foster:

just need this.

Dawn Foster:

I'm like, don't know if

Dawn Foster:

that's the case or not, and

Dawn Foster:

I can't, you know, or they

Dawn Foster:

just want to give you enough

Dawn Foster:

information, on an as needed

Dawn Foster:

basis in order to, keep the

Dawn Foster:

bill down or something

Dawn Foster:

like that.

Dawn Foster:

It's like, you can't do that.

Dawn Foster:

You yeah, you see the whole

Dawn Foster:

picture and then we can

Dawn Foster:

tell you how we move forward

Dawn Foster:

from there.

Dawn Foster:

So, yeah.

Dawn Foster:

Well, speaking of the

Dawn Foster:

interwebs and AI, how is that

Dawn Foster:

affecting what you do and,

Dawn Foster:

the industry generally

Dawn Foster:

marketers generally?

Dawn Foster:

Dawn Foster: So I'm cleaning

Dawn Foster:

up my answer.

Dawn Foster:

I have, like I said, I've

Dawn Foster:

been doing this for 20 years.

Dawn Foster:

And I've seen trends of when

Dawn Foster:

something in the branding

Dawn Foster:

and marketing space pops

Dawn Foster:

up, everyone gets excited

Dawn Foster:

about it.

Dawn Foster:

And I've started to

Dawn Foster:

learn, okay, what's going to

Dawn Foster:

stick, what's going to be a

Dawn Foster:

trend and how those shifts

Dawn Foster:

come about.

Dawn Foster:

first there were three big

Dawn Foster:

trends that I'm sure every

Dawn Foster:

business owner is aware of.

Dawn Foster:

First, when social started

Dawn Foster:

being the buzz.

Dawn Foster:

And then everyone

Dawn Foster:

realized that socials

Dawn Foster:

overcrowded and then you saw

Dawn Foster:

people popping up saying,

Dawn Foster:

Oh, you need SEO SEO SEO.

Dawn Foster:

And now AI is here.

Dawn Foster:

And while they I do

Dawn Foster:

think there is value in it.

Dawn Foster:

I don't think that it's

Dawn Foster:

not going to go away.

Dawn Foster:

And I say it's here as if it

Dawn Foster:

wasn't here before, but.

Dawn Foster:

Stay with me.

Dawn Foster:

It's the hot new thing.

Dawn Foster:

There's value in it.

Dawn Foster:

It's not going to go away.

Dawn Foster:

It's really how it's used.

Dawn Foster:

And I tell my business

Dawn Foster:

owners use AI, but make

Dawn Foster:

sure you're cautious about

Dawn Foster:

it because at the end of the

Dawn Foster:

day, it's still a machine.

Dawn Foster:

And that machine is also

Dawn Foster:

taught what we feed it.

Dawn Foster:

So you have to think about all

Dawn Foster:

the things that come along with

Dawn Foster:

human behavior.

Dawn Foster:

Good, bad, and ugly that this

Dawn Foster:

machine is spitting back

Dawn Foster:

out to you.

Dawn Foster:

So I tell business

Dawn Foster:

owners, if you want to use

Dawn Foster:

it, go ahead and use it as

Dawn Foster:

a first draft.

Dawn Foster:

Use it to get ideas flowing,

Dawn Foster:

but don't let it be what's

Dawn Foster:

running your business.

Dawn Foster:

Check it, make sure it still

Dawn Foster:

has your voice.

Dawn Foster:

And that's why it should

Dawn Foster:

only be a first draft

Dawn Foster:

because now we're talking

Dawn Foster:

about branding.

Dawn Foster:

When a computer spits out the

Dawn Foster:

excitement and zest and joy

Dawn Foster:

that comes from me, a computer

Dawn Foster:

is not going to spit that out.

Dawn Foster:

So I tell business

Dawn Foster:

owners, use it as a first

Dawn Foster:

draft, make it your own.

Dawn Foster:

Use it as a tool for your

Dawn Foster:

business.

Dawn Foster:

Don't let it run your

Dawn Foster:

business.

Dawn Foster:

That is

Dawn Foster:

Erin Austin: great advice.

