Small Business Interview with Olalah Njenga, Marketing Strategist, YellowWood Group

Tell us about your business.
As a marketing strategist, I work with businesses who want to align their marketing strategies with sales goals. As a marketing coach, I work with solo business owners who are frustrated by one size fits all marketing.

Please tell us what being a business owner means to you and why you became an entrepreneur in the first place?
Being a business owner means flexibility. I became a business owner because I wanted to know who the bus driver was who picked up and dropped off my kids. Because my kids had a nanny most of their life, I never got to meet the bus driver. Now that they are 18 and almost 15, I still get to see the bus driver (much to my kids embarrassment).

What or who has been your greatest influence in business and why?
I have been influenced mostly by bad marketing. The kind of marketing that preys on business professionals’ fears, exploits their feelings of scarcity and convinces them that without the hottest, newest, thing their business is destined to fail.

What would you say is your greatest professional accomplishment to date?
Launching Marketing With Ease as a standalone product was a big accomplishment. Because of Marketing With Ease, profitable means making a living and making a difference.

What’s the best advice you have received in business that you wish to pass on to our readers?
Kirstie Alley said “You’re not in business to be popular.” Not everyone will like you in business (much like life), but respect is a non-negotiable. Don’t give people a reason not to respect you.

What one thing have you learned as a small business owner that has served you well over the years?
Always have cash reserves. Keep emergency cash on hand for a slow season, or to bridge the gap due to slow paying clients.

Are there any resources or tools you’d like to share with other small business owners that have helped you succeed?
Read everything you can get your hands on. Set aside a morning or evening when all that you do is read and think. You don’t have to agree with everything you read. The simple act of reading and then thinking will spark something incredible within your subconscious.

What is Number One Business Goal you plan to accomplish over the next year?
Create a series of web based trainings for key market segments.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Have fun and make friends. Life is too long to waste it being miserable and too short not to laugh . . . a lot.

How can our readers find you online?

www.YellowWoodGroup.com  and www.MarketingWithEase.com
http://twitter.com/Olalah
http://www.linkedin.com/in/Olalah