Little did Lisa Jackson, Director of Acorn Marketing (Cumbria) Ltd know that being made redundant would lead to her most successful career move. Ten years later she is a multiple award winning Marketing Consultant and Social Media Coach and set to launch a new course to help even more businesses.
Lisa, who is originally from Penrith moved away from Cumbria when she was 18, to study Fashion Promotion at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston. She has worked in several marketing roles across the UK in a diverse range of industries, promoting anything from men’s elasticated trousers to firework displays, Beatles music to Bugs. She once even worked on the set of Coronation Street!
Life threw Lisa a huge curve ball when she was made redundant in 2010, which inspired her to start her own marketing consultancy back home in Cumbria.
“When I was made redundant, it came out of the blue. There was no consultation period, no notice to work and no redundancy package. What made it worse was that I had only been in the job for 6 weeks. At the time it was awful, and I just didn’t know what direction to take or what my future would hold. At the time I was living in Liverpool and the only thing I knew for certain was that I wanted to move back to Cumbria.”
Lisa started her job hunt in Cumbria but found that there were no positions vacant in marketing at the time. Not one to rest on her laurels she set about contacting local companies to see what opportunities were available and found that many needed assistance with outsourced marketing work.
“I took this as a bit of a lightbulb moment. I’d never thought about running a business before; it was just never an option that had been explained to me at school or that I’d ever really thought about, but what did I have to lose?”
Only 47% of businesses in Cumbria survive past the five-year mark according to the Cumbria Observatory*, so Lisa is continuing to buck the trend and grow her consultancy business further. Lisa, who became a Chartered Marketer in 2012, has worked with hundreds of organisations since starting her business, from sole traders, start-ups and charities to FTSE 250 companies, but she is on a mission to help even more small business owners across the UK.
Lisa explains,
“When I started Acorn Marketing, my core aim was to help small businesses understand marketing tactics that I had learnt whilst working in the industry. As my business has grown, so too have the types of clients that I work with. However, I am still passionate about helping the start-ups, sole traders and micro businesses across the UK. I know what it is like to be a small business owner, juggling all the roles yourself, with the frustrations of running a business, but trying to understand how to do your marketing, social media, accounts, IT, admin, often with a limited budget. So, I am still very passionate about helping those businesses who do not have a lot of support, to understand marketing and social media and thrive.”
As a result, Lisa has developed a series of monthly online Mini Marketing Masterclasses, designed to give small business owners an insight into marketing and social media and the opportunity to have a marketing expert on hand for support and guidance through the Facebook group ‘Marketing Made Easy with Lisa’ which has members from across the UK and even Italy and the USA.
To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Acorn Marketing, Lisa will also be launching the ‘Marketing Mastery Programme’ which is for those business owners who are serious about developing their marketing to support their business growth.
“I want to help business owners go from feeling overwhelmed with their marketing to being more confident, understanding exactly what they need to do and see results.”
The programme will run over 8 weeks and cover modules such as Marketing Strategy, Planning, Social Media, Branding, Public Relations, Email Marketing, Websites and SEO and Evaluation; giving businesses all the tools they need to really get to grips with marketing and make it work for their business. The course begins on the 17th of June.
So, being made redundant ten years ago really has been the pivotal turning point in Lisa’s career. Without this turn of events, she may not have ever discovered that starting a business was an option. For anyone who may be facing redundancy during these difficult times or thinking about starting their own business, Lisa has these words of advice.
“There is no doubt that being made redundant is hard, but it is also a time to see it as a new opportunity. I never expected I would be doing what I do now, and I love it. I encourage anyone thinking about starting their own business to jump in with both feet, be confident and make your own destiny. It really has been the best thing that ever happened to me!”
For more information about Acorn Marketing, please visit www.acorn-marketing.co.uk
