Mark Steckman

01/29/2024

Have you ever thought about a side-hustle?

⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

6 years ago, I started a business as a “side-hustle”. It was my 3rd start-up business and my intention wasn’t to grow it into a full time venture.

My goal was simply to make some extra cash to put into investments, hobbies, and travel. I remember back then thinking that it might be nice to make an extra $500-$1000/month.

I built a basic website, bought supplies, and began marketing it on Facebook with paid ads and organic tactics that I’d learned over the years.

As time passed, I began to look at the business as an “insurance policy”, if I ever decided to leave my current career. It would provide a stream of income to allow me to make decisions I wanted to make, rather than be beholden to some faceless corporate entity.

Well, eventually, that happened last year. That little “side hustle” now generates more revenue per day than I had originally hoped to generate in a month. And it’s continuing to grow every day.

But even more importantly, it’s allowed me to pursue my real passion as a consultant, helping others to grow their businesses, and realize their own dreams of entrepreneurship & business ownership with better marketing.

Very soon I’ll be revealing the next chapter in my career….another business will be joining my portfolio & I’m excited to share it soon!

None of this would have been possible, had I never taken that first step starting a “side hustle” 6 years ago.

What about you? Have you ever thought about starting a side-hustle?

01/14/2024

Great conversation I had with CEO & Founder of Klickly, Cooper Harris.

Cooper is a former actress turned tech-executive of Venice, Ca based Klickly which is an online payment platform for brands & companies.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-beyond-the-boardroom-on-demand/id1495399328?i=1000511108298

01/01/2024

Every new year 🎉, I’m reminded that I’m not getting younger with each passing day. But my heart & spirit for growth doesn’t change….in fact, it grows stronger every day.

It’s essential to chase your dreams, no matter how old you are, what experiences you’ve had or not had, your financial situation, your education, or even your health.

It’s in this pursuit, that we stay young.

✔️I started my 1st & 2nd businesses at 35 years old.
✔️ I started my 3rd businsss at 46 years old
✔️ I started my podcast at 48 years old
✔️ I’m starting my next business at 51 years old

Age does not define you. Its a marker for your experiences, but does NOT dictate your potential.

Happy New Year! 💥

12/28/2023

Correct Craft is a 99 year old Florida based manufacturer of high quality boats, engines and related equipment with nearly $1 billion in annual revenue.

In this episode, I chat with President/CEO Bill Yeargin about his journey and the rich history of the company he leads.

Episode is available on Apple, Spotify, iheart and most major podcast platforms.

Listen to the full episode here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-beyond-the-boardroom-on-demand/id1495399328?i=1000584635758

12/17/2023

Is a 99% CTR good?

I’ve been buying ads on Facebook since 2009.

No kidding. 2009. That’s 14 years.

Back then I paid .08CPM. So for every 1,000 people my ads where shown to, it cost me 8 cents. Insane 🤯

Today, while Facebook is much more cluttered, most businesses don’t use the scale and reach available to the best of their ability organically or from a paid ads standpoint…..why?

✔️One reason is that they don’t test enough. I’m constantly testing. Different headlines, pictures, ad copy, and every possible combination.

And today, Facebook has a TON of data/metrics available to help guide your decision making.

Should I be happy about this ads “99%” click-thru-rate? Hard to say absent a bunch of other metrics I’ll look at. But I will say this, I built a 6-figure “side hustle” completely off of Facebook ads. 😮

But none of it matters if you don’t test in the first place.

12/16/2023

Check out my conversation with Founder, Influencer, entrepreneur and content creator- Travis Doodles.

We talk about his amazing non-profit and how he went from being a barber in college to one of the most viewed content creators in the USA 🇺🇸!

Full episode on Apple or most other podcast players:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-beyond-the-boardroom-on-demand/id1495399328?i=1000605525419

12/10/2023

Want better results for your paid & organic customer acquisition marketing?

