IAM1146- Founder Helps Clients Build Powerful Marketing Models

Monica founded Marketsmith, Inc. in 1999, on the idea that technology and humanity are inextricably linked when it comes to creating successful consumer-centric marketing. Her mission then, as now, was to provide clients with the most advanced tools to build powerful marketing models that mitigate risk, maximize ROI, and drive growth. She drove Marketsmith, Inc. to be one of the largest women-owned and operated independent media and marketing agencies in the country. She is considered one of the strongest active CEOs in media today—especially in omnichannel media strategy that drives retail success. Powered by diverse subject matter experts who share Monica’s growth mindset, Marketsmith has become one of the premier match agencies in the U.S. with a collection of patents and awards to boot.

• • CEO Hack: Microsoft teams
  • CEO Nugget: Make sure you have the right team around you
  • CEO Defined: The ultimate leader

Website: https://monicacsmithspeaks.com/

https://www.marketsmithinc.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marketsmithinc/

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Transcription

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00:14 – Intro

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO podcast.

00:42 – Gresham Harkless

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Monica Smith of MarketSmith, Inc. Monica, it's great to have you on the show.

00:50 – Monica Smith

Hey Gresham, it's good to be here. Thank you so much.

00:53 – Gresham Harkless

Thank you for taking some time out. I'm super excited to have you on the show. And before we jump into the interview, I want to read a little bit more about Monica so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. And Monica founded MarketSmith, Inc. In 1999 on the idea that technology and humanity are inextricably linked when it comes to creating successful consumer-centric marketing.

Her mission then as now was to provide clients with the most advanced tools to build powerful marketing models that mitigate risk, maximize ROI, and drive growth. She drove Market Smith, Inc. To be one of the largest women-owned, operated independent media and marketing agencies in the country, and she is considered one of the strongest active CEOs in media today, especially in omnichannel marketing strategy, marketing media strategy that drives retail success.

Empowered by diverse subject matter experts who share Monica's growth mindset, MarketSmith has become one of the premier MarTech agencies in the US with a collection of patents and awards to boot. Monica, super excited to hear about all your success and even more excited to have you on the show. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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01:51 – Monica Smith

I am, I am Gresham, so thank you.

01:54 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely, thank you. And to kick everything off, I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit and hear a little bit more about how you got started, what I call your CEO story.

02:01 – Monica Smith

So I think that you know, I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I didn't know exactly what that meant. I just saw a bunch of folks that, you know, mostly men, right, strike out on their own and create things that were really important to the nation, right? And eventually to the world. I wanted something to do with that. So, you know, whether it was my own landscaping business or ice cream route, you know, just those things that kids do.

All of that, that money in my pocket and not having to ask my parents, for some change really resonated with me. So fast forward, I had a chance that when I got out of college, I had a lot of entrepreneurial opportunities that were great. one great company after another. And this is in the 90s, which was a really interesting time for business. It was really where brands really started to rise. And I tried my hand, like a classic entrepreneur, for two years. And then I hit a place where I was doing extraordinarily well but decided that it was really important for me to, come out and tell my story.

And I fell in love with a woman at the time, which wasn't probably great for my career. And it wasn't great because this was, don't forget this was the exact same time really that Matthew Shepard had been killed, right? So it was, it was not the ideal time in business, it was just not, you know, so I decided at that moment when I was fired. And it wasn't as pretty as you're fired for that, right? It was really subterfuge on what actually created the confrontation that created that moment. But I just didn't want to have that confrontation again. I really want to, I love the idea of overseeing people. I had great relationships with their bosses.

I just was different. I knew I was different. Not just because I just wanted to move things faster. That's a classic entrepreneur. And to be honest with you, a true CEO wants to move things through. So I tried my hand at that and that was, that was 20-something years ago, 22 years ago. And here I am today, starting out in a bedroom in my home. And today we've got a great staff and doing some good things, working for some extraordinarily fantastic brands. So I'm very fortunate.

04:39 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And you're definitely fortunate for everything you're being able to do and to take that baton or the torch, so to speak, and to run with it as well too. Because I think so many times we forget that when we lean into who we are and stay true to who we are, especially too, not only is it really hopefully great for us, but also impacts and creates a lot of motivation and reminder to us individually, all of us individually as well too, to kind of lean into ourselves and be true to ourselves.

