Thanks for visiting the virtual home of Ilana Leah LLC. It’s Ilana here, with that first-post excitement, ready to give you an overview of why I’m offering branding & marketing consulting, and what it really means.
Tl;Dr (too long, didn’t read): if you’re in a rush, here’s the short answer – a branding and marketing consultant allows you, the small or micro business owner, to do what you do best while you learn how to present your brand in a cohesive and effective manner without spending big bucks on it.
If you’ve got a few minutes, sit down, relax, and join me for some story time.
How Ilana Leah LLC got here
Ilana Leah LLC was founded in 2013 with the goal of offering design services to small businesses. At that time, I had taught in classrooms (ranging from age 2 through high school, and adult education) and acted as Art Director for a local newspaper publishing company, printing 4 weekly newspapers.
Way back then, I’d also had the opportunity to work with and alongside business coaches representing top global companies. These were coaches and entrepreneurs creating large, scalable businesses with big money investors. I learned a lot from them, and I’m very grateful that I had this experience, but one thing often stuck out to me when interacting with them regarding small businesses (myself operating an Etsy-based micro business at the time).
They just didn’t get it.
It was disconcerting at the time, realizing that I was interfacing with coaches that others were trusting with thousands and even millions of dollars, and I didn’t think they understood truly small businesses. I knew it wasn’t me – the advice simply wasn’t hitting like it should have.
In the years since, working with solopreneurs and other small business clients in industries like physical and information security, real estate, law, physical therapy, education, interior design, and more, I realized that the disconnect wasn’t in these coaches giving unsound business advice, the disconnect was that their advice just didn’t align with the needs and goals of the smallest businesses.
Small businesses have specific needs – and the smaller the business, the more specific the needs
Business advice is a dime a dozen, but when it comes down to it, there is no one-size-fits-all advice that will work across the board. My focus has been on developing information and strategies that suit the needs of business owners running the smallest of small businesses – particularly those who are doing it all themselves.
The needs and priorities, not to mention goals, of a single person running all aspects of a business they started because they LOVE what they’re offering can be vastly different from those of any other small business.
Keep in mind that while definitions vary, a small business can easily have up to 500 employees. In fact, according to the Small Business Administration in 2022, there were 33.2 million small business in the United States, making up 99.99% of businesses in the country.
Laser focused on micro businesses, so you can get laser focused
My attention is laser focused on solopreneurs and micro businesses, because I believe that this is a highly valuable and deserving – and underserved – segment of the business population.
This is the portion of small business where the passion projects live; this is the space where licensed educators are making a name for themselves, artisans are sharing their creations with the world, startups and the self-employed are breaking out of the 9-5 and blazing their own trail, and parents and people are making their lives and their family’s lives better by creating a life that works for them.
Can you see why I love this sector of business? I’m passionate about it because this is my life too!
I’ve been selling on Etsy since 2007, founded my LLC in 2013, and have been operating Seashore Design Studio since 2015. I’m a mom to two phenomenal kids who I’m homeschooling, and we’re deep in the world of crafting our lives to suit our needs.
This image is the Seashore Design Studio table at an event in 2018. I attended with an infant and a four year old (you can see her little pink chair behind the table). It was intense. I share this simply to say, I understand where so many micro business owners are because I’ve lived it too.
My intent and goal now is to use what I’ve learned over the last decade or so to not just work with micro business owners (though I’m happy to provide my services, if that’s what you need), but to teach other micro business owners how to make informed decisions for their small businesses.
Armed with that information, you’re ready to get laser focused on your goals and priorities, which in turn allows you to strategize and only invest your time and money in things that will move your business towards your goals.
So, about that branding & marketing consulting?
To answer that original question, as a branding and marketing consultant, I stand in the gap between the micro business owner or solopreneur and the rest of the wide world of branding and marketing.
You may be THE BEST at what you do – but if no one can see you, that doesn’t get you business. And if they can see you, but your website and other content doesn’t engage and build trust, they’re still not going to take the plunge and send money your way.
And that’s okay! You’re not expected to know it all, or meant to do it all yourself. Which is exactly where I come in.
My job as a branding & marketing consultant is to save you the time and frustration of:
- trying to do it all, and knowing you’re not doing it all well
- operating with great content but unmemorable branding, effectively losing out on the value of referrals (because no one can remember your name)
- spending countless hours searching the web for answers you know exist but you can’t find
- paying for marketing that doesn’t move you towards your personal or professional goals
- spinning your wheels with content that isn’t performing, but not knowing what else to do
How do I save you resources, and make you more effective as a micro business owner?
I will use my experience and expertise to educate and empower you to make actionable, strategic choices that move your small business towards your goals.
I do this by offering affordable trainings and workshops, as well as PDF workbooks and guides for you to complete on your own or with me, plus training calls, group trainings, and one-time or monthly services.
What I’m NOT here to do:
- Convince you to hire me or any other marketing firm
- Encourage you to wear yourself thin trying to do everything in your business
- Give advice outside the scope of my experience
What I AM here to do:
- Educate you so you can make the best decisions for your small business
- Help you pinpoint specific personal and professional goals, and strategize how to make choices that move you towards them
- Teach you how to create and implement a simple, consistent, easy-to-use brand identity that builds trust with customers
- Share valuable snippets I’ve learned over the years which may resonate with you
I am so excited to get started! Thank you for reading, and please consider connecting via any of the methods below.
Keep in touch with Ilana Leah LLC
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. I promise there’s more to come, and unlike this (which was largely an introduction), I’ll be tackling relatable topics and offering valuable insights and tips which you can apply to your small business right away.
Please follow Ilana Leah LLC on social media, or join the mailing list so you’re the first to know about upcoming workshops and releases (I promise to only email when I have something real to tell you!)
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