We were lucky to catch up with Michelle Luchansky recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Michelle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

I was VP of Marketing at a small 10-million-dollar company when I was given an opportunity to jump back into the product marketing world, in the beauty space (which I’ve always loved). The job was initially a step back in title but seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. After a few issues with the employment contract, we decided that it would be better for me to come on as a full-time consultant.

I left my 9-5 and became a full-time consultant. I ended up picking up 3 other large contracts at the outset. I was in the process of trying to find a more stable pipeline through a subscription model for small businesses when two of my major contracts were canceled on me. One cut all their consultants overnight with little explanation. The other had to tighten their belt and many of the executive team and all non-essential consultants (including me) stepped back to give them a fighting chance. I’m still rooting for their success.

At about the same time I lost those major clients, I found out I was pregnant. That was truly unexpected and the thought of owning my own business became something scary rather than exciting. However, I realized that there is honestly no real security. Business is business after all.

So here I am, building a brand new subscription model for small businesses that allows them access to the kinds of strategic marketing direction necessary to grow. I help them keep from getting bogged down in the small tasks that feel like marketing but don’t move the needle. If I can help save small businesses from predatory digital marketing practices and help them take the steps to grow and scale, I know I’ll be doing good work in my community. It’s worth it.

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 back background and context?

I have been in the marketing space for about 20 years now. I initially got into the industry as a marketing admin and quickly grew through the ranks of coordination, copywriting, communications, content, and eventually analytics, strategy, and leadership. One of the things that I realized as I progressed in my career was that marketing and experience design go hand-in-hand. About halfway through my career, I immerse myself in the language of human-centered design and I’ve added that to my list of core competencies.

Right now my agency, Pretty Damn Creative, does strategic work, branding, experience design, and many other things that fall within the marketing space. The exciting thing that I bring to the table and that sets me apart from others is I am able to take many disparate ideas and curate them into a story that makes sense for my clients. I have generally taken on large corporate clients with businesses up to about 200 million.

Recently, however, I have found that there is a real need for marketing strategy for small business owners. Small businesses have limited time, money, and resources. They are often times prayed upon by digital marketing agencies that promise the world but do nothing for actual business growth. Small businesses often think that because they’re doing some sort of digital marketing they are building their business. But after months of losing $300-2000, they don’t see the results that they’re looking for. My new venture is a subscription model focused on bringing strong marketing strategy to small businesses allowing them to utilize their limited time and resources to market more efficiently and see growth in their business.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My initial consulting side hustle turned into a full-time business almost overnight. I had one client that I was working with on the side and that turned into five within a month.

The key milestones for me were probably different than many people. I took a leap of faith and have been riding the roller coaster ever since. The one thing that I wish that I had done earlier was to solidify some of the processes to maintain my sales pipeline in an easier more automated way. Other than that, I think the biggest key milestone is just going out and doing the thing. Knowing that there will be success and failure along the way and realizing that for me, running my own business is worth it.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Change by Design by Tim Brown changed the way I look at life, marketing, and brought me the basics of human-centered design. I recommend it to everyone! I’m currently doing a “book club” on my Instagram @prettydamncreativeslc sharing that and other marketing favorites in the future. It should be a good time!

Contact Info:

• Website: prettydamncreative.com
• Instagram: @prettydamncreativeslc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-luchansky-39a010a0/