Dawn Foster:

And of course, it's the

Dawn Foster:

same advice.

Dawn Foster:

I get intellectual

Dawn Foster:

property perspective

Dawn Foster:

that where people are

Dawn Foster:

really worried about, you

Dawn Foster:

is going to take over.

Dawn Foster:

They're going to start,

Dawn Foster:

writings, take my stuff and

Dawn Foster:

write something with it.

Dawn Foster:

And at the end of the day,

Dawn Foster:

What comes out of AI is not

Dawn Foster:

protectable intellectual

Dawn Foster:

property.

Dawn Foster:

And two, it doesn't know

Dawn Foster:

the nuance.

Dawn Foster:

It doesn't have your expertise.

Dawn Foster:

It doesn't have your voice.

Dawn Foster:

It can't read the room and

Dawn Foster:

change tactics, like all the

Dawn Foster:

things that we can do

Dawn Foster:

as humans.

Dawn Foster:

And so as an expert, we

Dawn Foster:

shouldn't worry about being.

Dawn Foster:

Placed by ai, so long as we

Dawn Foster:

really are an expert, we're

Dawn Foster:

just an extra pair of hands

Dawn Foster:

churning out, something, then

Dawn Foster:

yeah, we might get replaced.

Dawn Foster:

But if we really are

Dawn Foster:

an expert that brings

Dawn Foster:

our, years of expertise, our

Dawn Foster:

relationships, all those

Dawn Foster:

things that come with us as

Dawn Foster:

human beings, then we're

Dawn Foster:

not gonna be replaced by ai.

Dawn Foster:

So, I know there's a

Dawn Foster:

lot of worry about that.

Dawn Foster:

Dawn Foster: I agree with

Dawn Foster:

that a hundred percent.

Dawn Foster:

Very well said.

Dawn Foster:

Erin Austin: So let's go

Dawn Foster:

into branding.

Dawn Foster:

There's another IP issue

Dawn Foster:

with branding that I have

Dawn Foster:

a beef with.

Dawn Foster:

And when you may or may not

Dawn Foster:

agree and that people that,

Dawn Foster:

the trademark is like the

Dawn Foster:

thing, like if I have

Dawn Foster:

the perfect trademark or

Dawn Foster:

the perfect logo, then

Dawn Foster:

that's my branding.

Dawn Foster:

Tell me what you think

Dawn Foster:

of that.

Dawn Foster:

Dawn Foster: You know, you

Dawn Foster:

are a good person to

Dawn Foster:

know because here's what I

Dawn Foster:

tell people.

Dawn Foster:

They'll ask me a question

Dawn Foster:

about what we've created

Dawn Foster:

and I say, get with

Dawn Foster:

the lawyer.

Dawn Foster:

I'm not a lawyer.

Dawn Foster:

Here's what I've seen.

Dawn Foster:

Here's what I think, but I'm

Dawn Foster:

not a lawyer.

Dawn Foster:

Don't tap into me for

Dawn Foster:

Absolutely not.

Dawn Foster:

Especially with law and

Dawn Foster:

legal matters.

Dawn Foster:

Don't listen to me.

Dawn Foster:

I always say if I have an

Dawn Foster:

issue with my car, I'm not

Dawn Foster:

going to call you Aaron,

Dawn Foster:

because you are not a mechanic.

Dawn Foster:

Please don't.

Dawn Foster:

You know,

Dawn Foster:

Erin Austin: I'm stuck

Dawn Foster:

right now, so you definitely

Dawn Foster:

don't want to.

Dawn Foster:

I'm going

Dawn Foster:

to call a mechanic

Dawn Foster:

and get someone that knows to

Dawn Foster:

tell me the answer, because

Dawn Foster:

at the end of the day, I'd be

Dawn Foster:

very irritated if something

Dawn Foster:

happens.

Dawn Foster:

I'd be kicking myself because

Dawn Foster:

duh, I asked.

Dawn Foster:

Someone that's not a

Dawn Foster:

mechanic about mechanical

Dawn Foster:

issues.

Dawn Foster:

Erin Austin: Good.

