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Digital Marketing Agency- The Prosper Group Journey
22 Plays11 days ago
We were joined by two incredible entrepreneurs—Kurt and Kristen Luidhardt, the dynamic co-founders of The Prosper Group.
Kurt and Kristen have built The Prosper Group into a leading digital marketing agency that helps organizations accelerate their growth through innovative strategies and cutting-edge solutions. Together, they’ve crafted a business that blends creativity, data-driven insights, and a deep passion for helping their clients thrive.
In this episode, we dived into their entrepreneurial journey, the challenges and triumphs of co-founding a business together, and the lessons they’ve learned in scaling a digital marketing agency. They also shared their insights into building strong client relationships and staying ahead of the curve in an ever-evolving industry.
If you’re an entrepreneur looking for actionable marketing strategies, a business owner hoping to take your company to the next level, or someone curious about how two entrepreneurs can work together to build something incredible—this episode is for you!
Enjoy !!!
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Transcript
Introduction: Authenticity and Trust in Marketing
00:00:00
Speaker
Well, our our latest passion has really been about um being authentic and building trust with your customers. um You know, somebody else said this and we were just talking about this with someone else about how um we're not starving for information, we're starving for truth. And I think right now...
00:00:20
Speaker
There's a lot of distrust in brands and government and institutions. And so, you know, what consumers are really looking for is they're looking to do business with, the um they're using to do business with brands that they feel like are authentic, that align with their values. And so what we've been talking to people about more so is conviction-driven marketing.
00:00:43
Speaker
And instead of putting all of your emphasis on just the latest tactic, um you know, here's this new hook I'm going to try, or I'm going to test my copywriting or adjust my funnel to try these new things.
00:00:56
Speaker
um We're talking about messaging at a deep level and attracting customers based on aligning with their values. um And really a good example of that is, um you know, brands that are connecting on something else they stand for. They might be donating a portion of their proceeds or a portion of their profits to an organization. And these are messages that resonate at a deeper level and they help you build more of a loyal audience.
00:01:25
Speaker
So I know it's not quite the answer you were probably thinking you were going to get, but um we've really been talking to clients about this because you know, it's not as hard to get attention, um but we're just deluged.
00:01:37
Speaker
There's all these platforms, our attention spans are short. um And so if you put all of your energy in just how do i grab eyeballs? um It just doesn't work like it did years, you know, not even just a few years ago. And so we instead have been trying to, you know, encourage our customers to think about building trust, building up a story and a brand and having a relationship with with customers instead of just a quick hit transaction.
Entrepreneur Speaks: Insights into Entrepreneurial Journeys
00:02:05
Speaker
Welcome to the Entrepreneur Speaks podcast, where I sit down with successful entrepreneurs and hear their stories from their biggest failures to their greatest successes.
00:02:16
Speaker
You get a behind the scenes look at what it really takes to make it as an entrepreneur. So come along for the ride and let's explore the entrepreneurial journey together.
00:02:29
Speaker
Welcome to this episode of the Entrepreneur Speaks Podcast. We are joined by two incredible entrepreneurs, Ket and Christine Luthart, the dynamic co-founders of the Prosper Group.
00:02:43
Speaker
Ket and Christine have built a Prosper Group into a leading marketing, digital marketing agency that helps organizations accelerate their growth through innovative strategies and cutting edge solutions.
00:02:56
Speaker
Together, they've crafted a business that blends creativity, data-driven insights, and a deep passion for helping their clients thrive. In today's episode, we'll dive into their entrepreneurial journey, the challenges and triumphs of co-founding a business together, and the lessons they've learned in scaling a digital marketing agency.
00:03:19
Speaker
They'll also share their insights into building strong client relationships and staying ahead of the curve in an ever-evolving industry.
Ket and Christine's Journey: From Politics to Business
00:03:29
Speaker
you're an entrepreneur looking for actionable marketing strategies, a business owner hoping to take your company to the next level, or someone curious about how two entrepreneurs can work together to build something incredible, then this episode is for you.
00:03:46
Speaker
Kate and Kristen, welcome to The Entrepreneur's Peaks. We are thrilled to have you on the show. and We're absolutely thrilled to be here. Yes, thank you so much. All right.
00:03:57
Speaker
So let's start by hearing a bit about your journey. How did you both come together to start the Prosper Group?
00:04:05
Speaker
You know, we met in college here in the U.S. We both were political science students. We had a number of classes together and we were both active in American politics. We were ah if we met, actually met, met maybe the first time in the College Republican Club.
