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

Samantha Jade, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

Being a business owner has its ups & downs but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Before I started by business, I worked a “nice cushy job” in the financial industry. Although I was very good it at, my methods weren’t very popular with the leadership because I led with my heart… always. Heart and finance just don’t mix… at least not yet (maybe one day).

Ultimately, it came to a point where I couldn’t grow because my way just didn’t work for them. I wanted to continue to serve small business owners and support them along the path that we all know can get very bumpy sometimes.

That point in my life, that career, was an important part of the journey. I had so many experiences and met so many wonderful people along the way, all of which are part of that story. They all played a role in where I am today.

It would be untrue to say that I’ve never thought of the idea of going back to a ‘regular job” but what fun would there be in that?

It might be easier, but I know I wasn’t built to take the easy way. I was built to do whatever it takes to help people and that’s what I do each and every day.

Anytime I’m faced with a challenge that makes that thought trickle into my mind for even a nano-second, I remember why I made the jump to begin with and it immediately brings me back.

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?

I started working in the financial industry when I was 15 years old through an internship. I spent 12 years in that industry working with small businesses and I loved that I had the opportunity to learn from so many business owners and get a true understanding of what it was really like to own a business. There was a turning point in my career where I felt I could no longer serve small businesses the way that my heart wanted to… the way that I KNEW would benefit them the most. I couldn’t serve them the way that I felt they needed with the platform that I had available to me working in the corporate world so I decided to venture off on my own.

That’s when That’s SMART Business was born… right along with my son in 2015. (That little boy gave me the courage that I never knew I had. )

As a Latina, born and raised in South Florida to Cuban immigrants, I had to bootstrap my way through a lot in both life and business. There was so much value in those experiences because they made me realize that accessibility was and still is scarce to minorities and so many others in our communities.

Our brand is built around our mission: that the quality of marketing that is accessible to a small business shouldn’t be determined by how deep their pockets are.

Our goal for our clients and their marketing is to be relevant, authentic, impactful, and intentional. Our marketing plans and strategies are built around human marketing.

Small business owners don’t have to be someone they’re not to be successful with their marketing, nor do they have to be forced to do things they aren’t comfortable with. We have to stay true to ourselves!

Here at our firm, we focus on strategies that are intentional and impactful because small business owners can sometimes face the challenge that there isn’t enough time in the day to do everything that is asked of them.

I want each and every one of us to succeed by showing up to the world as your authentic selves and working with people that bring joy to our passions.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

When I first started my business, I was starting from scratch. Although I had always worked with small business owners, I was very new to the online world.

My father owned a marketing firm when I was growing up so I had exposure to marketing from a very young age but marketing was VERY different then, than it is now.

Ultimately, I was going from a 15 year long career in the financial industry where everything is black and white to working in a world with creatives and strategy. Although they had their commonalities, I hadn’t “proven” myself in the marketing world.

I spent countless hours reaching out to people, connecting, starting conversations. I was ambitious but still timid and imposter syndrome followed me constantly… until I met this one woman.

I was still very new to the digital marketing world and I was completely honest with her about it but she decided to take a chance on me. She saw something in me that I still hadn’t seen in myself. She pointed out that I was good at connecting with people and that IS the most important part of marketing.

To this day, she is still a client and I will forever be grateful for the chance she took on me.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media can be incredibly intimidating. Some times it could feel like a big popularity contest and in some ways, it is. I was a wallflower growing up. I was not popular, I never knew what to say and I didn’t know how to be “cool”.

As a total introvert, I was diving head first into social media. I didn’t even know where to start.

After a bit of trial and error, I identified who I wanted to work with and what was important to me in a relationship with a client.

I shifted my perspective on why I was showing up on social media. I wasn’t there to be an influencer and have hundreds of thousands of followers and when I realized that, I stopped comparing myself to them.

I was showing up on social media to serve “my people”, the people that I could provide the most value. Anytime I go on there, when I “show up”, it’s to have a conversation with the people that I bring to my table. I’m not trying to be popular, I’m there to provide value and that’s how I continue to build a community of people that will support me, my team and the firm that we have built – because that dedication & loyalty is reciprocated.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.thatssmartbusiness.com
• Instagram: @heysamanthajade
• Facebook: @heysamanthajade
• Linkedin: @samanthajadecmo