Here are 7 things you can do in 2024:

1. Measure your results better
2. Test multiple creatives
3. Test multiple audience profiles
4. Test native tools available on platforms instead of 3rd party software
5. Test different type of campaigns (reach vs targeted)
6. Commit to better consistency across all tactics
7. Integrate all of your online & offline tactics to work together

Need someone to take a fresh look at your marketing plans for 2024?

That’s what I do for many of the best businesses and can for you as well.

Drop me a DM and we can chat! 😃

12/05/2023

An interesting conversation I had with author John Longo about his book on Warren Buffets tips on financial literacy and life - check out the full episode!

11/30/2023

Many business owners & marketers make the mistake of only focusing on ROI or ROAS when looking at their marketing results….missing (1) key measurement: ROO.

🤔What is ROO?

First of all, let’s cover what ROI & ROAS actually are:

✔️ROI : return on investment
✔️ROAS: return on ad spend

Without getting too far into the weeds, for the most part, ROI & ROAS typically are closely tied to bottom of funnel marketing tactics. You advertise, consumers spend. You put $1000 in, you get $5000 back in return.

While measuring marketing tactics using ROI & ROAS are important as a part of your marketing strategy, bottom of funnel tactics really only address less than 10% of the total audience you need to be communicating with regularly. Bottom of funnel tactics target consumers who are ready to buy NOW.

➡️The “other” 90% of your future customers are not ready to buy today, and are in different stages of consideration, shopping, comparison, etc. The tactics you use to speak to this larger audience isn’t always able to be immediately measured with sales, but instead with specific OBJECTIVES. Which is what ROO is.

✔️ROO: return on objective. Objectives might be awareness, brand favorability or purchase intent. It’s the foundation of building the critical “know/like/trust” factor that is necessary if you want to ensure consumers choose your business for reasons other than price.

Want to learn more about how to integrate ROI, ROAS & ROO into your marketing plans for 2024?

DM, call or hop over to my website…love to chat with you!

-mark

11/29/2023

11/13/2023

True story:

Recently started working with a new client managing their social media accounts, and while the analytics look great, the phone ☎️ call we got from them 3 days after implementing our basic strategy……is even better.

💥Over the first weekend, they had 11 new customers in their retail store, and 8 of those made a purchase. All 11 mentioned learning about the business on social media - of which they weren’t using at all before consulting my team.

Success leaves clues. If you have a business, a side-hustle, or are responsible for one, it’s not to late to use social media to grow your revenue.

👋🏼 I was an early adopter, leaveraging Facebook back in 2008/2009 to grow my first business and it worked VERY well. I again repeated that same success with my next 2 businesses and can do it for you, too.

Need help with your marketing for the holidays? What about 2024? I’m only a dm/email or call away.

-mark

10/30/2023

WANT GROWTH IN A TIGHTENING ECONOMY?

Last week, I was conducting a training session on social media marketing when the conversation shifted to “understanding” the sales funnel.

When the economy starts to tighten, consumers behavior shifts also….PARTICULARLY for purchases that are larger than a coffee.

In a thriving 🔥 hot economy, consumers often don’t even think before buying a $150 dinner, $400 shoes or taking on $600/mo payment for a new car. And often, they don’t even take the time to shop around. The sales funnel is very short.

But when the economy gets tight, consumers take FAR more time exploring products, services, companies, pricing, and options. They ask for referrals, check reviews, and gather more information. The sales funnel may double or triple in time.

✔️This is why establishing a strong “know/like/trust” content plan is so important as a part of your overall marketing strategy. This starts at the TOP of the funnel and follows the consumer thru their entire journey, rather than putting all of your marketing efforts at the bottom of the funnel.

While most of your competitors will continue with “ad’s” targeting the consumer who is ready to buy today, 💪🏼you’ll be far more productive developing a relationship based on trust, BEFORE they are ready to buy….so they choose you - not solely based on price, but instead because you’ve been a part of their entire journey.

Need help establishing a plan in this wild economy? I can help. I’ve been thru 4 big ones (1998, 2001, 2008, 2020) and can help you prepare for a thriving 2024.

DM or call me. I help businesses across the USA 🇺🇸. 😃