00:04:26
Speaker
and shared a passion for changing the world ah by engaging in the political process. And ah so we met doing that.
00:04:37
Speaker
And we were we were working on political campaigns as staff persons. And political campaigns are, ah you know, you win, you lose.
00:04:48
Speaker
No matter what happens, if you're ah an employee of that political campaign, you don't have a job. Yeah. after the election because it's over. And so after doing that for a while, Kristen and I thought, well we should start a business serving ah political candidates, but let it let's let it be a business. That way we won't be unemployed when the campaign's over. And I don't know if we were really thinking straight with that because instead of losing our jobs after the election, we lose all of our clients after the election. Yeah, we weren't we weren't too bright thinking thinking that all through at the beginning.
00:05:24
Speaker
Yes, but we were just absolutely passionate about it. you know We both were the kinds of people who wanted to do something meaningful with our life. We both grew up in Christian homes and just felt like we needed to leave the world a better place. And both of us concluded that helping elect good people to office makes a big difference. So there's something exciting about working for a political candidate and then seeing something you've done beyond the news in the evening and it's and and to feel that sense of accomplishment that you made a dent in the world somewhere.
00:05:58
Speaker
And so that was the desire to work in politics. And then we started the agency because we thought, well, we need to
The Evolution of Digital Marketing
00:06:04
Speaker
have job. that was 18 years ago now. and that was eighteen years ago now Yeah. And we were, you know, obviously but but we were very young in our twenties.
00:06:14
Speaker
And so digital marketing was still very new in the political campaign space. And they actually call it e-communications then. And so we thought, well, we're young, we can figure this out.
00:06:26
Speaker
And so it's funny because that's what led us to have our specialty in digital marketing. It actually wasn't because that was our skill set or our passion. It was purely because as people with entrepreneurial drives, we thought we'd have more success specializing in that as a business. And then, of course, we've now learned to love it and get very good at it.
00:06:46
Speaker
um But as many entrepreneurs can understand, it was it's not always a straight path as to why you start your business or how you end up where you are today. All
Balancing Business and Personal Life
00:06:58
Speaker
right.
00:06:58
Speaker
So as a husband and wife doing business, how do you balance both your personal and professional lives while running a company as you have it?
00:07:09
Speaker
It's a great question. We don't really. That's the that's the short the short answer. um No, because at least in our case, because we've worked together for so long, um we just do everything together.
00:07:24
Speaker
um We serve on boards together. We run the business together. And it's only been up until the last few years that we've really had to get a lot better. at balancing all of this because we're late to our parenting journey.
00:07:37
Speaker
And we have a two and a half year old and a four and a half year old. And so as that has shifted, we've had to, again, learn some but more of those time management skills ah to be able to be parents first and business owners second. And so um from the business side, um we've just gotten very good at dividing and conquering. We each have our specialties of what we're oversee more of That way we don't butt heads as much. We have an amazing leadership team that helps us run our agency.
00:08:08
Speaker
and um And so, yeah, it's it's been interesting, the shift that's had to take place more recently because we've had children. And before that, it was just go, go, go, work, work, work all the time.
00:08:20
Speaker
And so doing it together has been great because we didn't have to we didn't have to choose between, will I go on this business trip and not see my spouse? Because we would do it together.
00:08:31
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you've been at this for quite some time, 18 years. So looking back, what are some of the early challenges you faced when launching the Prosper Group? And how did you overcome these challenges?
Challenges in Finding Clients and Building Relationships
00:08:45
Speaker
Oh, goodness. You know, think the earliest challenge with every business, I think, really is finding customers, right? we We didn't start by a lot of people in our industry start because they get they're ah they have a big job.
00:08:59
Speaker
and they build a essentially a clientele by making contacts in that big role. And then they start their business, and maybe they start it with three or four big clients to fund the business. We did it the other way. We started by doing the smallest of the small clients and taking on work that other people weren't interested in.
00:09:19
Speaker
And that meant a ton, a ton, a ton of shoe leather, or in our case, getting in the car and driving all over the country back when we didn't have enough money to pay for hotel rooms. And we used to drive halfway there and sleep in the car and drive the rest the way and just get out there and meet people.
00:09:39
Speaker
And that was the biggest challenge. And it took a commitment to to that kind of you know effort. It took a lot of effort to build those relationships. And I think we did it well.
00:09:52
Speaker
ah And we did benefit from the fact that we started our family late because we could spend you know half the year on the road. We could make 14-hour drives to Washington, D.C. to take meetings, ah which we couldn't do these days. ah and And so getting customers is probably our very first challenge.