05:04 – Monica Smith

Well, I think it helps you make it, I think from a CEO perspective, I believe that it has been essential to me becoming the leader I am today. Because, you know, you don't, oh, you don't, it's not like, oh, you decide that you've come into your own and you know, you wake up. What happens is it's a journey you're on. When a CEO realizes they're on a journey it doesn't happen overnight either. But when you realize that, then you can look around yourself and say, all of these individuals are on a journey.

And the ones that are not, those are the ones you have to sit there and say, is this a place for them? And then you sit there and say, okay, you know, you have the ability to see people for where they are and who they are and what they want for themselves. And when you have a good understanding of that, seeing people pass what you think they should look like or be like or act like.

When you get past that and you see people exactly for where they are, who they are, and where they want to go, you become almost unstoppable as a CEO. Yeah. And I think There's a really a lot of good examples out there, right? That talk, I mean, Tim Cook and you know, you see a bunch of folks now that are just really embracing that moment and we as CEOs no longer have to follow this idea that everybody's supposed to fit in this box. That box has been broken open. So I think it's an amazing time to be a CEO right now.

06:37 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And I appreciate you for doing that. And of course, sharing that as well too, because I often say, if you run your own race, you can never lose. And I think We in business sometimes forget about that human aspect of seeing people as individuals, of trying not to put people into boxes and say, you need to be this or you need to be that, you need to be right or you need to be left.

You really get the opportunity to be true you are. And then the true, truly successful, I should say, CEO or entrepreneur, business owner, whatever title it might be, is able to kind of understand that we are in the human business, we are in the relationship connection business to start to build and grow the business according to the people that are within it.

07:10 – Monica Smith

That's right.

07:11 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I know you've been able to reach loads of success with MarketSmith, Inc. So I wanted to drill down and hear a little bit more on how you've been able to do that, what that looks like in terms of you working with clients and serving them.

07:22 – Monica Smith

Question that, you know, I like to tell people that I'm the oldest contestant on American Idol. Like, you know what to me, it's like, I didn't get here overnight. It wasn't this complete skyrocket to the top. But I did enjoy incrementally and still do incremental success every single year. That is because as a CEO, I'm running a very large company that supports significant brands nationally. And there's a lot of media dollars that run through my shop. So that's one aspect of it.

But, you know, entrepreneurially, you know, there is something to be said about continuing to beat yourself year over year, taking the next big leap, what's that risk, what's the reward, what it, and you know, what's interesting, and I'm thinking about, you know, some of the things that you've been doing and speaking over on your podcast for it. And it's some of your interviews. And one thing that struck me that I thought was important was when I had finally reached a real significant level of success. And it wasn't overnight.

Like I said, it was taking years and years and years. I didn't know I had gotten it. And it wasn't until I got knocked down, right? For whatever reason, you know, lost me, I, you know, you can't control everything. one, you learn, first of all, that you are not in control. The second is that the marketplace and the landscape, the larger you get, the more risk you take on. I thought, oh, this is the way it goes.

I was on a great streak and he just, and when I was at a really high level of success and I had not educated myself on where I had gotten to, it hurts to fall backward and to kind of rebuild. Now we've rebuilt again, and I didn't have that, but rebuilding 20% of your business is not easy when the average agency, the average growth is expected to be somewhere between 3% and 6%. So double digits is hard, It is so hard.

And so whether you're a CEO of your own company or a CEO of somebody else's company, public or private, you have to give props to yourself when you're taking something, no matter whether you got it to someplace and it fell back a little bit, or whether you were taking over from somebody that couldn't take it to the next level, one way or the other, it is hard. And it is really hard in this landscape that used to change, right, every 3 to 5 years.

Right, We're already planning for potentially with the resurgence of COVID again, a whole nother change. So when you can't even say 18 months like the average life of a CMO is 18 months, right? 18, 24 months. Used to say, okay, at least CEOs and presidents had that amount of time to try to figure out whether or not that's out the window. Right now, a CEO is on the field, calling plays more so than at any other time in history, I think. And I can't think back at any story where I could sit there and say, the CEO was not more in play than they are right now.

