1 Bold Step

1 Bold Step With a focus on increasing sales and proving ROI, we’re determined to change marketing from overhead to value add. It’s about results. Let’s chart your course.

Every journey or project begins with one bold step. That first tangible step, the one where an idea now requires action to make it real, can be daunting. It’s especially hard when you have a responsibility to provide a return on investment and justify your efforts and the expense. And this is becoming more the norm as budgets tighten and companies look to do more with less. Welcome to the new worl

d of marketing, one where the marketing department must function as a fully accountable business and where every penny spent needs to show return. It’s no longer just about brand and awareness. This is where “marketing operations” and 1 Bold Step comes in. Marketing is a process, a series of steps that can be followed to help predict and plan ahead. With the right components (content, media, technology platforms) you can use proven techniques and follow tested processes to help you better predict and plan for results. 1 Bold Step helps you control your marketing costs by setting realistic goals and establishing a scalable and re-usable process to meet them. Every marketing initiative requires an initial bold step, but it doesn’t have to be a blind leap.

Two years ago, John Neeb joined 1 Bold Step as our Digital Content Producer. And ever since, he's had quite the impact.J...
06/25/2026

Two years ago, John Neeb joined 1 Bold Step as our Digital Content Producer. And ever since, he's had quite the impact.

John makes cranking out content look easy. From top-notch blogs, to webpages you can't help but scroll, to must-open newsletters. You can tell the sincere care that goes into creating content that helps businesses take center stage.

But don't let his job title fool you. Behind the scenes, John's a fantastic water polo coach (his school took second in the state so we're allowed to brag), a loving cat dad, and our unofficial DJ; curating our office playlist Slack channel like it's his second job.

And if you've ever earned a full-volume "HA" from John, that's your sign that you're officially funny. It's a badge of honor around here.

Happy anniversary, John! We're glad you're here.

Drop a song to add to our office playlist to wish John a happy anniversary! 🎉 🎵

We had an incredible time at our HUG this morning diving into websites, so thank you to everyone who came out!A big than...
06/18/2026

We had an incredible time at our HUG this morning diving into websites, so thank you to everyone who came out!

A big thank you to Vanessa Sinclair for sharing her website migration story to HubSpot and how she leveraged HubSpot’s CMS, automation tools, and reporting to build an answer-driven web experience.

We also wanted to say a huge thank you to our host, West Michigan Whitecaps! We appreciate your hospitality and willingness to let us use your amazing space! We are so thankful!

We already can't wait for the next one!

We're a week out from our June Grand Rapids HUG and we'd love to see you there!On June 18 at 9 a.m., Vanessa Sinclair fr...
06/11/2026

We're a week out from our June Grand Rapids HUG and we'd love to see you there!

On June 18 at 9 a.m., Vanessa Sinclair from Mercantile Bank is coming in to talk about something most of us have quietly wondered about our own websites: is it actually doing anything?

She'll walk through her real migration story to HubSpot's CMS and how she's thinking about building for the way search is moving - AI, AEO, the whole thing.

📍 LMCU Ballpark | Pepsi Stadium Clubhouse
📅 June 18 | 9 a.m.

Link to register in the comments 👇

We had four sharp young professionals shadow the 1 Bold Step team last week! They asked great questions, were eager to g...
06/09/2026

We had four sharp young professionals shadow the 1 Bold Step team last week! They asked great questions, were eager to get involved, and left with a more clear picture of what real marketing is.

We are very grateful to have the opportunity to host these days!

Being able to offer a raw picture of what marketing looks like for an agency is so cool for us!

These students are just nearing their graduation or just graduated and are doing exactly the right things by getting in the real world! Good work team!

Hearing young individuals eager to go into marketing makes us so happy for them! The door's always open!

We are excited to announce our next HUG on June 18th!Vanessa Sinclair, Website and Marketing Analytics Specialist at Mer...
06/04/2026

We are excited to announce our next HUG on June 18th!

Vanessa Sinclair, Website and Marketing Analytics Specialist at Mercantile Bank, is sharing her real migration story to HubSpot's CMS. She'll be diving in to how she rebuilt her site to meet users (and AI) where they are.