00:10:11
Speaker
Yeah, and it's somewhat unique to us because we were starting just in the state where we lived, which is Indiana. And we just had that unique challenge, which other businesses probably aren't likely to face, which is we didn't really have we didn't have any elections one year.
00:10:29
Speaker
um in Indiana. And so we had to expand. And so for us, when Kurt talks about the traveling, it was because the specialty we were in meant that we had to, you know, really expand and and do a lot of outreach, um which would be different than if you were serving your local community or, or if you could do your business online, then you need to find customers in a different way.
Scaling and Specializing in Political Campaigns
00:10:51
Speaker
um But for us, we had to go out and build more relationships face to face. And that required a lot of travel. um And so that was definitely, definitely an early, an early challenge as we expanded beyond just our home state to doing work all across the country.
00:11:07
Speaker
um Okay, so let's still look at your early days in business. um What are some of the key strategies or decisions that help you skill your company in its early days?
00:11:20
Speaker
You know, ah you've got to focus from the very beginning on creating process and having ah scalable ways to serve customers. you That was one of the first things we ran into is you go out and you you pitch clients for it for for your, you know, the challenge was first, we got to find clients. Then you get a few clients and you realize we don't really have a good process to serve them.
00:11:49
Speaker
And ah it was like every time we served a new client, we were rebuilding the machine over again. And getting a clear process, standard operating procedures and the like was absolutely essential.
00:12:05
Speaker
to scaling early. And I think entrepreneurs sometimes miss this, you know, particularly because the first problem creates a second problem. And you're you're eager for customers and clients. And so you'll take anything and everything, which means you're you're stuck rebuilding the machine for every client and you're not really honing down on, okay, what can we put a good process behind and what are we excellent at?
00:12:32
Speaker
um So getting process. And the second thing, is I think picking a niche. you know If we've done one thing right as an agency, is that we decided we weren't going to try to be the marketing firm for everyone.
00:12:46
Speaker
you know One of the things we talk about in our book we ah we call Liberty Spenders is this idea that you can be... something to someone versus trying to be everything to no one and it's so much better of a strategy to say i am gonna as a marketing agency we said we're gonna do political campaigns We're going to do Republican political campaigns, and that's what we're going to be world-class at. We're not going to be pitching a local plumber on promoting their business. We're not going to be trying to sell pharmaceuticals or or anything like that. We're not going to get tempted by that stuff. We're going to become world-class in our one area.
00:13:24
Speaker
And if we made one decision right, that was it. Because in just a few short years, we were able to say that very thing, that we were a top two, three, four firm in that space.
00:13:35
Speaker
and and And that really helped to scale the business. Yeah. And any business owner in any industry, that's a great lesson is just to think about, you know, what do you want to be great at and focus on that? Where are your passionate, you know, where your skills lie? Or or if you have a team, um you know, what's unique? what What are your unique abilities that you could put together? and And the more you can hone in on that, which is really hard to do. a lot of entrepreneurs, we like to chase a lot of opportunities. We see ways to make money.
00:14:07
Speaker
And the more you can be disciplined about that, it makes it easier to have success, I think. Okay, so you've touched on a number of key lessons you've picked up along the line.
Hiring and Building Industry Relationships
00:14:19
Speaker
But I still want us to delve a bit deeper into lessons you've picked up over the years. You've been in business for 18 good years, 18 solid years.
00:14:31
Speaker
So what are some of the useful lessons you've picked up along the line that you'd like to share with my audience today? you'll You'll never go wrong paying a little more money to hire the best employee over the cheaper one that isn't as good.
00:14:49
Speaker
I've never regretted hiring somebody amazing. um I have regretted over the years compromising and hiring somebody who wasn't ready for the role.
00:15:00
Speaker
Similarly, I've never really regretted letting somebody go. Usually my instincts are good when it's just not a good fit. And it's it's important as a business owner to realize that um ah you're you're you're so a lot of times you're doing somebody a favor when you when you let them know that it's not working out for them here at your business and they would probably thrive better elsewhere. And I've had a lot of people...
00:15:25
Speaker
through the years who we let go, who came back and said, yeah, I'm glad to you. i didn't want to quit. I didn't want to be disloyal. I wanted to stay. and And it was you who encouraged me to spread my wings yeah and were very happy. So I think getting good employees and not being afraid if there's some people just aren't fitting anymore to to let them go, that's a lesson I've had to learn over and over and over again ah would be ah another one I would share.