10:44 – Gresham Harkless

I love that you've been able to do that. Would you consider that to be like what I like to call your secret sauce, the thing you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique, it could be yourself personally or the business, or a combination of both. But is it that, I guess human-centric aspect that you've made it a point to incorporate more into the business, but also like the ability to be hit with sometimes things that don't go according to plan and be able to kind of, you know, say, okay, I'm going to make these decisions and take a step forward anyway.

11:09 – Monica Smith

I have always, and it could be because, you know, just my gender, I always wanted, you know, giving back was something that I thought was important. But all of the, you know, it's a very simple thing for me. For those who have given much, much is expected.

11:25 – Gresham Harkless

Truly appreciate that. And I wanted to switch gears a little bit. I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

11:35 – Monica Smith

Well, I think that I think I mentioned it earlier. If you have Microsoft Teams and you have spare moments before you get into your reading or your email and all that, If you're able to see folks that are green in downtimes or off hours, I would focus on those folks first.

11:55 – Gresham Harkless

I love that. Hack it. And so I wanted to ask you now for what I call CEO nugget. So this could be a word of wisdom or piece of advice and might be something you would tell a client or if you happen to be a time machine you might tell your younger business elf.

12:07 – Monica Smith

Well, what I would tell people about just specifically is that if marketing or running your business or like the horse races were easy, everybody would be doing those things, right? Everybody, if marketing was easy, everybody would spend money wildly and then all of a sudden great things happen. If horse racing were easy, everybody would just be gambling, and then all of a sudden I learned that from my grandfather used to sell butter.

And so, you know, the reality is, is that owning a business, and building a brand are difficult things. And just because you trying or just because you're spending money doesn't mean you get to where you're going. And so I try to tell people, just make sure that you've got the right team around you. Shoot for the stars. But as you learn in your mind, everything is perfect. As the reality starts to inform your mind, make sure your mind is listening.

13:08 – Gresham Harkless

That's extremely powerful. I absolutely love that. And I think, you know, when you're able to kind of, you know, stay present according to that, but also be aware of the process and the path that it takes and how it's not easy where everybody would be doing it and everybody would be excelling at it on top of that, then I think it's something that you, for one, get to embrace the journey, but also get to celebrate the wins and the parts of the journey as well too, when you do get those wins. And so I wanna ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on the show. So Monica, what does being a CEO mean to you?

13:38 – Monica Smith

A CEO is the ultimate leader. However, you see that leadership is such an important role. And CEOs who have the title and that are active, and CEOs who have the title and that are not active, all should realize that CEOs are important in today's community, are vital in the economy. And what I have learned is people look up to us in ways that we could have never thought about before. And so If you have that title, recognize that you are very, very important to all the people that are in your business model, whether it's your own or not. That is an awesome responsibility, more so today than ever before.

14:31 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Well, Monica, truly appreciate that definition and I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do was just pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know. And of course, how best they can get ahold of you and find out about all the awesome things that you're working on.

14:45 – Monica Smith

Thanks, Gretchen. I appreciate this time. It was wonderful. And I love the fact that you were really able to and I admire the fact that you can take those nuggets of people that all those words that people say find really what that nugget is. So I'm going to continue to listen to you, So I appreciate you very much your time, but people can reach out to me at Msmith at marketsmithinc.com or Monica C Smith on LinkedIn or Google me.

I return every single call and email that I get, even if it's a bot, that's for those lead gems because I think it's important. If you want the universe to respond back to you, you have to be open to the universe. So that's what I'll do. And I think that for anybody who is looking for growth strategies, I'd be more than happy to introduce my team who is really doing great things for companies like Exporting Goods and Game Changer, Lovesack, Shark Ninja, Ruther, and Blue Mercury. And we're just so grateful for all of our clients and so we'd love to be able to work with anybody who needs it right now. Our health.

15:54 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well Monica, truly grateful to you for taking some time out and making a dent in an impact in the universe and the world with so many people. We will definitely have the links and information in the show notes, but I appreciate you reminding us and of course showing us how to be more human-centric and how to remind ourselves of how important that is for ourselves, but also for our team members and their families and in the world as a whole. So thank you so much again, appreciate you. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

16:19 – Outro