This wasn't the Uber ride I expected

What's Brewing

I'm standing outside a little inn in Texas, coffee in one hand and suitcase in the other, waiting on my Uber.

A white four door pickup pulled into the parking lot.

I looked down at my phone to make sure it was the right ride because that wasn't exactly what I expected to see. I just read Ford truck so Im expecting this massive West TN truck I guess. 

The window rolled down.

"Brandy?"

I smiled, climbed in, and we headed toward Hobby Airport.

For the next 45 minutes, I didn't just have an Uber driver. I met Alfonzo.

Alfonzo is 63 years old, an Army veteran, and over the course of his life has owned six different businesses. He has seen success, setbacks, and enough life to know what really matters.

He told me about his family, the businesses he and his wife had built together, and their dogs. Every single time he talked about his wife, his whole face lit up. You could see how much he loved her. It honestly made me smile because that kind of joy is contagious. They met when they were 14.

Then our conversation shifted.

We talked about faith.

Before I knew it, we were having church while driving down a Texas interstate.

Then Alfonzo said something I'll never forget.

"Don't chase the dollar. Chase the time."

That sentence has stayed with me.

As business owners, we spend so much time trying to build something that we sometimes forget why we started. Most of us didn't start a business because we wanted to work every weekend or answer emails at 10:00 at night. We started because we wanted more freedom, more flexibility, and more time with the people we love.

I don't believe it was an accident that a white pickup pulled up that morning.

I think God knew I needed Alfonzo more than I needed an Uber.

Marketing Bite

One of the biggest mistakes I see business owners make is believing they have to wear every hat.

You become the marketing department, the social media manager, the website editor, the photographer, the copywriter, and the customer service rep. Before long, you've built a business that owns your calendar instead of one that gives you freedom.

Good marketing shouldn't demand more of your time. It should give some of it back.

Take Home the Bacon

Alfonzo's words reminded me why I started Kemp Marketing.

Yes, we help businesses get found online. We improve Google rankings, manage social media, write content, and keep websites working.

But that's only part of what we do.

What we're really giving our clients is more time.

Time to have dinner with family.

Time to take a vacation without worrying if Facebook has been updated.

Time to coach a ballgame, go fishing, attend church, or simply enjoy the business they worked so hard to build.

Maybe the best return on your marketing investment isn't just more customers.

Maybe it's getting your life back.