We recently connected with Sierra Lawson and have shared our conversation below.

Sierra, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

Building my business has been a piece by piece adventure. I started making small digital marketing campaigns in 2015 for a friend who owned a tanning salon. She was looking for eye catching posters for a fundraiser and didn’t have the time to dedicate to the task. I created and advertised 23 posters and campaigns for the event, from there, Sienic Designs was born. Since then Sienic Designs has worked with over 120 small businesses, and maintains a monthly book of 65 clients.

The best strategy for building my marketing business has been networking and supporting the community. I try to network within the community as much as possible for personal and professional growth. Sienic Designs always shows up when it matters most. You’re having a ribbon cutting, we’ll be there. Your front desk receptionist is having a baby shower, we’ll be there. Your business is under employed and needs a little boost until you get the right team, we’ll be there. It’s these small acts and community building that keeps you in the forefront of clients minds. Now, I can’t make every event or be there for every situation but I try my hardest and support as much as possible.

From this, 92% of Sienic Designs clientele is generated from referrals and word of mouth.

There’s that saying that goes something along the lines of, “It’s just business.” While this may hold true at some businesses it never has at Sienic Designs. Sienic Designs is personal, its business and it’s so much more. We believe that it’s this thinking that has allowed us to work with incredible brands and create incredible results to grow.

In the midst of the pandemic, I seriously slowed down like everyone else. I had considered taking time off to decide if wanted to continue marketing or hang up the hat. I met with a frustrated gym owner in Lake Jackson tx who was paying franchising fees and seeing a drop in memberships well before the pandemic had started. We met just after the lockdowns had begun and speaking to him, hearing his frustrations and seeing the loss of fire in his eyes. Made me want to continue. I wanted to help him and others like him through such an unknown period.

So I sat down and started looking at courses to refresh myself on how marketing was changing as it was changing. I re-branded myself as a full digital marketing firm. I sat down with the owner again and proposed the same thing for his business. At first he was hesitant, I remember sitting down with him and saying, “Listen, at this point what’s the worst thing that can happen? You rebrand and have to close or you continue to bleed money and close due to the pandemic?” He gave me an empty look as the wheels in his head turned and then said, “You’re right. I have to save my business. I have to try something.” His gym is still open and doing better than it did at its peak in 2009.

Through the rebrand of his business, I rebuilt mine. Spreading the word of the rebrand with community chambers, ribbon events and foot canvassing. I was a double agent. Tell whoever I was in front of about his business and then support it with mine.

2020 was a devastating year for a lot of small businesses, but for Sienic Designs, it was the pause it needed to grow.

Over the two years, I have reached out personally to multiple brands, attended more events than I thought possible, sacrificed evenings, weekends and so much sleep to be where we are now. Growing weekly, loving every day of business even on the bad days and learning something new each day.

Sierra, 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?

Sienic Designs was founded in Edwardsburg Michigan in 2015 as a freelance digital artwork company. Since 2015, Sienic has grown into a full service small business marketing firm. Sienic Designs was founded by Sierra Nicole Lawson, Sienic coming from a nickname her former father had given her as a combination of her first and middle name. Sienic is pronounced the same as scenic.

Sienic Designs and Marketing specializes in small business marketing. Whether you’re looking to start your brand, build legal forms, create a website, social media management or event coordination, Sienic Designs is ready to assist.

Sienic takes the headache and price out of marketing to drive leads, sales and growth.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The hardest lesson I had to learn as a business owner is that great customer service does not mean there are no boundaries.

As i’ve grown my business, I’ve had some truly amazing clients and some not so amazing clients. The not so amazing clients didn’t respect boundaries, didn’t care about business hours and just did their own thing. When I was starting out I was afraid of losing clients so I would respond to texts, emails and whatever else at 1 in the morning and work myself to a point where I didn’t want to keep my doors open.

Once I decided my business was worth more than I was allowing others to value it at, my clients started to change. The ones who would walk all over me either started to respect my time or unfortunately departed amicably. Taking back the value was the hardest thing for me personally but professionally the best.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I keep a social calendar for all of my clients. I record their birthdays, anniversaries and any other events that mean a lot to them. As I learn new things about them such as their coffee order or their favorite treat, I add these things to their client profiles and reach out with these small touches. Hey client, we haven’t talked in a month and I know your schedule is busy. Here’s a coffee gift card, let’s meet next week to talk about your business. I don’t let a client go more than 45 days without contact. I set up email reminders, campaigns, and calendar reminders to keep me on track.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sienicdesigns.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sienicdesigns
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sienicdesignsllc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sienic-designs-and-marketing/?viewAsMember=true