00:15:53
Speaker
Yeah, that's a good one.
00:15:56
Speaker
All right. So let's talk a bit more about digital marketing, what do you do best. um Digital marketing as a concept is constantly evolving um and and and you've been in business for quite some time. How do you stay ahead of industry trends and ensure that your strategies remain innovative and also effective for your clients?
00:16:20
Speaker
but You got to love it. Right. I mean, you got to be interested in it. and And no matter what business you're in, you've got to be interested in it. and ah And you really have to be OK talking to other people in your industry, even people who are your competitors.
00:16:34
Speaker
Yes, that is a big one. yeah And you know we've developed good, positive relationships with people we compete with. We try to be friendly. you know Sometimes we're going after the same customers and clients, but those are some of the best people.
00:16:48
Speaker
And the way I like to think about innovation in our space is you want to follow the quickest innovator.
Strategies in Digital Marketing Innovation
00:16:57
Speaker
ah versus being the first one to try it has been my experience. So, ah and the reason is the first one gets their head lopped off. It's a second one who succeeds, right? It's the first one who makes the mistake.
00:17:11
Speaker
And so we like to encourage our clients to pay attention to the trends, And be be really ah ah ah really watching, but don't feel the need to be the first one to try the new social media platform the or the new thing.
00:17:26
Speaker
Be the guy who sees how but how it worked for the other person would be right behind him. Yeah, there's definitely some so strategic thought to that. um And depending on your business, you may feel like you're going to get an edge if you get there first.
00:17:41
Speaker
um And so I can see arguments where you may want to may want to try that. But in our experience and talking to other entrepreneurs and business owners in all different sectors,
00:17:54
Speaker
it's a common theme we've heard because ah we're so eager. Again, a lot of entrepreneurs are very quick decision makers. We like to try a lot of new things. And so it's exciting to try the new hot thing.
00:18:09
Speaker
um And the potential downside can be if you haven't really thought through what your actual strategy for executing that will be, or how are you going to measure success? And so um to Kurt's point, a lot of times what you see is Someone getting exciting about, again, some new tactic.
00:18:27
Speaker
ah You know, here's the new LinkedIn hack or the new funnel or, you know, are the new things we're going to try. um and There's nothing really, it's not bad necessarily to to experiment with those things and test.
00:18:41
Speaker
We always want you to experiment and test. um But don't necessarily just run to a new platform without thinking through how you're going to um deliver or at least measure success. And so um we like to test, iterate, innovate, and it's a process.
00:18:57
Speaker
And by having a process and trying to be disciplined about it, you keep yourself from being too tempted to just go off in 10 directions at once, which is sometimes tempting to do.
Consumer Trust and Value Alignment
00:19:08
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. so So for a business owner who who who may be new to digital marketing, what are some of the key strategies you recommend they focus on first as they drive their growth and also visibility?
00:19:27
Speaker
Well, our our latest passion has really been about um being authentic and building trust with your customers. um You know, somebody else said this, and we were just talking about this with someone else about how um we're not starving for information, we're starving for truth.
00:19:44
Speaker
And I think right now... um There's a lot of distrust in brands and government and institutions. And so, you know, what consumers are really looking for is they're looking to do business with, you they're using to do business with brands that they feel like are authentic, that align with their values. And so what we've been talking to people about more so is conviction-driven marketing.
00:20:10
Speaker
And instead of putting all of your emphasis on just the latest tactic, um you know, here's this new hook I'm going to try, or I'm going to test my copywriting or adjust my funnel to try these new things. um We're talking about messaging at a deep level and attracting customers based on aligning with their values. um And really a good example of that is, um,
00:20:35
Speaker
You know, brands that are connecting on something else they stand for. um They might be donating a portion of their proceeds or a portion of their profits to an organization. And these are messages that resonate at a deeper level and they help you build more of a loyal audience.
00:20:52
Speaker
So I know it's not quite the answer you were probably thinking you were going to get, but um we've really been talking to clients about this because, you know, it's not as hard to get attention, um but we're just deluged.
00:21:04
Speaker
There's all these platforms. Our attention spans are short. um And so if you put all of your energy in just how do i grab eyeballs, um it just doesn't work like it did years, you know, not even just a few years ago. And so we instead have been trying to, you know, encourage our customers to think about building trust, building up a story and a brand and having a relationship with customers um and instead of just a quick hit transaction.
