One unwritten rule I've never followed is the idea that brands should stay apolitical—that we should keep quiet, play nice, and avoid ruffling feathers for fear of losing customers. At Here I Am, we reject that entirely. We speak out, especially in light of the cruelty and lawlessness of the current administration, because women's well-being is political. Our bodies, our families, our rights, and our mental health are constantly being legislated. To stay silent would be to abandon the very people we claim to serve. We also reject the myth of scarcity—the idea that success is a solo climb to the top of some imaginary heap. Our entire business is built in partnership with women-owned small businesses. We've formed a vibrant, values-driven community of female founders who are more interested in uplifting one another than competing for limited visibility. We trade resources, celebrate each other's wins, and continue to show up for our customers and one another. Being outspoken and collaborative hasn't hurt our brand—it's clarified it. It's allowed us to build trust with people who care about integrity and alignment. In a world that constantly tells women to shrink or smooth their edges, we've built a business that insists: show up fully, tell the truth, and bring your people with you.
One unwritten rule I've intentionally ignored is the idea that "the client always comes first." I believe in a team-first approach. The most common result of this is that I'll fire clients who treat my team poorly. I'll believe and protect my team before I bend to a client's version of the story and I hold a high bar for all stakeholders in my company - myself, prospects, clients, team and vendors. It's far too common, in my opinion, that businesses accept poor client behavior in the name of money and I don't feel that's right, at least for me. This mindset has built an incredibly loyal, high-performing team, and as a result, our clients get better outcomes. When your team feels safe, supported, and proud to show up, the quality of work and care they put in is unmatched. I've found that putting my team first is actually what allows us to deliver five-star service, because no one's burning out to please the wrong people.
Having worked in marketing for 30+ years, seen the evolution of social media marketing and trained thousands of social media managers, there's one rule we stand by that most don't even realise exists. Most people know the rule of 1: one message to one person etc. but when it comes to social media marketing, we expand the rule of 1 to include one outcome per post. Everyone uses social media differently, some for networking, others for entertainment etc. but there's one thing most people have in common. They'll typically only take one action on a post. Eg like or share, comment or click a link etc. So when we're marketing our business (and our clients) we create every post with a single outcome in mind. It makes content easier to create and analytics easier to interpret. Plus it means you're more likely to get the result you want!
As a real estate attorney, the traditional rulebook says to stay buttoned-up, not show vulnerability, not share your personal life with clients, or discuss mindset or mental health issues with clients or staff. But I threw that out. I have found that sharing your personal story has helped and benefited my business and career 10 fold. It creates connection, and trust. Clients can relate and share their stories. Sharing these stories has helped with hiring, interviewees will open up and discuss their journey, their personal stories, and helps tremendously with getting to know each person. Transparency turns followers into clients and makes business magnetic.
CEO at Digital Web Solutions
Answered 7 months ago
I ignore the assumption that growth always means adding headcount, expanding space or scaling complexity. We focus on depth, increasing profit per client, improving lifetime value and delivering more with less. Growth for us is about clarity not size and that distinction changed everything. Bigger is not always better if the stress and systems crumble under weight. We now turn down deals that do not align with our margins or internal capacity goals. Instead of growing fast, we grow well intentionally and with structure behind every decision. That discipline has helped us retain our team and protect our creative culture. Growth should feel like alignment not exhaustion or chaos dressed up as success.