AI is changing how people find answers online and most websites were built for a search behavior that's already shifting. The teams winning right now aren't just optimizing for Google. They're building sites that actually answer things.

📅 June 18 | 9 a.m. EST | LMCU Ballpark (Pepsi Stadium Clubhouse)

You won’t want to miss it!

Link to register in comments 👇

Two years ago, Brandon Lawson, joined 1 Bold Step. The HubSpot practice hasn't been the same since.Brandon leads our Hub...
05/29/2026

Two years ago, Brandon Lawson, joined 1 Bold Step. The HubSpot practice hasn't been the same since.

Brandon leads our HubSpot team, and his superpower is making complicated systems feel simple. When something breaks, he fixes it. When someone doesn't know how to use it, he teaches them. When the platform changes (and it always does), he's already figured it out.

His approach is the same whether he's troubleshooting a workflow or training a client: keep the people at the center, and let the technology do the rest.

But honestly? He's got a second superpower. Most mornings, our team logs in to a Slack message from Brandon welcoming everyone to the day. It sounds small. It isn't. He genuinely brings the sunshine!

Outside of HubSpot, Brandon brings two more credentials to the table: a deep appreciation for tattoo artistry and a video game library that we strongly suspect is better organized than most CRMs. 🎮

Happy two-year anniversary, Brandon. The team is better because you are part of it!

One year ago, John Lawrence joined 1 Bold Step to keep the wheels on, and he has nailed it from day one.Every time someo...
05/28/2026

One year ago, John Lawrence joined 1 Bold Step to keep the wheels on, and he has nailed it from day one.

Every time someone thinks, "I didn't have to think about that because it just worked,” it’s a win! We couldn't be more thankful.

This past year, he took on something new. John has been running our Friday standups, keeping the team aligned, on track, and occasionally laughing before the weekend.

Turns out the guy who makes sure the office runs smoothly is also pretty good at making sure the team does too.

Originally from Northern California, fully adopted by West Michigan (Bay Area sports loyalties remain firmly non-negotiable 🤷).

Happy one-year anniversary, John Lawrence. The Coke Zero is stocked, the playlist is a banger, and we're glad you’re on the team. 🎉

Drop a comment or your favorite GIF to wish John a happy anniversary!

Jen is speaking at an EO (Entrepreneur's Organization) breakfast event tomorrow!There will be food, laughs, AND actual t...
05/27/2026

Jen is speaking at an EO (Entrepreneur's Organization) breakfast event tomorrow!

There will be food, laughs, AND actual takeaways. All are guaranteed. Plus this code gets you in free - GUEST26.

Here's the topic: What AI Can (& Can't) Do for Your Marketing Strategy

Every CEO she knows has asked AI to write them a marketing plan. Most got something that looked pretty good. Almost none executed it.

That's not an AI problem. That's an alignment problem. And it's exactly what we're digging into.

Jen will be covering:
• Why your AI-generated plan isn't working (hint: it's not the tool)
• Why marketing actually matters MORE in the AI era, not less
• What AI is genuinely good at. With real use cases, not theoretical ones
• The human judgment calls AI will never make for you
• A practical framework you can use immediately

This is an EO West Michigan event, open to members and guests. You would be her guest!

Thursday, May 28 | 8:30–10 AM | 1255 Front Ave NW, Grand Rapids

Breakfast is provided. Grab your seat in the comments!

We gave our building a little glow-up! 🏗️✨There's something special about watching a vision come to life, even when it's...
05/22/2026

We gave our building a little glow-up! 🏗️✨

There's something special about watching a vision come to life, even when it's just your own front door! Our building got a fresh new face, and the before-and-after speaks for itself. Proud of the team and the space we get to show up to every day!

Mark your calendars for our next HUG event!! June 18th at 9 a.m.We are excited to bring in a local member of our HUG cha...
05/22/2026

Mark your calendars for our next HUG event!! June 18th at 9 a.m.

We are excited to bring in a local member of our HUG chapter, Vanessa Sinclair, to lead the charge! It's going to be great. You don't want to miss it!

More details and registration coming soon!

Address

1255 Front Avenue NW
Grand Rapids, MI
49504

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+16164140332

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