Dawn Foster:

And so from a marketing

Dawn Foster:

perspective, I'll say what

Dawn Foster:

I say, as a lawyer, a non

Dawn Foster:

marketer, but with respect to

Dawn Foster:

the trademarks and, you

Dawn Foster:

listeners here are people who

Dawn Foster:

have corporate clients selling

Dawn Foster:

Coca Cola, or, FedEx services

Dawn Foster:

or hamburgers.

Dawn Foster:

They're selling their

Dawn Foster:

expertise.

Dawn Foster:

Right?

Dawn Foster:

So what I get as an IP

Dawn Foster:

lawyer, people will come to

Dawn Foster:

me and say, they make a

Dawn Foster:

equivalency between brand

Dawn Foster:

and trademark.

Dawn Foster:

They're like, Oh, I've got my

Dawn Foster:

fancy logo and I've got this,

Dawn Foster:

Name that's just this

Dawn Foster:

killer name and I've got my

Dawn Foster:

trademark on it and they think,

Dawn Foster:

okay, that's my brand and

Dawn Foster:

tell me, are they the same?

Dawn Foster:

Dawn Foster: Oh, no,

Dawn Foster:

they're not the same at all.

Dawn Foster:

A brand consists of so

Dawn Foster:

many different things, even

Dawn Foster:

outside of the logo.

Dawn Foster:

And once I explain what

Dawn Foster:

those things are, I'll give

Dawn Foster:

an example.

Dawn Foster:

A brand is not just your logo.

Dawn Foster:

It's everything that your

Dawn Foster:

brand evokes emotionally.

Dawn Foster:

So it's the type of

Dawn Foster:

photography you use, how

Dawn Foster:

you treat it, the words that

Dawn Foster:

you use, what your brand

Dawn Foster:

sounds like.

Dawn Foster:

Is it snarky?

Dawn Foster:

Is it educational?

Dawn Foster:

Think about the brands you

Dawn Foster:

interact with every day.

Dawn Foster:

When you've truly created

Dawn Foster:

a brand.

Dawn Foster:

Best case scenario, and

Dawn Foster:

you see it with your big

Dawn Foster:

brands, your Targets, your

Dawn Foster:

Under Armour's, your Nike.

Dawn Foster:

Anytime you can see some type

Dawn Foster:

of advertising that that

Dawn Foster:

company has done, and you

Dawn Foster:

don't even see the logo,

Dawn Foster:

that is when they have

Dawn Foster:

done a good job branding.

Dawn Foster:

Oh, that is so

Dawn Foster:

Erin Austin: good.

Dawn Foster:

That is so

Dawn Foster:

Dawn Foster: good.

Dawn Foster:

You know a Subaru

Dawn Foster:

commercial before they

Dawn Foster:

even show you the Subaru,

Dawn Foster:

because it's got that

Dawn Foster:

feeling.

Dawn Foster:

They have branded

Dawn Foster:

themselves.

Dawn Foster:

So now you know what to expect

Dawn Foster:

from that company because

Dawn Foster:

they're very consistent with

Dawn Foster:

how they treat their visuals,

Dawn Foster:

the type of characters

Dawn Foster:

they cast, the language they

Dawn Foster:

use, all of that, you know

Dawn Foster:

what you're getting with

Dawn Foster:

that company and the logo

Dawn Foster:

is just the cherry on top.

Dawn Foster:

And

Dawn Foster:

Erin Austin: so I didn't

Dawn Foster:

ask you this before, but

Dawn Foster:

have you worked with law firms,

Dawn Foster:

for instance, or accounting

Dawn Foster:

firms or service

Dawn Foster:

providers?

Dawn Foster:

And how does that show up?

Dawn Foster:

kind of a boring company

Dawn Foster:

Dawn Foster: like that.

Dawn Foster:

In terms of how we've

Dawn Foster:

branded them?

Dawn Foster:

Oh, I don't think it's

Dawn Foster:

boring at all.

Dawn Foster:

Well, part of that is because

Dawn Foster:

I love branding and marketing.

Dawn Foster:

It's never boring to me.