00:21:33
Speaker
Okay. um So social media is evolving and, and, and, and What are some of the current trends or changes in social media marketing that you want entrepreneurs to be aware of as they keep their businesses competitive?
00:21:52
Speaker
Well, social media these days is about video yeah and being good at video and understanding how to use a platform like Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts or TikTok if if you live in a country that is not banned from Instagram.
00:22:11
Speaker
And so to really understand it, it's ah to really to to put it in a nutshell, a good social media program is based on making good videos. And I would reiterate what Kristen said. Those videos need to be authentic to you and who you are.
00:22:30
Speaker
I think they need to tap into a customer's values and convictions, and they need to create some value in and of themselves. ah Give customers like some content that they would listen to, even if they weren't interested in buying your product or service, and and use that to build trust via social media. So your outcome is at more audience level.
00:22:53
Speaker
that's a That's a leading indicator. Your outcome is a group of people in your audience that absolutely and without question trust that what you what you're saying is true and authentic.
00:23:04
Speaker
And then they're open to a marketing message. and And Kristen nailed it on the head. She said exactly what I was going to say if I had picked it up. It's... um Right now, customers aren't believing what they see on television. They don't believe what they see on social media anymore.
00:23:21
Speaker
ah They don't know who to trust. You need to be a trusting ah trusted advisor, somebody they believe in, they support. And so it means you end up having to talk about things like what your convictions, what are your values? And you're often touching on topics like religion and politics because these are the things that are just core to a ah ah potential customer and connecting with them on a bigger level.
00:23:47
Speaker
We know that 62% of all American consumers today say they've, ah they've either bought or switched products because they found that their company they were doing business with, they didn't feel aligned with. So,
00:24:00
Speaker
And what I think social media, I think big picture videos that help create trust in a consumer. And a lot of the other facts are are negotiable.
00:24:11
Speaker
Quality, how professional they are, are they funny, are they how are you dressed? All of those things are negotiable. What's not negotiable is is are you generating trust and creating value?
00:24:23
Speaker
Okay, let's still stay on this um i'm i' subject. i um What do you believe is the key to building a strong, long-term client relationship in this digital marketing space?
Strategic Marketing: Testing and Convictions
00:24:38
Speaker
Well, we are... we we are ah
00:24:45
Speaker
We are strategic thinkers is how I i look at it. We're strategic brand thinkers. If somebody approaches us and wants to talk to us about their marketing strategy, let's talk strategy and then let's decide tactics. So as a strategy is how are we going to talk about us who ourselves? Who are we targeting?
00:25:04
Speaker
Who's our best and most ideal customer? What makes us unique and different that can be defended in the marketplace? A tactic is how do we then use social media to communicate that? And so i I'm a big believer. i disappoint a lot of people. they they They want to come to me and talk to me about, well, how do I fix my website?
00:25:25
Speaker
Or what should I be putting on social media? Or which social media platform should I be using? And the answer is that's a tactical question that can't be answered properly without a strategic direction.
00:25:38
Speaker
And a lot of marketing firms, so the vanilla marketing firms out there You know, ah lot of them are, they're specialists, right? You can find firms that do search engine optimization or firms that are really good at YouTube marketing.
00:25:50
Speaker
And so they're a hammer and everything is a nail. So if you come to a marketing agency and say, look, I need a better digital marketing strategy, they're going to say, oh, we're YouTube experts. so Go with YouTube.
00:26:00
Speaker
Or we're SEO experts. Go with, you know, they're a hammer, you're a nail. and And there's no real strategic direction. And so we start with strategy first. and And we are ah really hot on what we think is ah the the biggest trend right now in the marketing, which in the in the market, which is connected with consumers beyond the you know ah features and benefits and beyond the value proposition, but on there on the level of trust and can you ah you know and on the level of their convictions. um once
00:26:34
Speaker
Once doing that, the the question of you know which social platform or how often do you post or how much money do you use to promote it, I think becomes more self-evident.
00:26:46
Speaker
Okay. um So marketing is often up about results. Clients want to see the results they will achieve with their marketing campaigns and drives. um But how do you ensure, working with clients, how do you ensure that strategies, your strategies align with each client's unique brand and goals rather than using a kind of a one-size-fits-all approach for all your clients?
00:27:12
Speaker
Well, actually one of the one of the topics we talk about in our book is seeking proof. ah and And what a lot of typical marketing agencies will do is they'll say, look, I think I got a good ad idea.
