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Fanning the Entrepreneurial Flame for Local Business Owners

You are here: Home / Blog / Fanning the Entrepreneurial Flame for Local Business Owners

November 15, 2019 by Cathy Edison

The attendance at the recent Spark event put on by the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce was no surprise to anyone who knows the speaker, our own Jessica Scanlon. She is not only a captivating speaker, but has a business journey story that is engaging and honest, and everyone wanted not only to support their friend and colleague but hear how she’s done IT. How has she created such a successful, visible business in just a few years? Well, as many found out, it has been a much longer haul than most everyone even knew.

Hear the whole story in Jessica’s own words in the video here or read on…

Jessica-Scanlon-Jason-Ball-Round-Rock-Chamber-Spark-Event-Nov-2019

Starting Out with a New Business

Jessica’s story started in the corporate world but found a passion for helping small businesses on her own. As she explored the opportunity to give small and solopreneurs the help they needed at a cost that made sense for them, she found her passion. Hot Dog Marketing was born from a desire to serve a market that had been overlooked by marketing agencies for so long, and from the only “employee” of the company at the time besides Jessica, her faithful dachshund Iggy.

After leaving the corporate job she had held, Jessica decided it was time to set out on her own. Once she convinced her husband Neil that this was a good idea (after a few beers), she set about making it happen. So, newborn in tow, Jessica started meeting with business owners in the Austin-Round Rock area and started building relationships. Her passion for helping other businesses grew as her company did, as did her new-found experience with the exact struggles they all faced. Learning how to run a business while doing the work to keep the business afloat made Jessica the ideal partner for the businesses she worked with. The empathy that she had for their struggles helped her to form a unique bond and perspective on what they needed.

Growing a Business is Scary

When it was time to share the load, she brought on a Creative Director as her first employee, and talk about how incredibly scary that time was. Hiring someone for the first time and putting revenue toward another body seemed daunting. Even more so when he found he really needed more than just a part-time gig. Jessica wasn’t willing to lose his talent and all he contributed to the success of Hot Dog Marketing, so she bit the bullet with some advice from her business coach. That employee was Brandon Cornwell, who is still Creative Director to this day. Just as much as Jessica wanted to work with Brandon, he wanted to keep working with her too and help grow the business.

You Can’t Have True Success on Your Own

The two shared an office in Heritage Office Suites in Round Rock, making more connections and friends along the way. Many of whom are still clients or friends of not only Jessica, but the business. Jessica encourages other business owners to seek out people who can help, whether they are other business owners, professionals in other areas, lawyers, business coaches and peer groups. No one should try to shoulder the trials and tribulations of being a business owner alone in her experience. She attributes much of her success and pushes to make difficult decisions that paid off to her trusted advisors.

As her team grew, they moved out of the office suites and into their own office in east Round Rock, but quickly outgrew that space, well ahead of the 5-year term they expected and moved into downtown Round Rock at the hustling and bustling corner of Mays and Main. The company has grown in size and skill, as has its clients and the longest standing ones attribute much of their success to the work done by the Hot Dog Marketing team. Hiring intelligently, looking beyond hard skills at the soft and creating core values that align with the vision for the company makes all the difference in the team and how they all work together today.

Final Thoughts

Having seen the passion and vision that Jessica has for businesses led me to request the opportunity to work with her and help grow her business. After my own experience going from small business to the corporate world and back to a small business, I had the same love of helping others succeed. That “thing” about Hot Dog Marketing originated with Jessica and she has found a way to spread it to the rest of the team. It is such a privilege to work with and learn from her every day. The dedication she has to the community, to her peers, to the businesses we work with and beyond is admirable and encourages all of us to get involved, do more, and work hard for the people in our lives, whether personal or professional.

Jessica-Scanlon-Hot-Dog-Marketing-Round-Rock-Chamber-Spark-Event-Pirates

Cathy Edison
Cathy Edison

My philosophy is more than just words or data, it is finding a way to marry content and SEO strategy with dynamic advertising to build online equity in our clients’ businesses. Writing is my passion, using it to help others is my pleasure and part of my mission at Hot Dog Marketing.

