Shelby Hall’s Ladies Offroad Business Experience

My journey in the 2017 Ladies Offroad Challenge has been a growing experience mentally and emotionally, from filling out the initial questionnaire to overcoming the fear of Facebook Live.

Although I was excited to submit my application and hopefully be chosen to team up with Charlene in an off-road activity, I felt grateful and eager to embark on a totally different challenge: learning the ins-and-outs of success in the media and marketing aspect of the off-road industry.

With over 20 years of experience, Charlene has been there and done that, which to me, is the true way to learn triumph. Because of her extensive experience, I truly respect her work ethic and processes.

We had a short period of time to go over a TON of information, and Charlene wasted no time at all! There were a lot of topics covered, but Charlene was focused on going in depth on topics that answered specific business questions our group had. Our group consisted of 5 women who are new owners of off-road businesses, and the coolest part, is that we all specialize in something different. So, not only did we get to learn about new companies, but we also got to meet other women who are going through the same struggles and successes.

Many of the topics covered really made us dig deep and forced us to answer questions about our companies we had not already processed. For example, as a new company it is so important to know the basics of building your brand. To brand yourself or your business, you must first figure out what makes your product or service unique. You can ask yourself questions like, “why is my service superior to my competitor?” or “what is the actual purpose of my products or services?”

Once you have distinguished your branding, all other pieces create your outward branding, from marketing to websites and even event management.

Learning how to brand your company is only the beginning of setting your tone to build a strong client base and sponsors. There are many layers to conducting a successful small business, and it is vital to know that as the owner and operator, you must be ready to wear a number of hats. But at the same time, you must also know when to hire or ask for help.

Here is an example in my case: as an event coordinator, I must be available to run the show 100% of the time during an event, which means I cannot also be the photographer and run social media. So this is the time I ask or hire help to photograph and post to social media on my behalf.

Now the question lies: “how professional of a photographer do I need?” There are three types of people who can help me:

Smartphone professional. This person is perfect for smaller events, in which we don’t need high res images, and this is someone who wants to volunteer or accepts smaller payment.
Semi-professional. This person is great for a larger event, in which we have some sponsors who need images for their website, and this person will get paid and has their own photography equipment.
Professional. This person works as a photographer full time and delivers high quality images, perfect for print and web use.

As you can imagine, this is only a sample of the useful information given to us. We covered other topics, like how to write a winning proposal, using social media tags, and website management. Although companies may offer different services and products, the baseline foundation and creating routine is the same.

It was refreshing to be in an atmosphere where others totally relate to your business troubles or unknowns. Charlene was able to give us quality time and talk us through problems we had a hard time finding answers to.

I am so glad and thankful to have been a part of the original Business Training group. I now have a larger circle of women who are cheering for me, and are happy to be an ear, shoulder, and partner-in-crime on the trail!

Click here to read more about Shelby.