00:27:26
Speaker
And I've been doing this for 15 years, so let's do it. Right. And it's sort of let's operate from our guts. Right. And you know my experience is that ah our guts are often the wrong ah engine for making marketing decisions, that were we're better off if we test the content we're creating and ensure that it works with our audience. A good example of this from a political space is and We did ah we we do work for Senator Ted Cruz and um in Texas who who just run re-election.
00:28:04
Speaker
And a few years ago, about eight years ago now, he was running for He six years ago now he was running for a reelection and there was an ad he was running and it was talking about it had some feature about law enforcement and in the people he used in the ad were all Houston police officers.
00:28:25
Speaker
yeah Which is one city in Texas. when we When we tested the ad with people outside of Houston, it didn't do as well. And they felt like it wasn't relevant to them because we were featuring Houston police officers and not Dallas police officers or Austin police officers or San Antonio.
00:28:43
Speaker
And that's a subtlety we would have never picked up had we not taken the time to show the ad to an audience and get their opinions on it. So we're a big believer in proof. so that's one way we ensure that we get results is before we spend the money, let's prove that our our assets work. But the other joy of digital marketing is there's a ton of data available. And we've, through the years, built dashboards for our clients to show real-time results so we can recognize that.
00:29:10
Speaker
in real time, how things are going, what's working, what's not, what's not working, ah so that they know that, so our clients know where their money is going and how it's being spent and what results they're getting.
00:29:25
Speaker
Yeah. And just to ah so take you back on that, just for a just for a second, it just was the distinction Kurt was making, again, as we talked to so many um business owners, they're familiar with testing once they're running ads, especially with digital, because you can see how that's going. You can test ad sets against each other.
00:29:43
Speaker
And I just wanted to highlight that this is something new for a lot of people. is the concept of testing an ad before you put money behind it. And so there's technology that's available to do that.
00:29:55
Speaker
And it's really counterintuitive, I think, to a lot of people. They they think, why would I do that? um But it's a great way to know that your message is the right one and that it's actually going to be effective with your audience before you even spend a ah dollar on it. So I just wanted to highlight that because a lot of, um there's so much opportunity for quote testing and digital marketing, but it's usually, i mean, you're doing it with real money.
00:30:19
Speaker
So if you find out it's bad, yeah you have to spend a decent amount before you learn that. So we love to highlight that for people. Thank you so much. um I always always enjoy listening to examples of people, what they are doing. except So I'll still ask a question about another example you can share.
00:30:38
Speaker
So can you walk us through another example of a particular successful campaign you launched and what made that particular campaign stand out?
00:30:50
Speaker
You know, ah it in the U.S., ah for some context, ah when ah when a company owes you money, if you're a consumer and of an electrical ah utility, for example, and you move and the electrical utility owes you a refund, they can't find you.
00:31:09
Speaker
those utilities are required to send money they owe you to this, to the state in which they are headquartered. And then the state is, tries to find you to deliver money you're, ah you are owed. So, uh, it's called unclaimed property in the U S and, and, and many Americans are,
00:31:28
Speaker
just shocked to find out that there's money that's sitting for them in various states as you know general funds. ah But Indiana is pretty unique. This is the state we live in.
00:31:39
Speaker
They really work extra hard, probably harder than any other state, to try to find people who are owed money. And a few years back, we were um hired by them. And ah the idea um was how can we increase the amount of funds being returned to Hoosiers?
00:31:59
Speaker
And what we discovered was the previous marketing firm was doing a lot of things that maybe sounded attractive and interesting, but when the when the um when you actually looked at the numbers, weren't really producing the results. They were running ah statewide television advertisements. They were sponsoring NFL football games. They had a kiosk.
00:32:21
Speaker
ah in the airport ah where you could look up things. And you couldn't track in any way the results of those types of activities. so And so we reallocated and said,
00:32:35
Speaker
We know who it is that the state owes money to. Why can't we target them directly? So we targeted them digitally. We also targeted them with some old-fashioned methods, like we sent them a letter in the mail saying, you know, the state has some money here that's owed to you if you'll just call the office.
00:32:52
Speaker
In just a couple short years, we had actually doubled the amount of money that they were returning to Hoosiers. And it was just simply understanding how to efficiently spend marketing dollars. Let's not do the things that sound fun, that look good, but let's actually spend money and target the people we know are most relevant and most interested. And that was a real opportunity for for us to make them a so significantly more efficient. And by the way, we did it all while cutting their budget.
00:33:20
Speaker
Yeah.
