Q&A with Creative Entrepreneur, Haley Burkhead

Haley Burkhead is a marketing stylist who founded the company Market Beautifully + is the host of the Market Beautifully podcast. Here's what she had to say about running a successful online business and podcast. 

Can you tell our readers about your background?

I started a fashion blog when I was 17 years old and after spending years building it up to where I was getting consistent monthly income, I discovered the design and marketing portion was more my jam. So I took action, received my bachelors in web design and interactive media, starting a web design agency which has morphed into a boutique-style marketing agency with a 4-person team behind the scenes.

What inspired you to start your business?

I had absolutely no passion for what I was doing until my at-the-time boyfriend pointed out how miserable I was with my direction in life. I evaluated what brought me joy, which was designing websites (and now creating marketing plans, podcasting, coaching, etc.) and decided to take that joy and bring joy to others through my services.

Where is your business based?

My business is all online and my team works remotely as well. I have a dedicated room in my home that is my office where I work out of!

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

I built myself a website. There is something about seeing your face, your name, and your brand come to life and attached to a URL that just makes everything so very real. Once I started providing valuable and free content my business picked up which consistently brought potential clients through to my inbox.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

The Market Beautifully Podcast is by far what has brought me the most awareness and what I am known for. Running a podcast has been such an adventure that I would never give up, paid or not. Through this show, I have been able to bring on some amazing leaders to discuss marketing who are now close friends. I always suggest thinking of your business as a media company because having attention and an engaged audience leads to consistent revenue.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

Loneliness is a struggle. Where I am from and currently live there are not many entrepreneurial people in this area since it is a small town in Arkansas. I have fantastic business friends that are total bosses online as well as a mastermind that I am involved in yet I would still love to meet up in person with other business owners who think similar to me. There is a lot of power in surrounding yourself with like-minded people and that has been a big challenge for me as a business owner!

How do you stay focused?

This is a fantastic question and a question I get asked a lot on Instagram. One of the verticals I am known for online is my ability to stay at a high-level of productivity throughout the day by using Asana.com. Asana is the backbone of my entire business and without this free project management tool, I would not have been able to scale as quickly as I have or stay as focused throughout the day.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

My mission is to make sure that every single person that follows me never feels overlooked. I hate that feeling as many do and should.

Have you ever followed a business or brand and feel as if you don’t fit in or your voice doesn’t matter? I decided very early on that I would never make anyone that follows my brand feel that way. This is an approach that can be time-consuming at times but I believe it not only sets me apart but makes a difference in other’s lives which accomplish my end goal.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Live video has been an awesome marketing strategy lately as I am scaling my business. All the ladies that follow me on Instagram are always so interactive and engaged which is always a blast! I love how live video breaks down a lot of barriers between us, as the business owner, and our audiences. Because of this online barrier being discarded, you are able to connect and lead viewers with a call to action to the next step in your sales process.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Go for it. Do not overthink anything, just start. There are so many decisions that can easily paralyze you and I encourage you, the aspiring entrepreneur, to not let that get in the way. You have an amazing message, product, or service to offer the world and I would hate to know that you let your mindset, decision overload, or anything get in your way of sharing that.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

My favorite book is "Expert Secrets" by Russell Brunson. Wow, this book really helped me with my mindset and the way I was approaching my community. After finish this book, I was able to connect with my audience on such a deeper level based on his theories on psychology and customer behavior.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

Asana, hands down. Asana is a free project management tool that I ended up building a program around because my audience was so obsessed with my color-coded calendar and system that I had set up. Asana is, like I said before, the backbone of my business.

Who is your business role model? Why?

Gary Vaynerchuk is one of my favorite business role models. Despite his extreme behavior and intensity, I am drawn to not only what he says, but how he processes his thoughts. His mindset about business and marketing really intrigues me why is why I would consider him my business role model.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

The most exciting project I plan on completing in the next six months or year is outlining my new book. I am so ready to get started mapping everything out and watching this come to life!

How can our readers connect with you?

We can chat every Monday on the Market Beautifully podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google play, or just ask your echo “Alexa, play the Market Beautifully podcast” and she will pull up the latest episode for you. (http://marketbeautifully.com/itunes)

Other than the podcast, Instagram @marketbeautifully is a fun place to be and I respond to every DM so come say hi!