Interview with Ivana Taylor (DIY Marketers)

Interview with Ivana Taylor, a small business and marketing expert.

by Rudly Raphael
CEO/Founder at Eyes4Research

Introducing Ivana Taylor

Ivana Taylor is the publisher of DIYMarketers.com and the host of the popular #BizapaloozaChat on Twitter where she reaches more than 2 million small business owners a week. She’s the co-author of Excel for Marketing Managers and the book editor for Small Business Trends.

Over the last 20 years, Ivana has created content for B2B brands that helps small business owners learn about and implement the latest low-cost marketing tools and strategies.

It’s 2015 and you have the superpower to predict what’s going to happen in 2022. What would you do differently and what advice or recommendations would you share with others?

As executives, we are always predicting. The real question is what mindset are we predicting from? If you’re predicting from a short-term, product-focused point of view, you’ll never get it right. If you’re predicting from a focus on your customer and what matters to them – you’ll be far more successful.

Dan Kennedy, the guru of direct marketing used to say, “Some people sell things so they can have customers, we have customers so we can sell them things.” If you keep your focus on the intersection of your organization’s vision (or your why) with what matters to your customers, predictions will be natural, organic, and effortless

How has your relationship with customers and employees changed in 2022 in comparison to past years?

I run a virtual team, so I’ve not really experienced much change during this pandemic disruption. I have noticed that many of the brands I work with (with larger, in-person teams) really struggled with the transition. Some struggled with managing technology and relationships virtually.

What is the first thing you do before you start your workday routine?

As a content marketer, routine is really important to me. I’m almost like Pavlov’s Dog – I start my day with a routine; I start the coffee, empty the dishwasher, and clean out my email and prioritize my activities for the day. This gives me open space to think about things, write, and explore new ideas.

What do you like and dislike about working remotely or from home?

I’ve been working from home for more than 20 years and I’ve always loved it. With regards to work, I find the most productive way to engage with people is online. Although, I also feel that in-person meetings are extremely important – especially for connecting on a more personal level.

What is your learning style and how does that impact your decision-making?

I like to say that I’m an interactive learner. I learn by engaging with other people, talking things through with experts, and letting those experts share their point-of-view with me. I suppose I learn by focus group.

What was the most formative (life-changing) experience of your career?

1. When I learned that there was more to segmentation than simple demographics.
2. The epiphany that competition or setting benchmarks based on your competitors is stupid.
3. The day I realized that you couldn’t pay me enough money to tolerate corporate stress and was basically unemployable.

What hobbies and interests outside of work have indirectly benefited your career?

I’d like to know what this is too.

What is your definition of success?

Waking up in the morning, taking a breath, walking, showering, and getting on with the day. Asking myself what I’m worried about – and when my worries are “self-actualizing” worries, I think – you are successful. Success is a story. Somewhere along the way many of us decided that success was money or stuff. I’ve gotten away from that. When I realized that you couldn’t pay me enough money to deal with certain people – I realized that my success went way beyond money.

Has there been a time when you trusted your instinct over data to make an important decision? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Remember playing “eenie-meenie-miney-mo”? And when you landed on an outcome you didn’t like, you’d keep going… “My mother said to pick the best one and you are the one to be it…” – or something like that. That’s my test. If the data says one thing and I keep looking for more, that tells me that my instinct (which I like to call turbo-logic) sees something unconsciously that I haven’t thought about. So I take the time to explore what’s going on there. Usually, I’ll explore what’s underneath, like what is it about these results that I don’t like or don’t agree with and why.

Conclusion

Given all she’s done in the space, as I conclude my interview with Ivana, I realize she has a lot more wisdom to share with small business owners. This interview shows that experience and the willingness to learn are influential tools that can play a big part in your business.