Positioning your business clearly is one of the most important — and often overlooked — steps in building long-term success. In this first post of The Shift, I’m sharing my own messy evolution from running a full-service marketing agency to stepping into the role of strategic consultant. If you’ve ever struggled to articulate what you actually do, this one’s for you.
What Do I Actually Do?
The Shift: Day 1
Let me be blunt: I’ve spent the last couple of years dodging this question. Not because I don’t have the experience or skills to answer it — but because I’ve been doing too much of everything, for everyone.
When people asked me, “So, what exactly do you do?”
I’d freeze. Marketing? Strategy? CRM setups? Website redesigns? Social media? Email campaigns? Yes. All of the above. Too many answers. None of them clear. For sometime my simple answer was 'I take the headache out of your marketing, automatically.' This at least opened conversations, but in reality all I was really doing was giving myself a headache... why?
The reality is, I’ve built a business over the last 35+ years on saying yes. Yes to the projects. Yes to the rush jobs. Yes to the things clients should’ve done three months ago. And because I could deliver, I kept doing it.
But just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. And it certainly doesn’t mean it’s what you want to be known for.
The Lesson
If you can’t clearly explain what you do in a sentence or two, no one else can either. Not your clients, not your referral partners, and not even the people reading your website.
That lack of clarity creates friction. In your messaging. In your sales process. In your own head.
It’s exhausting, and worse — it keeps you trapped doing the work you’re trying to get away from.
What I Did Then vs. What I Do Now
Back then, I was a generalist. (back then was only 6-9 months ago) A marketing agency. A get-it-done partner. I still believe in being a true partner — but now I’m shifting from execution to strategy. And don't get me wrong - I've always done strategy - it is hard not to if I'm truly helping my clients. The difference is I simply provided the answers and did the work.
Now I’m consulting.
That means I help businesses figure out what’s broken, what’s missing, and what needs to change.
We build roadmaps. We look at systems. We clean up sales processes and fix marketing that isn’t working.
I don’t just make your brand look good. I help make the business function better.
And yes, I still bring decades of marketing knowledge to the table — the old-school, boots-on-the-ground stuff and the digital tactics that followed. But now it’s all in service of strategy, not surface-level activity.
Where I’m At Now
Right now, I have consulting clients, (a good start to change), two BAAB programs running, and a well-defined consulting framework I call the Foundational 6 Architecture. I’m doing this transition in real time — refining my positioning, reworking my website, and learning how to articulate what I actually do.
It’s not perfect yet. But it’s happening.
Think About It
If you had to answer the question right now — what do you actually do? — would your answer be clear? Would your clients agree?
If not, maybe it's time for your own shift.
P.S. It will take some time to transition the website - shoemaker's kids and all...
