Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Nona Phinn, Founder of THuS Marketing and Branding Services, located in Herndon, VA, USA.

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

THuS Marketing + Branding Services is a boutique marketing and communications firm that specializes in supporting the association and nonprofit industry. Our clientele comprises 95% nonprofits, and for organizations that fall outside of this company status, many are membership or mission-focused in their orientation. I professionally grew up in the association and nonprofit space and started THuS Marketing with over a decade of public-service experience. My desire to give back to an industry that had given me so much sparked the firm's inception.

Tell us about yourself

Spending a considerable amount of my career in the sector had become an eye-opening experience for me. I had the privilege of serving in the marketing and communications capacity at a handful of association and nonprofit organizations and found that each shared the same challenge. That common chord was the inability to fully utilize marketing and communications to build authentic connections with the members, donors, and stakeholders they serve. This limitation hampered these associations and nonprofits, keeping them from realizing their missions.

Brokenhearted by this occurrence, I struggled with the best way to support these organizations. After all, the mission is why I remained in the association and nonprofit space. Due to this passion, it became unacceptable for me to exert colossal effort without seeing missions create tsunami waves of change in our world.

THuS Marketing is a commitment to the sector. My vision is to support, teach, and partner with our clients to see their missions become lived realities. THuS Marketing exists to use the persuasive power of marketing and communications to meet the needs of this world through missions fulfilled!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Weathering the storm of 2020 was no small order. When the winds of the year began to howl, I immediately hunkered down into devastation. I just knew that this was the end. We're a young firm, at the time, still in our toddler years, so to speak. I didn't think we had a strong enough foundation built quite yet to make it through such threatening conditions. I was wrong. We had constructed something already great and deepened our roots enough to bend but not break. When we pushed through 2020, we came out on the other side with substantial evidence that THuS Marketing belongs here. It was our best-performing year yet, and it was a mark of arrival for me. It certified everything we had done to date and gave me the boost I needed to keep progressing forward. THuS Marketing had moved into the neighborhood and was making an impact. Our legacy had begun. I truly thank God for it and know He has everything to do with it. I am humbled and honored to have taken the 2020 bull by the horn and was able to ride to victory!

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

The hardest thing about being a business owner is the various hats that must be worn. No one person is good at everything, yet we are expected to do and be everything. There are so many days where that is just an impossibility. You are depleted, your strength is nowhere to be found, and you are just fresh out of ideas. To play the various roles required that each come with its own set of demands is not for the faint of heart. It's hard and downright painful.

However, being depleted does not mean being defeated. You must remember to take it one step at a time and one day at a time. This isn't a race. It is a marathon. Inhale and exhale. Follow your breath. Not every hat looks good on everybody. You must recognize which style is most flattering on you and rock the mess out of that look. Now, for the hats that don't enhance your beauty as well, those belong to someone else to wear. Make a plan to get the help you need and begin with those areas in which you lack expertise. Pull those smarter than you in your corner. You need them!

I learned very quickly that the accounting hat looked better on someone else.

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

  1. Want to start a business? You need a strong support system. You need cheerleaders in your corner who will not only cheer you on but will pick you up when you are down. They'll help you get to the top of the pyramid. You can use them to get up, stand up, and climb to the top. Surround yourself with people who are genuinely for you. They just don't say they care. They show they care. This is a tribe that considers your success their very own. Gather them around, share your heart for the new venture you are about to embark on, and tell them how much you are going to need them. Now, hear me, you won't know the extent of it, but prepare them the best you can for being there when you trip and maybe even fall.
  2. Take your time. As I mentioned, you are not in a race. This is a cross-country run. You want to avoid sprinting out of the gate, expanding your energy only a few minutes in. There is a long road ahead, so pace yourself. There will be hills and even mountains to climb. Strategize on how you will get up and over them. I promise you it won't be just to run faster. The race isn't not given to the swift. You will reach the finish line but remember your goal is not to be first. It is to be BEST!
  3. Lastly, please, please take time out for yourself. I am beyond bad at this. I have to literally tell my calendar when to give me breaks to refuel and refill. Define rest before you begin. What does R&R look like for you? Answer this question in preparation for this journey. I wish I had done that first. Similar to knowing what success looks like, you need to have a clear and definitive image of what the rest will be for you. Every business owner needs to rest. You will not be an exception to this rule. Define it. Plan it. Do it so that your business will get the best out of you.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.thusmarket.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thusmarketing
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thusmarketing/
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3HQqLDu

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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