If we haven’t met yet—hi, I’m Chloe! In 2023, I co-founded The Marketing Mix, a marketing and design agency, with Charlotte. We met around five years ago while freelancing for the same agency and eventually decided to take the plunge and start a small agency together. Two years in, we’re still loving it. There have been plenty of ups and downs, but overall, I’m so glad we made the leap.

Like many businesses right now, we’re trying to grow, and the market is tough. I know this because I’m constantly getting messages from friends who also run businesses, asking how to get clients because they’re struggling. Also, my inbox is full of freelancers offering to white-label for us. Ironically, our own growth and marketing have never been something we’ve taken too seriously. We’ve been lucky with referrals, but it’s the classic agency trap—so busy delivering for clients that your own marketing gets neglected.

So, we’re changing that. The plan is to put real, consistent effort into growing this business. And by sharing the journey with you, I hope you’ll find inspiration for your own sales and marketing, realise we’re all in this together, and maybe even appreciate the relentless slog of building a small business or startup. Oh, and selfishly - it keeps me accountable. If I’m telling you what we’re doing, I can’t slack off on outreach, can I?

We’re a team of two. I handle marketing, and Charlotte is the design genius who makes everything look amazing. And honestly? We like it that way. We’re not chasing some big agency dream with a hundred employees. We just want a steady, sustainable pipeline and to work with people and brands that we love.

At the moment, though, our pipeline and cash flow are a bit of a rollercoaster. Some months, we’re stressed and working non-stop. Other months, nothing is happening, and we’re still stressed—because no work means no money coming in. And really, we just don’t want to live like that.

We know the work we love doing and the type of clients we work best with. Our sweet spot is early-stage businesses and startups - working directly with founders to create brands, websites, and messaging that truly transform how the outside world sees them. Whether they’re pitching to investors or selling to clients, we make that process easier. We’re no-nonsense, get-things-done types. And we’ve learned that doesn’t work well with larger organisations that have endless layers of approvals - it just slows everything down, frustrates us, and sucks the joy out of the work. The downside? Startups naturally have smaller budgets, which means we need a bigger pipeline to keep things moving. And that’s exactly why we’re making growth a priority.

So, here it is—the first Substack, blog, LinkedIn post… wherever I decide to put it. The plan is to share weekly updates on what’s working, what’s not, and hopefully, some actionable advice you can implement too if you’re looking to grow.

If you’ve got a question, fancy a chat, or just want to say yep, me too, drop me a message at chloe@themarketingmix.agency.

Speak soon,

Chloe