Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Christina Owens, owner of Get Help From Christie, LLC., located in Indianapolis, IN, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Get Help from Christie LLC partners with clients, improving content strategy for your life, career, and business. We serve workers in all industries, authors, students and academics, self-employed and independent consultants, entrepreneurs, and businesses.

Elevating careers through our personal branding process and development of your career marketing tools is what we do best! We gather some data. You meet with our personal branding expert for a 1-hour virtual session to discuss and discover your passions, fulfillment areas, and superpowers. We develop and deliver your tools, such as a cover letter, resume, and bio, maximizing your keywords and improving the impact of your experience. We meet with you by phone twice to perfect the content together, ensuring you are connected to all content and confident for that next opportunity. Once your personal brand is established, we can level up your LinkedIn Profile, synchronizing your electronic profile with your resume and strengthening your professional presence. We also make sure settings are perfect so the LinkedIn algorithms can bring your ideal opportunity to you.

Supporting students and academics, authors of all types, bloggers, and businesses with our copywriting and editing services is a privilege. As writers, we understand that your content is your baby, and we take great care with every word. GHFC utilizes the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) rate scale, keeping your costs fair and reasonable for accomplishing your writing goals.

Improving people through low-cost, high-impact 1-hour coaching sessions which include 7 different value-added eBooks with each session. You can choose sessions focused on career direction and interviewing and executive sessions on leadership and management.

Building businesses with personal branding for senior leaders, executives, independents and consultants, entrepreneurs, and business owners. Advising on content development and strategy. Consulting on business startup administration and company development, business development strategies and distribution, marketing strategies, governance, and capital finance, as well as turnarounds and exit strategies.

We firmly believe there is power in the word. Our mission is “refining the messages that launch tomorrow's dreams.” Our passion is for elevating you.

Tell us about yourself

Growing up, I never set out to own my own business. I was destined for a more creative role in life, which of course didn't work out, so I got a job like everyone else. I worked for several great companies and gained exposure to a wide variety of markets and industries, gaining credibility and recognition, yet I never felt that surge of passion for any particular niche. Along the way, and over 30 years ago now, I married a very passionate serial entrepreneur. In 1999, I left my corporate career to start a family.

What started out as a few side projects to keep me from being bored, administrative services and marketing to very small businesses, turned into the first 4-years of my company offering B2B services. Next, I took a few years off with my daughter, helped my husband start an international consulting business, and attended Colorado Christian University online to gain my bachelor's degree.

In 2013, I started receiving random emails advertising jobs for resume writers. After attending a class on personal branding, I had a personal epiphany. Realizing that my superpowers are writing, editing and marketing changed my life! Suddenly, with the random emails and my new realizations, I knew exactly what to do. God does show off for us sometimes. I reopened my company, created a process for brand-consumer clients, and designed career tools to beat the technology challenges and capture the reader.

Now, 9-years later, I have so much passion for finding the way each individual is hardwired for their call and purpose, reveling it many times to themselves first, as well as packaging their brand, so it leads them to their ideal opportunity for career fulfillment. Truly, it is the impact and success stories that get me motivated every day.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Considering I never dreamed of opening my own business, my greatest pride comes from looking back on YOY growth. Especially as an extremely small, 2-person business, there is nothing more satisfying than doubling the prior year's revenues and increasing the number of customers served. However, I am equally proud of developing a successful, repeatable process that wins for my clients.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Indeed, one of the hardest things to contend with is letting down a customer and not being able to make it right. When everything in the company depends on you, your health, your focus, and your life events all impact the success of your customers. You can offer to fix deadlines, provide discounts or refunds and give free products to alleviate their pain, but not every client will be accepting. I never expected that a sudden increase in customers would have a negative impact, but I just couldn't serve the mass fast enough, and my reputation began to falter.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. First and most importantly, define the problem(s) that you are solving, then research and learn about your market, your competitors, and client demographics. How is what you bring to the market different? Define, define, define!
  2. Realize you must evangelize. Utilize as much free and low-cost marketing as you can to get your business out there, social posts are excellent, and there are many apps that allow you to reach an audience for free: Facebook, Alignable, LinkedIn, and all the others. Don't forget your local community, posted flyers are still great in local stores and coffee shops. Also, try some cross-partnership marketing. Find a business that complements your products and services and partner with them for referrals.
  3. Consistency always wins! Developing your systems, templates, processes, communication stages, and anything you can make the same way every time will usually win in the long run. Yet, you always have to look for ways to improve. Set aside time each year, 4th quarter, to review your processes and procedures, then plan your improvements for the new year.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://get-help-from-christie.square.site/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gethelpfromchristie/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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