00:33:23
Speaker
okay Not sexy, but it's amazing what you do when you just try to have some accountability and some measurement. Yes, yes. I guess that is also very important. okay yeah Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing this with
The Importance of Passion and Solving Real Problems
00:33:35
Speaker
us.
00:33:35
Speaker
so so So for an entrepreneur, particularly one who is looking at starting their own digital marketing agency, what would be one advice you would give to such an entrepreneur? Yes.
00:33:52
Speaker
I think I would give this advice to anyone ah starting a business, but, you know, Kurt mentioned about needing to be passionate about it. And I think that's just so true.
00:34:02
Speaker
You know, I, we, we talked about at the onset, our journey and that we weren't really, um, you know, focusing on marketing when we went to college, that wasn't really our, our emphasis.
00:34:14
Speaker
um But we found a way to connect our passion with our business. And so I just would give that advice to any ah new entrepreneur is that um if it's, if it's not a subject matter that you're passionate about, that's okay.
00:34:27
Speaker
Just figure out what about that business is going to make you passionate. So what is your why? And it needs to be beyond just making some money. It needs to be connected to what impact you're going to have.
00:34:38
Speaker
Are you trying to solve a problem in your industry? How how are you helping make your customers' lives better? um What is your big thing that you're working to achieve? And I think for someone who wants to get into marketing, um you still need to have that because you're helping other businesses achieve their vision, right? You're helping their client, either you know, your clients achieve that vision.
00:35:00
Speaker
And so figuring out what that is for you um is what's going to keep you motivated. It's what's going to keep you pushing to get better, to constantly improve um beyond just, oh, I made some money. That's great.
00:35:13
Speaker
You know, or I want to grow. I want to get to this level because I think, again, you know, entrepreneurship, it can be lonely. um You have a lot of burdens on you. You're really trying to um do right by your customers, by your employees, your team.
00:35:29
Speaker
And so it can feel, um it can be really challenging to stay in a good headspace and to have the right mindset. um to innovate and to grow and to keep moving forward. And so ah my advice is just to connect it, have a big why and go back to it regularly. You know, we spend time doing that on a regular basis. We set goals together.
00:35:49
Speaker
um We connect with what are we going to do with this money? If we reach this goal, what does that mean? What impact will we have? um How are we going to reward ourselves? But um visualizing that and i and being really connected with that, I think is so important because as you hinted at early on, there's so many challenges that you face along the way.
00:36:10
Speaker
New competitors, regulation, shifts in the market, shifts in your industry. um and so without that, it can be it can be a struggle at times. And i I would advise entrepreneurs to have clarity on the problem they're solving.
00:36:25
Speaker
um You know, businesses can't be self-justifying. you've You've got to have be solving ah a real problem for a real set of consumers, whatever that is, whether it's so businesses are or a folks buying a product.
00:36:42
Speaker
You've got to have a ah real problem. And if you're not finding people who who aren't in pain, right? ah about whatever it is you're solving, then you're you're barking up the wrong tree. you You have to have a... These customers need to be happy to hear from you because they you're you're there to solve their problem.
00:37:01
Speaker
And too many businesses start because they've got an idea, something that would be cool, but it doesn't really solve a problem that's really identified out in the market. Or maybe they're just trying to... you know, ah make a minor change to something that's already out in the market. But I would encourage people who are starting out to really connect with what's the problem we're trying to solve.
00:37:22
Speaker
Okay, we are
Prosper Group's Future Plans
00:37:23
Speaker
just about wrapping up our conversation. um But what's next for the Prosper Group? What should we expect in the coming years? Well, speaking of ah trying to stay atop of trends, you know ah we we have to do the same thing as well. And you know we've spent 18 years electing politicians as our primary niche, and we're still doing that work. But recently, we thought it's it's also time for us to innovate a little bit what we're doing. And so we've been working with more companies and brands right now, and we're bringing a little bit of what we learn.
00:38:00
Speaker
from politics to those brands. And we preach this concept to brands right now is that there is a $5 trillion dollar audience of people in the U.S. who, 76 and a half million people who are who really want to do business with brands who align with their conservative or Christian values.
00:38:22
Speaker
And that's just what that audience looks like in the U.S. I imagine that that's that trend is true internationally as well. where ah people are really looking to do business with brands that align with their values.
00:38:35
Speaker
and And so we have we have converted our political knowledge into how can we help a business align their convictions with this important audience and really grow ah really grow there their business, find new leads, and and and find loyal customers who want to stay with them for a very long time.
