“Influencers built Freshly Picked,” says Susan Petersen, of her company that is one of the most recognizable names in the baby space. In 2009, after making a few pairs of moccasins for her son Gus, and featuring them on her then-struggling blog, she immediately got attention from potential customers and began building a following. Five years later, an appearance on NBC’s “Shark Tank” would prove pivotal to getting major attention not only from a whole new audience,  which helped push Freshly Picked into stores like Nordstrom.  Throughout this episode Susan shares some key takeaways:

• Attention is momentum, and when you get too much too soon, it can be difficult to know how to best utilize it for your business.
• When everyone is going after the same customer,  finding a way to work together with like minded businesses is what is most meaningful.
• When you host events for influencers that are relevant to your space, make it fun and let it speak to the foundation of your brand. Naturally, attendees will share it and post about it.
• Relationships are key to growing your business and should be prioritized over contracts. 

When first starting your business, it is hard to gain momentum quickly. But the best way to grow and scale any company is to prioritize relationships first. Today, Susan shares what she’s learned from her experiences, and how she’s become a better boss, business owner, and overall human being.

Quotes

• “Good marketing is all about reciprocity. At the end of the day we’re all going after the same customer, so if there’s a way that your business and our business can work together, to me that’s most meaningful.” (16:09-16:25 | Susan)

• “I believe in relationships before contracts.” (16:25-16:28 | Susan)

• “Gaining a following, and being out there for public consumption, is very lonely. When you start becoming successful at anything, you lose meaningful conversations with people you love. There are a lot of conversations I can’t have with my sister. I’m not talking to her about my P&L.” (22:20-22:53 | Susan)

• “Balance is just straight up bullshit, and the world will try to get you to buy into that. Don’t buy into it.” (42:18-42:24 | Susan)

Connect with Susan Petersen:

Instagram | http://www.instagram.com/susan.m.petersen

Website |  http://www.freshlypicked.com

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