Dawn Foster:

There's always something new

Dawn Foster:

and fresh.

Dawn Foster:

And like I said, every

Dawn Foster:

business owner that

Dawn Foster:

we've worked with, they're

Dawn Foster:

unique in their own way.

Dawn Foster:

so the law firms

Dawn Foster:

that we've worked with,

Dawn Foster:

absolutely not boring at

Dawn Foster:

all because they've created

Dawn Foster:

a brand that was specific

Dawn Foster:

to them, the clients that

Dawn Foster:

they serve.

Dawn Foster:

we've had an acupuncturist

Dawn Foster:

and his brand was totally

Dawn Foster:

every business.

Dawn Foster:

Their mission, their vision,

Dawn Foster:

their values, their core

Dawn Foster:

pillars are all different.

Dawn Foster:

And who they serve is

Dawn Foster:

different.

Dawn Foster:

So the combination of

Dawn Foster:

those things is always going

Dawn Foster:

to present something new

Dawn Foster:

and exciting.

Dawn Foster:

Because you've got that fused

Dawn Foster:

with providing a solution for

Dawn Foster:

the problem you solve.

Dawn Foster:

That never gets dull.

Dawn Foster:

Erin Austin: That's great.

Dawn Foster:

Do you have a favorite way

Dawn Foster:

that you work with people?

Dawn Foster:

Is it all kind of custom?

Dawn Foster:

Do you have packages?

Dawn Foster:

Like how do you work

Dawn Foster:

with people?

Dawn Foster:

Dawn Foster: Everything

Dawn Foster:

is, we have standard

Dawn Foster:

services we provide.

Dawn Foster:

but I always say we're here

Dawn Foster:

to help as much or as little

Dawn Foster:

as people may need us.

Dawn Foster:

We work with clients and

Dawn Foster:

we typically create, for our

Dawn Foster:

new business owners, we

Dawn Foster:

typically do a brand

Dawn Foster:

mood board to dictate

Dawn Foster:

the look and feel before

Dawn Foster:

we even get to the logo.

Dawn Foster:

Then we do logo, then we

Dawn Foster:

do copywriting.

Dawn Foster:

here's some clues here of

Dawn Foster:

the process of building

Dawn Foster:

a brand.

Dawn Foster:

Yes.

Dawn Foster:

So brand mood board, logo,

Dawn Foster:

copywriting, and then we

Dawn Foster:

outline a website and

Dawn Foster:

then stand that website up.

Dawn Foster:

For businesses that have

Dawn Foster:

been in existence for

Dawn Foster:

a while, we're constantly,

Dawn Foster:

we do a lot of service,

Dawn Foster:

we do a lot, we provide

Dawn Foster:

services for service based

Dawn Foster:

businesses.

Dawn Foster:

And that's because our

Dawn Foster:

sweet spot is that content

Dawn Foster:

creation, that relationship

Dawn Foster:

building, connecting the

Dawn Foster:

dots between your brand and

Dawn Foster:

your target.

Dawn Foster:

We create assets that

Dawn Foster:

really resonate with the target

Dawn Foster:

audience and who you serve.

Dawn Foster:

Erin Austin: That's

Dawn Foster:

wonderful.

Dawn Foster:

Yeah.

Dawn Foster:

I love that.

Dawn Foster:

Well, you know, this is

Dawn Foster:

a very meta.

Dawn Foster:

Podcast.

Dawn Foster:

And so it is about having

Dawn Foster:

that hourly to exit journey

Dawn Foster:

specifically for female

Dawn Foster:

founders with expertise based

Dawn Foster:

businesses.

Dawn Foster:

You and I happen to

Dawn Foster:

be female founders of

Dawn Foster:

expertise based businesses.

Dawn Foster:

So when you think about

Dawn Foster:

scaling your business, like

Dawn Foster:

how have you done that?

Dawn Foster:

Or what are you thinking

Dawn Foster:

about doing in your business

Dawn Foster:

to help scale?

Dawn Foster:

So I've got a

Dawn Foster:

Dawn Foster: two phase

Dawn Foster:

approach that I'm working on.

