We recently connected with Karen Hokanson and have shared our conversation below.

Karen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.

The small business community is constantly overlooked and underserved. It is people of all backgrounds and experiences working hard everyday to try to achieve their own version of the American dream. It is a very noble goal and an incredibly important sector of the American economy. Post-COVID, rising inflation, e-commerce, and the digital age have all brought huge challenges. As a digital marketing firm, we are proud to serve small businesses everyday. This is why we signed up to be a vendor through the Rhode Island Small Business Hub. As a vendor, we are able to provide top-tier marketing services to small businesses around the state. We are not paid by the business, we are paid by the Rhode Island Small Business Hub which is funded by grants.

Everyday we hear and see small businesses that have struggled to grow their business. They have had marketing firms take advantage of their lack of knowledge, tried online DIY tools that have gone haywire, and are spending thousands of dollars advertising and not seeing results. We work with them to develop a custom-branded marketing strategy that aligns with their budget, goals for their business, market and services.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

My marketing career began while I was getting my Bachelor’s Degree at The University of Vermont. While I was studying for my English degree, I interned at multiple non-profit organizations. With a $0 budget, I was asked to help execute events, design flyers, and write compelling copy for email marketing campaigns. After graduation, I was offered a full-time job at a local non-profit. One of my proudest achievements was when I designed and executed with no budget a fall festival featuring a musical performance, food vendors, and local artists. With all of the proceeds going to the non-profit. After 3 years I decided, I was ready for a new challenge, so I moved to Boston to go to graduate school.

When I moved to Boston, I started at Emerson College pursuing a Masters Degree in Communication Management with a speciality in Public Relations and Stakeholder Communication. I was able to get a job at the Marketing Office as a Social Media Assistant. While I was there I worked under the Marketing Director to execute multiple social media and print campaigns with celebrity alumni. As part of my coursework at Emerson, I was asked to secure a paid internship. I found one at a local Public Relations firm in downtown Boston. I began my internship and within a month, I was asked if I wanted a full-time job as a publicist once I complete my class obligation. I quickly worked my way up to an Account Manager, managing 7+ top accounts for the firm in a variety of industries. Over a year into the role a recruiter reached out to me about a job at a startup in Waltham, MA. Wanting less of a commute and a new challenge, I jumped on the opportunity.

I ended up working at the firm for over six years. I was responsible for all B2B marketing including the website, social media, events, webinars, Salesforce, and all sales enablement initiatives. During that time, the firm was acquired and grew from $5M to $70M. I executed 50+ webinars, 70+ trade show sponsorships, a full website redesign, and managed one of the top blogs in the industry. After six years, I was ready for a new challenge and moved to another startup on the Seaport in Boston. In my new role, I was tasked with executing Account Based Marketing campaigns to top companies like CVS and Anheuser-Busch. Only 9 months into the role, the company abruptly laid-off 90% of the marketing team. Struggling in a challenging economy, this was a third-round layoff.

With my life now set on a new course, I decided to launch a digital marketing firm. Ground Up Marketers was built on the idea that we support small businesses in helping them grow their customer base from the ground up. We have clients in every vertical and industry. We work with an Indian Beer Company, a doggy daycare, a commercial debt collection firm, and even a bioinformatic startup…and many more. We offer a variety of services including website design, branding and re-brand packages, content development including prospecting emails, blogs, newsletter, and white papers. We also have a number of social media and design services to meet the needs of any customer.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I manage a team of 3 contractors that work for me, I have a designer, content specialist, and website development specialist. One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give is to be flexible but also structured. I am flexible in the sense that as contractors I understand and support their ability to work whenever they want to. I know they have other roles, interests, or hobbies that they are pursuing in addition to their work with me. I also need to be able to deliver work to client’s in a timely manner. So, I have a project management board that is very detailed and organized. I have a brief weekly meeting with them to review all projects in queue. Based on the feedback from client’s and their own availability we decide on a due date. As long as the contractor meets that due date, I do not care if the work is delivered at 1 pm or 5 am.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

As I was launching the business, I learned really quickly what worked and what did not work. What did end up working really surprised me in most cases. Especially, considering the fact that what worked for me typically went against advice I was given. So the true strategy was try a lot of different channels and allow myself to fail quickly. I ended up getting my first client when I posted about the business being launched on an UVM Alumni LinkedIn group. Another client, I randomly met at a 5K race that had a brewfest afterward. Part of the strategy of finding new channels was a lot of research. I happened upon the Rhode Island Small Business Hub when I was researching small business organizations in the area that may provide networking opportunities. So the best most effective advice, is just be open, be ready, and fail quickly. When a strategy isnt working to grow your clientele then quickly try something new.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://groundupmarketers.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groundupmarketers/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ground-up-marketers/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ground-up-marketers-west-warwick

Image Credits
Emerson College graduation, in the photo with me is Maria Toru (far right), and Raghad Thabit (center) On-site photo visiting a client, far left Nathan Peavey, center Shawna Gierhart (client), me, Hayley Comstock (far right)