Small business is like mirliton (or any other creeping vine if you’re not familiar with that particular Louisiana squash), the first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, and the third year it leaps.
the 1st year it sleeps,
the 2nd year it creeps,
and the 3rd year it leaps.
We’re in our 3rd year of Let’s Hatch Media and we’re getting ready to leap. Our first two years were spent navigating the ins and outs of running our own business- we won’t bore anyone with the details.
Most of our work was coming via word of mouth and we didn’t think we had the time to stop and plan a real marketing strategy. Now, with the business structure under our belt we have to start marketing in earnest, which serendipitously coincides with our move from New Orleans proper to Old Jefferson, just past uptown in Jefferson Parish.
After moving our business, we got to know our new neighbors in a hurry by
- Joining the Jefferson Parish Chamber of Commerce– this group of 900+ businesses provides networking opportunities, informs a Political Action Committee, and has a Foundation arm. Perfect for business, politically, and socially minded folks like us.
- Hiring (VERY) local- we did what any Internet minded person would do- research our new neighbors online. Using the neighborhood-based social network NextDoor, we got to know an illustrator living on our block (Julia Marshall, you can see her great stuff here). Our mutual interests and styles made for creative kismet and she produced some illustrations that we had been brainstorming for some time. Here’s a sneak peak of one of the drawings, Le Petit Roi, or The Little King of Mardi Gras.
Have a safe and happy Mardi Gras and we’ll see you around Jefferson Parish!