Dawn Foster:

And who knows what's

Dawn Foster:

after that.

Dawn Foster:

I always think about when

Dawn Foster:

I scale my business, one

Dawn Foster:

of the things that I know I

Dawn Foster:

want to stay true to as I

Dawn Foster:

continue to build, there

Dawn Foster:

are certain things that I

Dawn Foster:

don't want to lose sight of.

Dawn Foster:

And that's the individual

Dawn Foster:

service.

Dawn Foster:

We provide our clients

Dawn Foster:

every client.

Dawn Foster:

We want them to feel like

Dawn Foster:

the only thing we're doing

Dawn Foster:

is sitting and taking care of

Dawn Foster:

their company.

Dawn Foster:

I want to scale to a

Dawn Foster:

point where we can continue

Dawn Foster:

to do that for as many.

Dawn Foster:

Businesses as possible, but

Dawn Foster:

I don't want to get too

Dawn Foster:

large where we lose that

Dawn Foster:

personal touch.

Dawn Foster:

I'm a people first person

Dawn Foster:

and that flows through

Dawn Foster:

my company as well.

Dawn Foster:

I always want our clients

Dawn Foster:

to feel priority to us.

Dawn Foster:

The second phase is what

Dawn Foster:

I personally am going to do.

Dawn Foster:

I love branding and marketing,

Dawn Foster:

but the every day of it, I

Dawn Foster:

still want to have some type

Dawn Foster:

of touch point to it, but the

Dawn Foster:

managing of.

Dawn Foster:

My creatives and my

Dawn Foster:

strategists.

Dawn Foster:

I want to, at some point, I

Dawn Foster:

want to be more on a beach than

Dawn Foster:

doing that.

Dawn Foster:

So my plan is

Dawn Foster:

Because I like the thought

Dawn Foster:

process, because

Dawn Foster:

everything is really

Dawn Foster:

people driven.

Dawn Foster:

To do more speaking and

Dawn Foster:

education from the

Dawn Foster:

psychological point of

Dawn Foster:

branding and marketing and

Dawn Foster:

do thought leadership

Dawn Foster:

there to help New businesses,

Dawn Foster:

aspiring minds, people wanting

Dawn Foster:

to build companies,

Dawn Foster:

understand how we behave as

Dawn Foster:

humans and how that dictates

Dawn Foster:

what a brand is going

Dawn Foster:

to develop into, how to

Dawn Foster:

market, etc.

Dawn Foster:

So that's my

Dawn Foster:

Erin Austin: plan.

Dawn Foster:

Oh, that's interesting.

Dawn Foster:

So education and maybe group

Dawn Foster:

coaching or memberships,

Dawn Foster:

like how do you see that

Dawn Foster:

Dawn Foster: playing out?

Dawn Foster:

In a perfect world.

Dawn Foster:

So, so here's what

Dawn Foster:

I envision.

Dawn Foster:

Three weeks of the month,

Dawn Foster:

I'm in another country, but

Dawn Foster:

then I come back here.

Dawn Foster:

Erin Austin: Time out!

Dawn Foster:

But then

Dawn Foster:

Dawn Foster: I come back

Dawn Foster:

for a week, I visit family,

Dawn Foster:

friends, I'm on a stage for

Dawn Foster:

one of those days talking

Dawn Foster:

to people.

Dawn Foster:

Ooh, maybe I'll write a book.

Dawn Foster:

That's new to the list.

Dawn Foster:

But something very, lot

Dawn Foster:

more casual where I can

Dawn Foster:

still serve.

Dawn Foster:

I can still educate,

Dawn Foster:

but really live life.

Dawn Foster:

I feel like life is about

Dawn Foster:

living in addition to

Dawn Foster:

being here and working.

Dawn Foster:

Well,

Erin Austin:

if you were to be

Erin Austin:

able to travel the world,

Erin Austin:

that means that you have set

Erin Austin:

up processes and systems

Erin Austin:

and models and templates

Erin Austin:

and all the things in your

Erin Austin:

business so that your team

Erin Austin:

can run without you hanging out

Erin Austin:

right there.