00:38:56
Speaker
Okay. So as co-founders and partners, um how do you ensure a healthy work-life balance? Do you have any specific routines or rituals you follow to keep your energy and creativity up?
00:39:09
Speaker
Yeah. The thing that comes to mind weirdly, which again might be a different answer than you're expected. um You know, as a person of faith,
00:39:21
Speaker
And I believe wholeheartedly that ah you know that i worship it ah I worship Jesus. He's my Savior. He is who I follow, right?
00:39:35
Speaker
And I find when it comes to balance, the thing that destroys my balance is when I set up some kind of counterfeit thing. idol that I'm worshiping in contrast to my faith. And what I mean by that is, as an entrepreneur, we can so easily fall into the trap of thinking that we need to succeed, that we need to be good at everything, we need to make a lot of money, because we need to prove somewhere deep inside ourselves that we're worthy.
00:40:04
Speaker
And then that that pursuit becomes an end in and of itself. And that is the most tiring thing. a human can deal with. That's been my experience. I have for various times in my life put so much weight on my business succeeding.
00:40:22
Speaker
And when I turn it into an idol and when I, I effectively make it the most important thing in my life, that every setback is a nightmare and, in at everything that goes wrong. And every time I don't make a sale, I feel like it means something about who I am as a human being. So my answer to work-life balance is understanding what's really important in life.
00:40:44
Speaker
When you do that, the balance thing is so much easier to maintain and things don't destroy you like they normally do. ah And so maybe that's a little off the wall answer. Maybe people are people mostly give an answer like, oh reserve time in the morning to do your you know, to meditate or something.
00:41:03
Speaker
But my answer is all that stuff is great, but it it's ah it's a poor substitute for just understanding what's important in life. And, you know, that's a lesson I've had to learn more than once.
00:41:17
Speaker
All right. So before we wrap up, um what would be your last words for our
Conclusion: Joy in the Entrepreneurial Journey
00:41:22
Speaker
audience? I'll start with Christine, then I come to you, Kent.
00:41:28
Speaker
Well, I just think what you're doing um and sharing entrepreneurs journeys and helping people find those insights. It was really great chatting with you before we started airing and getting a sense of your journey and how you've been successful even in just this podcast. And so I congratulate you. And I just think um ah my final words would just be, you know,
00:41:49
Speaker
Being an entrepreneur, it can be so rewarding. And we have such an opportunity to impact those around us, again, by being a good example in our communities, by being great leaders.
00:41:59
Speaker
um And that's hard. And so being willing to, to try the hard things um and to push he yourself is what makes the journey so beautiful and and so rewarding.
00:42:10
Speaker
Um, and I'll put in a final plug, which is just that if anything else we've been talking about is interesting to you, we really wanted to make this available to your listeners for free. So, um, if you want to read more about what we're up to, you can get access to it, um, at liberty spenders.com slash T E S. And you can download a free copy of the book if you're curious, but if not, I just congratulate you on what you're doing because we learn so much from each other.
00:42:35
Speaker
and um, I also, ah would encourage people to continue listening to what you're doing because I learned so much by talking to other entrepreneurs and other industries and it may not seem related, but I always find some little nugget.
00:42:50
Speaker
um And so I guess my advice is keep listening to podcasts like this. but Thank you. Thank you for that. How about you, Kit? Yeah, i I would say the fact that you call this the entrepreneurial journey um it is important because ah have found through the years, there's a lot of, the joy is really in the journey, not in the destination, which is something we tend to get wrong.
00:43:17
Speaker
And I look back on those days when we slept in the car and drove all over the country and ah were just little you know upstarts who didn't know much about anything.
00:43:30
Speaker
I look back on those days with fondness. And ah you know i I think that's something that a lot of other entrepreneurs will do. So if you're one of those early entrepreneurs starting your journey and feeling tired out by the whole thing, don't worry. These are the days you're going to look back on and think, boy, those were awesome days.
00:43:50
Speaker
All right. So thank you, Kent and Christine, for sharing your rich experience with us today on the Entrepreneur Speaks Podcast. We wish you the very best. Thank you again.
00:44:03
Speaker
So this has been another exciting episode of the Entrepreneur Speaks Podcast. I'll come your way next time with another inspiring and exciting episode. I remain your host, Kofi Animeju.
00:44:16
Speaker
As always, do take good care of yourself and let's continue to keep hope alive. Cheers. Please be sure to subscribe to the Entrepreneur Speaks podcast on all your favorite podcast channels. And if you have any questions or feedback, feel free to reach out to us on social media or in the comments section below.