My grandma is crazier than yours

Here’s what her business has taught me

My Grandma Shelli is probably the most energetic lady you’ll ever meet.

She’s still running the same wedding floral business she started about 40 years ago, and she supported her family with it. Everytime I see her, she’s holding a Big Gulp iced tea in one hand and a bag of Sour Patch Kids in the other (no matter how old I get, she’s still going to buy me candy, she tells me). She eats nothing but popcorn and hot dogs, and she doesn’t drink water because it “tastes bad,” hence the Big Gulp. She’s cut her hands on so many rose thorns that her fingers are mostly numb, so she’ll pull hot pans from the oven with her bare hands.

Grandma Shelli’s business is extremely successful, and she books out weddings two years in advance. But she’s never had a website, never invested in marketing (that I know of), and handles most of her admin work with pen and paper and filing cabinets.

Seeing my grandma run her business makes my head hurt sometimes, but it’s also taught me something valuable.

As a young entrepreneur who helps other business owners scale their businesses, sometimes I forget that not everyone wants to scale. Not everyone wants to invest in a website. Not everyone wants to be active on social media, or post regular blogs, or send marketing emails.

And that’s OK.

While I still believe my grandma’s business could be easier to manage with all these things, they aren’t essential ingredients. They’re just helpful tools.

The only essential ingredients we need to run a business come in the form of what we’re offering our people: exceptional products or services.  

If we’re too focused on marketing at the expense of the quality of our own product or service, something is fundamentally wrong.

Sometimes, it’s helpful for me to channel my inner Grandma Shelli and remember that running a good business is all about the basics. Everything else – this post included – is just a bonus.

If you’ve nailed the basics and are ready to step into content marketing, I’m booking batched content packages, and my first start date is in October. This is a more affordable way for you to lean on my team to create all the content you need. If you’re interested in learning more, schedule a call with me here.