Erin Austin:

Yes.

Erin Austin:

That important to you from

Erin Austin:

the beginning or is that

Erin Austin:

something that you developed

Erin Austin:

into over time?

Erin Austin:

Dawn Foster: You know, I

Erin Austin:

developed into that because I

Erin Austin:

started and it was just me and

Erin Austin:

I realized that I'm limited to

Erin Austin:

what I can do and the number

Erin Austin:

of businesses I can support

Erin Austin:

if I don't grow bigger.

Erin Austin:

so I think it was year two

Erin Austin:

that I realized I need to start

Erin Austin:

bringing some people on to

Erin Austin:

help me achieve this mission

Erin Austin:

of mine.

Erin Austin:

Erin Austin: That's

Erin Austin:

pretty quick.

Erin Austin:

That was a great, I

Erin Austin:

mean, some of us, myself

Erin Austin:

included, can go for a long

Erin Austin:

time just, you know,

Erin Austin:

doing that.

Erin Austin:

1 on 1 kind of just me being

Erin Austin:

an expert doing all the things

Erin Austin:

before we kind of figure out,

Erin Austin:

like, you know, what, this

Erin Austin:

really isn't sustainable and

Erin Austin:

I need to start developing

Erin Austin:

some systems, bringing in

Erin Austin:

a team and developing

Erin Austin:

some other revenue stream.

Erin Austin:

So.

Erin Austin:

That is fantastic.

Erin Austin:

Well speaking, if you have

Erin Austin:

made the business so

Erin Austin:

independent from you, that

Erin Austin:

sounds like it could be

Erin Austin:

set up to be sold someday.

Erin Austin:

Is that something

Erin Austin:

that you have thought

Erin Austin:

Dawn Foster: about?

Erin Austin:

I would definitely be

Erin Austin:

open to that.

Erin Austin:

I definitely would.

Erin Austin:

But I also know that

Erin Austin:

when the idea floats around

Erin Austin:

in my brain about how.

Erin Austin:

magnificent this could be.

Erin Austin:

I do know that if I sold it, I

Erin Austin:

would not want to let go of

Erin Austin:

our mission.

Erin Austin:

It would have to be to

Erin Austin:

someone that absolutely

Erin Austin:

connects with what we do,

Erin Austin:

what we're trying to

Erin Austin:

accomplish, who we're trying

Erin Austin:

to serve, what we want

Erin Austin:

to give back to the world.

Erin Austin:

So if that opportunity

Erin Austin:

presents itself, Yeah.

Erin Austin:

I'd be happy to have the

Erin Austin:

conversation.

Erin Austin:

Erin Austin: Yeah.

Erin Austin:

That's fantastic.

Erin Austin:

The only thing I'm going to

Erin Austin:

just put in your brain is

Erin Austin:

that, you know, let's say you

Erin Austin:

just settle the highest bidder

Erin Austin:

and then you take all that

Erin Austin:

money and you do whatever the

Erin Austin:

mission is that you want to

Erin Austin:

do, you know, kind of achieve

Erin Austin:

a mission.

Erin Austin:

You

Erin Austin:

Dawn Foster: are absolutely

Erin Austin:

right.

Erin Austin:

That makes me feel like I can

Erin Austin:

make some more money in this.

Erin Austin:

Erin Austin: Yes.

Erin Austin:

I like to remind women

Erin Austin:

that, we can use our

Erin Austin:

businesses to do good,

Erin Austin:

or we can use our money

Erin Austin:

to do good.

Erin Austin:

There's more than one way

Erin Austin:

to do good.

Erin Austin:

Right.

Erin Austin:

Yes.

Erin Austin:

And so by maximizing the

Erin Austin:

value of our businesses,

Erin Austin:

then we also.

Erin Austin:

Can achieve our missions

Erin Austin:

in that way as well.

Erin Austin:

I'm going to think

Erin Austin:

Dawn Foster: of that.

Erin Austin:

You're a smart person.

Erin Austin:

I like talking.

Erin Austin:

Erin Austin: So I know

Erin Austin:

that you have a new offer.

