Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erika Rodriguez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Erika, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, one thing many business owners consider is donating a percentage of sales or profits to an organization or cause. We’d love to hear your thoughts and the story behind how and why you chose the cause or organization you donate to.

I donate 1% of my annual Nadi Marketing sales to environmental organizations fighting climate change. I support Surfrider Foundation San Diego County, Coral Restoration Foundation, SeaTrees by Sustainable Surf, and the National Forest Foundation. I researched each nonprofit that I wanted to support in a certain area (e.g. wildfire aid) and chose a nonprofit that displayed transparency in their work and showcased the impact they were creating. Beyond donating, I also volunteer and collaborate with my partnered nonprofits, which was important in choosing the organizations to donate to. This idea of donating 1% of annual sales came from Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia. In his book, let my people go surfing, Chouinard explains that “Patagonia instituted an Earth Tax, pledging 1 percent of sales to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment. In 2001, Chouinard, along with fly fisherman Craig Mathews started 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses [and now individuals] that contribute at least 1 percent of their net annual sales [or salary] to groups on a list of researched and approved environmental organizations.” I’m proud that Nadi Marketing has been a business member of 1% for the Planet since February 2021.

Erika, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a Marketing Consultant for Eco-conscious small- and medium-sized businesses. I help my clients with content strategy, from blog content to social media, and partnership marketing, connecting my clients with other businesses, organizations, and individuals. Through Nadi Marketing, I have three main services, VIP Marketing Plan in a Day, where I help clients brainstorm, prioritize, and build a sustainable 3-month marketing plan in a 5-hour intensive. My Sustainable Marketing Jumpstart coaching program is for anyone who wants to create or jumpstart their foundational marketing channels. In 8-weeks, we deep dive into target audience, email marketing, social media, video marketing, partnership marketing, and earned media, and end the program with a 3-month marketing plan. My only done-for-you service is Partnership Marketing, where I manage my client’s partnership relationships, from sponsorships to affiliate marketing to influencer marketing, you name it.

I only work with companies and entrepreneurs who are socially and environmentally responsible. All my clients have amazing visions of how they want to use their business to make an impact, and that is what I’m most proud of, that I get to amplify their work through intentional marketing.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Transparency, since the beginning of Nadi Marketing, I’ve wanted to show how I’m building my business with sustainability in mind. It started with my work-at-home station showing my audience on social media, that I can go to my local electronics waste (E-waste) recycling center to buy a secondhand monitor, ergonomic keyboard, and mouse. From products, I moved to services and looked at all my vendors to see how they are being eco-conscious. One revelation was my banking and learning about what my bank really invests in, what they value, and decided to switch my personal and business banking to one that had a strong environmental policy. Starting with my banking service, I decided that all my vendors need to be socially and envionrmentally responsible. From vendors, I decided that my clients also need to care about people and the planet. It just made it more easier to work with people that shared the same values as me and I wanted to help amplify their business. Transparency has also been reflected on my pricing, where I show all my pricing for my services on my website. Lastly, I took it one step further in showing my audience how I’m giving back and decided to donate 1% of my annual sales to environmental charites through 1% for the Planet business memebership. All of these small actions have played a crucial role into how I’m portraying transparency and sustainability into my business, and that’s how I’ve been able to build my reputation.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Starting from scratch on social media is always taunting, I started my business social media channels in May 2020, and I was extremely nervous to go live on Instagram. Back then I knew that video marketing was going to be the next big thing in social media, because you could talk to your audience in real-time. You can show them behind the scenes of your business, show the impact you are creating, and be in the moment. Now all social media platforms have a Live feature and I would recommend to take full advantage of it. I started to go live early on and connect with my audience in an authentic way. In addition to going Live, I also created a content strategy for Nadi Marketing that included my services, content strategy tips, partnership marketing, sustainability in business, and my ecopreneur journey. This made it clear to my potential audience what they should expect from me and my business. For anyone who is just starting, having a clear content strategy from the beginning is what I would recommend.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nadimarketing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nadi_marketing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nadimarketing
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanadimarketing/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nadi_marketing
• Other: http://www.theecosystemcircle.com/

Image Credits
HB Photos