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Cedar Park Fun
Cedar Park Fun
22:31 04 Feb 20
We have worked with Hot Dog Marketing on a couple different projects and are still amazed at how easy they are to work with. They expedite the... process without cheapening the product. They are affordable, efficient, and have provided us with the guidance and insight we needed for our marketing. We are very happy to be working with them!!read more
Elizabeth Youmans
Elizabeth Youmans
18:00 12 Jan 20
Hot Dog Marketing recently completed the launch of my new business's website and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! They truly listened to... my vision and made it a reality. The design team was so impressive that I chose to also have them design and print my business cards and other print marketing material. My local pet care company, Delighted Paws Pet Care, now has a cohesive and professional (but still fun!) look and brand. Hot Dog was also able and willing to work within my limited budget. They were transparent from the beginning of what they could and could not accomplish within my financial means and executed very much to my satisfaction! Thank you Jessica, Melissa, Brandon, and the entire team at Hot Dog!read more
Ana Alv
Ana Alv
13:36 17 Dec 19
Sadly the person that contacted me asked me first what my budget was and if it was between 3,000 to 5,000. When I said no she said I want not their... ideal client.read more
Pat Hubbard
Pat Hubbard
18:35 17 Nov 19
Awesome casual place...the chili is the bomb
Matt Baker
Matt Baker
14:31 30 Oct 19
The entire team at Hot Dog Marketing is very professional and exceptional at customer service. Its refreshing to work with a company that works hard... and clearly wants to do their best each and every time. We highly recommend Hot Dog Marketing if you want to see your company reach its next level of potential! Matt Baker, Realtor/Owner of Baker Realtyread more
Williams Innovation
Williams Innovation
23:25 29 Oct 19
Jessica and her team are AMAZING to work with. I don't know they take the jumbled up notes and conversations and build an entire design and messaging... strategy out of it. They were spot on every time they presented an idea. We will continue to work with them and urge anyone else looking for design, messaging, or marketing to USE THEM!!read more
Lauren Candela
Lauren Candela
17:20 14 May 19
Our website re-brand with HDM went smoothly and successfully. They were accommodating with each of our requests, and kept us informed with regard to... completion timelines and project goals. We look forward to working with the HDM team again.read more
Pamala Marley
Pamala Marley
15:01 18 Apr 19
An amazing team of creative professionals to collaborate with! They took the time to really understand and become part of the essence of my vision. I... love my amazing website!read more
Kevin Aderholt
Kevin Aderholt
21:20 06 Feb 19
Hot Dog has served the Austin area small business community well! They provide amazing services to both start-ups and established companies, and I... would recommend them to anyone.read more
Shannon Black
Shannon Black
16:15 25 Jan 19
I am so VERY happy with the content that the team at Hot Dog Marketing creates every week for my preschool business. From what they write and... articles they choose for my ads/posts as well as the pictures of our students they choose to highlight, they are outstanding on every metric that matters. It's night and day compared to the last company I hired. They are charging me less for doing MUCH better work! Our Google ranking, which was near the bottom of the first page, is now landing on the top half. We are showing up on maps when we weren't before. I've been in business for 12 years and other businesses much younger and smaller than ours were getting better results, but no longer! At our second meeting, they even gave me suggestions for the website, which I have since implemented, like starting a blog, to help drive more traffic to it. If I have a question or don't like something (no matter how small), they are incredibly responsive. And as we grow with more locations, they will grow with me, which I can't wait to experience. I am absolutely THRILLED they are handling my account and am incredibly grateful I found them.read more
Colvin Electric
Colvin Electric
14:18 30 Nov 18
We are extremely happy with Hot Dog and what they have been able to do for us! We went from not having any online presence at all to being found on... Google, Facebook and everywhere else we need to be and have seen an increase in call volume within the first few months. We highly recommend Hot Dog for all your digital marketing needs!!!read more
Catherine Allen
Catherine Allen
22:56 06 Dec 17
Working with Hot Dog Marketing has been the most stress-free amazing experience ever! Jessica and her staff members, Alexa and Brandon, are very... gracious, easy to work with, and extremely responsive. They all listened to me and what I, as a small one-man business, needed from the very beginning. I love my new slink, professional looking, website.read more
Jennifer Gardner McMorris
Jennifer Gardner McMorris
21:30 09 Aug 17
Hot Dog Marketing was professional and fun to work with from beginning to the end. They really listened to what my vision was and did a great job of... bringing it to life. I would highly recommend them for website, branding or marketing needs. If you want to work with a small business that loves what they do and does an amazing job, then Hot Dog Marketing is for you!read more
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