Erin Austin:

I'd love you to tell

Erin Austin:

the audience about it.

Erin Austin:

Sure.

Erin Austin:

Dawn Foster: So we recently

Erin Austin:

launched a free diagnosis.

Erin Austin:

Um, and it's for

Erin Austin:

the business owner that

Erin Austin:

has been at it for a while.

Erin Austin:

They've seen some success.

Erin Austin:

They're growing, but

Erin Austin:

they're having trouble getting

Erin Austin:

over that hump until

Erin Austin:

the next level of things.

Erin Austin:

So our free diagnostic

Erin Austin:

tells business owners.

Erin Austin:

What's next when it comes

Erin Austin:

to their branding and

Erin Austin:

marketing will let you know

Erin Austin:

if branding and marketing is

Erin Austin:

going to help you get to that

Erin Austin:

next level.

Erin Austin:

And if you're doing

Erin Austin:

everything great, it can

Erin Austin:

put that off the table and

Erin Austin:

then you can start exploring

Erin Austin:

other.

Erin Austin:

that you may be needing

Erin Austin:

to invest in your company

Erin Austin:

to help grow.

Erin Austin:

that's a free download, a

Erin Austin:

free call that we have to talk

Erin Austin:

business owners through it.

Erin Austin:

And that is on our website,

Erin Austin:

bfostermarketing.

Erin Austin:

com.

Erin Austin:

Erin Austin: Fantastic.

Erin Austin:

See, yeah, it's your website.

Erin Austin:

Do you hang out anywhere

Erin Austin:

else online?

Erin Austin:

Or is that the best place

Erin Austin:

to find you?

Erin Austin:

Dawn Foster: LinkedIn is

Erin Austin:

my social media platform

Erin Austin:

of choice.

Erin Austin:

I get pretty chatty

Erin Austin:

over there.

Erin Austin:

I can be found at linkedin.

Erin Austin:

com slash n slash Don P.

Erin Austin:

Foster.

Erin Austin:

Erin Austin: Okay.

Erin Austin:

so your whole name is Don P.

Erin Austin:

Foster.

Erin Austin:

Okay.

Erin Austin:

Got it.

Erin Austin:

Yes.

Erin Austin:

Dawn Foster: Yeah.

Erin Austin:

I know you can find my

Erin Austin:

company, but the bricks

Erin Austin:

come off on my personal

Erin Austin:

LinkedIn page.

Erin Austin:

Erin Austin: Yes.

Erin Austin:

honestly, I think a lot

Erin Austin:

of us have.

Erin Austin:

trying navigate the personal

Erin Austin:

LinkedIn page versus

Erin Austin:

the business LinkedIn

Erin Austin:

page and how much to do

Erin Austin:

with 1 versus the other.

Erin Austin:

But, yeah, the personal

Erin Austin:

1, I think is definitely the

Erin Austin:

best way to interact there.

Erin Austin:

Yeah, well, this has been

Erin Austin:

wonderful.

Erin Austin:

Thank you.

Erin Austin:

So much done.

Erin Austin:

We will have links in the

Erin Austin:

show notes to find you

Erin Austin:

and to your offer and to.

Erin Austin:

LinkedIn and it has been

Erin Austin:

a pleasure to have you today

Erin Austin:

and thank you for, talking to

Erin Austin:

the audience.

Erin Austin:

Thank

Erin Austin:

Dawn Foster: you for

Erin Austin:

having me.

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

About the Podcast

Show artwork for Hourly to Exit
Hourly to Exit

Listen for free

About your host

Profile picture for Erin Austin

Erin Austin

Meet Erin Austin, a Harvard Law alum with over 25 years of copyright and contracts experience. As the go-to advisor for professionals with corporate clients, Erin empowers entrepreneurs to be their own advocates, standing out for her commitment to transforming expertise into empires through the creation, protection and leveraging of intellectual property assets. Explore her blend of legal expertise and entrepreneurial insight on ThinkBeyondIP.com and the "Hourly to Exit" podcast. Off the clock, you'll find Erin in the great outdoors or connecting with business coaches to elevate 6-figure consultants into 7-figure powerhouses.