Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Raj.
Hi Samantha, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have worked in the marketing and advertising Industry for over 15 years. I’ve always been fascinated in the space and working for some of the largest agencies and with some of the most recognized brands has been such an amazing treat. In 2024. I was laid off due to budgetary reasons from an ad agency, and that is what really catapulted me into starting my own business.
It has been so rewarding to take my skills and expertise that I have used with large brands at large agencies and bring that to smaller businesses and teams who need that level of skill to build their brands and revamp their businesses.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There is no guidebook into how to start your own business. Every day there is a new challenge to face, especially when you are the only employee. Everything depends on you so you have to set the tone and disciplined for yourself and your business in order to be successful.
Thankfully, I have an amazing network of people who have been there to lend advice or give me tips on how they manage a lot of different aspects of their business. Everything from payroll systems to price lists to beneficial networking events have been helpful conversations I’ve had!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I have a lot of friends who own their own business. And the thing I was hearing most from them was, “marketing is my least favorite thing about owning my own business.” Before Marketing by Sam was born, that sounded absurd to me. Because to me, marketing is the most exciting part about a brand and a business! I always assumed that it was because they didn’t understand it fully and because I had a degree in the space, so I always offered help to my friends for free because I was just so passionate about it and had been working at marketing and advertising agencies for over 15 years.
Then one day in 2024, I was let go from the advertising agency I was working at. And because the job market was looking pretty bleak I decided to open up my own business. And that’s how Marketing by Sam was born.
And I quickly realized that for business owners, it’s not that they didn’t understand marketing (in fact a lot of business owners are trying to take the time to learn more about how marketing works); the main problem they had was marketing was taking up too much of their time.
And that’s what I pride my business on: I give business owners the gift of time. They didn’t go into business to do marketing full-time for it. They want to be hairstylists. They want to be roofers. They want to sell their product they spent years perfecting. They don’t want to spend their days diving into their marketing analytics, figuring out what platform is most successful, creating a social media strategy… you get the point.
I do a lot with small business owners to make sure they feel confident and empowered with all of their marketing decisions when it comes to their business. I offer everything from general, marketing, consulting and coaching, all the way into building an annual marketing plans for them. I also pride myself deeply into understanding digital marketing, which is something that changes on the regular. Whether it’s social media, websites, SEO, paid advertising, or beyond, I’m there to take it over or consult on best practices.
Being able to take so much knowledge from all of the years in different roles, working with different clients, and diving into so many different components of marketing, and bring that to smaller businesses and local brands has been so rewarding. I truly believe small businesses are the heart of our communities and should be supported. Helping them be successful is something I take so much pride and and I have so much gratitude for the clients who have trusted me in doing so.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Before I lost my job in 2024, I was truly miserable in the job that I held. I remember it was nearing New Year’s Eve in 2023, and everything I saw on TikTok was about New Year’s resolutions. I’m usually not a resolution person, but I was beginning to get desperate about changing my situation. Don’t get me wrong – I was applying for jobs nearly every day, trying to get resources at work to make the mistreatment I was experiencing a little better, and doing everything I could to make things turn around. But with nothing working, I was willing to do almost anything to change my life.
I started seeing people on TikTok talk about manifesting and writing affirmations more frequently. I even saw some old wives tales about pennies and cinnamon and doing holistic remedies to bring in good luck and good fortune. And I thought why not just give it a try.
I started manifesting and writing affirmations about myself daily. I was writing down goals and things that were going to happen to me by a certain timeframe. I remember vividly writing on a sticky note, “I will have a new job by April 15, 2024.” I kept it hanging in my office.
Although I did not have a new job by April 15, I noticed that I was starting to feel a lot more confident and better about myself in my role. I was definitely still miserable, but I felt better about standing up for myself when I was being mistreated. It was really hard but I was feeling proud of myself more often. I started to remember who I was, that I was smart and educated and confident and knowledgable and most of all: not the problem in the situation I was in.
Finally, on May 20, 2024, I was laid off from my position. Although it was a shock, it was also such a relief that I no longer had to endure the workplace abuse I was going through.
Being unemployed and not being financially stable was scary, so I took the leap and I started Marketing by Sam on June 3, 2024. I continued manifesting, saying affirmations, and trusting that the universe was going to work in my favor. Within a few weeks, I landed a contract job where I was making nearly double what I was making at the job that laid me off.
Was it luck? Was it manifestation? You can make the call.
Pricing:
- Free Consultation
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.marketingbysam.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marketing.by.sam/
- LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/samantharaj
