MARKETING.
MADE OBVIOUS.
You know your business. Let's build the marketing and brand strategy to match.
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Helping small businesses and hospitality brands tell their story, reach the right people, and keep them coming back.
"After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world."
-Philip Pullman
Sound Familiar?
You've built something you're proud of. But the marketing? It's the thing that keeps getting pushed to next week. The website's half-done. The email list is collecting dust. Instagram feels like a second job. You know your story matters, you're just too close to it, or too busy running the business, to pin it down and get it out there.
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That's where I come in. You bring the vision, I'll shape it into a plan that's clear, doable, and actually gets out there.
Three ways I can help.
Marketing Partner.
I lead your marketing, you run the business.
I take the lead on your marketing and make sure it all gets done, directing your team or bringing in the right specialists, while you focus on the business.
On Call.
Ongoing guidance, month to month.
Your marketing person without the full-time hire. We build the plan together and I help you steer it, so you always know your next move.
Find Your Story.
A focused project.
We turn your vision into a clear, actionable marketing plan you can put to work right away.
How I work.
We start with an honest conversation.
Before anything else, you tell me what you think you need, and I'll tell you what I actually see. If I can help, I'll show you how. If I'm not the right fit, I'll tell you that too, and point you toward someone who is. No charge, no pitch, no pressure. Just a straight answer.
No two businesses want the same thing, so I don't hand you a one-size-fits-all scorecard. Up front, we agree on what success looks like for you, more of the right customers, stronger repeat business, a brand people remember, and how we'll track it. Every month, you'll see exactly what's working. You'll always know what your marketing is doing.
Then we make it measurable.
Good Questions.
Clear Answers.
Hi, I'm Deb.
I've spent more than twenty years in hospitality marketing, twelve of them with the TAO Group, where I helped grow the company from a couple of venues into a global name, and the last several as a Chief Marketing Officer steering a hospitality group through one of the hardest stretches our industry has ever seen.
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What I've learned is that the fundamentals don't change. A great business needs the right people to understand what makes it special, and to keep coming back. My job is to help you say that clearly, and to stay calm and steady while we figure it out together.
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Honestly, it's just how I'm built. I'm the friend you show your website to, the one who can't help but tell you the truth, kindly, but I'll tell you. Not long ago someone whose work I love asked what I thought of her site. There wasn't a single photo of her anywhere on it. I told her: you are the business, people need to see you. She made that one change, and it made all the difference. That's the whole job, really, helping you see what you're too close to see, and making it real.
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I'm based in Portland, but I work with businesses wherever they are, some brand new, some long-established, all run by people who genuinely care about what they do. If that's you, let's start with an honest conversation.
Happy Clients.
Chef Antonia Lofaso
"Deb understands restaurants from the inside. She knows what it takes to fill a room, and she never loses sight of the people who built it. She finds the story you didn’t know how to tell, and she tells it better than you could have. She’s honest, she’s dedicated, and she actually gets it."
“Taking over an existing business and giving it a new name is harder than it looks. There’s history, there are regulars, and there’s a lot that can go wrong. Deb helped me launch 1610 Garage and walked me through the ownership transition and the name change with a steady hand. She knew what to say, who to say it to, and when. We opened with momentum instead of confusion, and I never once felt like I was figuring it out alone."
Brian Milosavljevic -
Owner 1610 Garage Montecito