Know that it is not going to be easy and that you will have to have a thick skin and put in the work to make it happen
Amanda Nelson is passionate about growth, big picture ideas, and putting together strategic marketing plans for businesses who are wanting to scale. Amanda enjoys leading a team of amazing talent and creating amazing things for her clients. She is proud of the fact that The Art of B continues its trend of doubling revenue year after year and thinks the sky is the only limit!
Amanda’s philosophy is to love what you do, to never say no to new opportunities without hearing them first, and to treat others as she would like to be treated. She is forward-thinking and intuitive when it comes to what a business needs in order to level up its marketing game. Amanda is a single mother to a spunky boy, she is obsessed with plants (210+ houseplants), and loves relaxing in her cute little bohemian home after a fulfilling day of work.
Tell us a little bit about your current projects. What exciting milestone would you like to share with our readers? (Don’t hesitate to delve into your achievements, they will inspire the audience)
Amanda Nelson: It has been a pretty wild year and a half for businesses and we have been in the trenches with our clients navigating the marketing aspects of their business and ensuring that they stay current and agile with their messaging.
I am proud to say that all but 2 of our clients saw an INCREASE in revenue during the C19 times, one of our biggest success stories is a brick and mortar location that had its capacity cut to 1/3 and yet they saw a 20% increase in comparison to the previous ‘normal’ years numbers.
Our business model is one that allows for us as an agency to truly be an extension of our clients’ business resulting in extremely effective marketing.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up?
Amanda Nelson: I always say that running a business is NOT for the faint of heart, as an entrepreneur you make mistakes… a LOT of them but what I have learned is the BEST thing to come out of mistakes is learning experiences. With that being said – I have had the pleasure of experiencing a LOT of learning in my time as an entrepreneur. From failed partnerships to team member betrayal to competitors that have wanted to smear my name… I have gone through all of this and have come out better because of it. When things like that happen you reach a make-it or break-it point in your career and it comes down to a choice – do you want to keep going and be the success story that you know you can be?? OR do you want to give up, take the easy road and find a job working for someone else?
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons you learned from that?
Amanda Nelson: Well.. let’s see here – one of the things I struggle with is grammar and spelling… when I started out my business I was just doing social media marketing and website design which of course included copywriting… I ended up taking on too many clients and was over capacity which caused me to work fast and sloppy! One of my clients came to me with a correction on their website (that was receiving a LOT of traffic) – I had written that they were a Candy Stripper in their youth when it should have been a Candy Striper!
A lesson I learned from this: Grammarly is your very best friend, and hiring copywriters was one of the best things I did!
Has the pandemic and transitioning into mostly online shopping affected your company positively or negatively?
Amanda Nelson: I feel bad saying this but the pandemic has been great for my business – being in the marketing world – primarily in the online space there was a huge surge in the services we provide. We were able to double our revenue last year once again and are currently trending to double again.
What is most important to your organization—mission, vision or values?
Amanda Nelson: Our Core Values at The Art of Business:
- Love what you do
- Work Hard
- Speak Up
- Be Prepared to Grow
One of the biggest philosophies here at The Art of Business is to do what you love. When people are in a role that they love, they are passionate about their work and what is produced is hard to match. Our team is handpicked by and works closely with our founder, Amanda. The common team qualities are a hard work ethic, the ability to speak up with new ideas, and being prepared to grow – in education and experience. We take risks, we love to learn, and we thrive when our clients win.
What do you consider are your strengths when dealing with staff workers, colleagues, senior management, and customers?
Amanda Nelson: I have a knack for being able to build rapport quickly and with that comes trust, and then they have drunk my kool-aid and are a major advocate for our collective goal.
My focus is to have a strong dedicated team of people that I select personally – I am looking for them to align with the core values of our business and let them know that they are coming into a team of like-minded people with high standards and great work ethic. They are excited and happy to be a part of something they can have an impact on.
What’s your favorite leadership style and why?
Amanda Nelson: Servant Leadership – I never want to ask someone to do something that I am not willing to do myself. Of course, when it comes to specific expertise this changes a but when we are talking standards and expectations – we are all on the same page working towards the same goal. My team knows they can reach out to me if they ever need help and I will get in the trenches and help them push through and hit the deadline. We all have a great relationship which I think is tough to achieve when everyone works remotely – we have monthly lunch and learns, team newsletters, team events – I want our team to love what they do and who they do it with.
What advice would you give to our younger readers that want to become entrepreneurs?
Amanda Nelson: Know that it is not going to be easy and that you will have to have a thick skin and put in the work to make it happen. The rewards are worth the struggles and the success is an incredible feeling. Keep your eyes focused on your goals and never stop learning and growing!
What’s your favorite “leadership” quote and how has it affected the way you implement your leadership style?
Amanda Nelson: “Leading a team without understanding its emotions is like driving a car and not knowing how to switch gears” – Oscar Stone
Everyone is unique and you need to be an adaptive and emotionally intelligent leader to be successful. Know when to step in and let go, how you handle one situation may not be the same for everyone. Know when someone is struggling or unhappy and have the tools to be able to help them.
Being a CEO of the company, do you think that your personal brand reflects your company’s values?
Amanda Nelson: 100% YES….. branding is everything and the business was built around my values – it is an extension of me.
This interview was originally published on ValiantCEO.