We recently connected with Nicole Cheifetz and have shared our conversation below.
Nicole, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.
I started Aurora Marketing Group over six years ago and I’ve found that the key to scaling is maintaining flexibility in how I operate my consultancy. When I first stared Aurora, I knew I wanted to create something that addressed the needs of small and medium-sized CPG brands. These brands need the same breadth of marketing services as the giants, but not all the depth. Finding providers that offer a wide array of services and expertise across consumer and trade marketing disciplines is difficult for smaller brands, and hiring a full-time marketing team can be cost prohibitive. I knew that to be effective I was going to need to offer a suite of services including comprehensive work like serving as a Fractional CMO, as well as project work for one-off needs (and everything in between). I decided to onboard trusted independent contractors. Over the years, the network of contractors I have cultivated has become one of my consultancy’s most valuable assets. Considering all the different types of brands I have worked with, and the different types of requests I have received, being able to call on a particular contractor for a specific type of work means I’m offering clients highly relevant expertise every time. In other words, I’m never struggling to “fit a square peg in a round hole”; I’m able to match contractors with specific work whenever I need the added support. This also enables me to manage all the client relationships personally and oversee every single deliverable. In this way, I’ve been able to scale up rather easily when large volumes or work come in and then scale back down upon completion if needed.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I stumbled into the beverage industry fresh out of college when I went to work as a secretary for a company specializing in importing, distribution and back-office solutions for alcoholic beverage brands. One of their cognac brands was in need of marketing event support and I was excited to help out in the field. From there, I went to National Beverage Corp., focusing on a brand that was not well known at the time: LaCroix Sparkling Water. After spending nearly five years in the marketing department at National Beverage, I was hired to serve as the Marketing Director for Celsius Energy. I decided to start Aurora Marketing Group after an incredible ride with these fast-moving, exceptional brands and have had the opportunity to work across several food & beverage categories. My experience sets me apart from many consultants because I have worked at brands when they were small and bootstrapped, and also been on the team when those brands grew into category captains. Learning and growing with the brands through various lifecycles gave me a great understanding of what it takes to set your brand apart. There are tangible elements and there are the intangibles, there is ensuring you are well versed in the systems and processes, as well as knowing when to embrace what your gut tells you. More than anything, understanding the people you are working with and bringing out the best in them is critical. It is true what everyone says: people are more important than anything else.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
Word of mouth has definitely been the best source of new clients. I worked to develop current relationships by reaching out organically, and I also make it a point to attend industry networking events locally and travel for a few key tradeshows every year so I can maintain my relationships and meet new people! The other solid source for new clients is LinkedIn, it is a great place to contribute to the conversation and stay top-of-mind within your network.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
You have to be resilient to manage your own business. In my line of work, you will write proposals and make time for calls and emails, just to open a conversation with a potential new client. Sometimes you don’t land the client regardless of what you do; perhaps you could have done better on your proposal, perhaps your fees weren’t in line with client expectations, or it is possible there was nothing wrong with your proposal and the client decided not to move forward with the project at all. Oftentimes, feedback is not shared. I always look back at the communications and proposal to see if there was something I could have tightened up, but beyond that it is important to keep looking forward. I always thank the person for their time and state I’d be happy to stay in touch. You learn from it what you can and sometimes it just isn’t the right time – it is that simple. I have had a potential client decline to move forward with a proposal, and come back almost 18 months later to say they’re ready to work together. That type of situation makes it a lot easier for me to be resilient because it reminds me that sometimes there is something happening client-side that is preventing them from working together. I always try to be introspective but the reality is that not everything is within your control.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.auroramarketingllc.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolecheifetz/