In this episode of Small Business Connections, Ann talks with  Nathan Greenberg, founder of Arkside Marketing, a full-service advertising agency specializing in regulated industries. Together they discuss Nathan's philosophy of there are only two kinds of days, his serial entrepreneurship and the two rules of marketing.

Nathan says anyone can market. The question is, how to market effectively. At Arkside, they partner with franchisees and regulated industries such as automotive, law, financial, health care, casino gaming, trade groups and manufacturing. Nathan and his agency figure out how to be compliant with each industry's regulations and provide ways to market effectively while creating visually pleasing advertising campaigns.

As a serial entrepreneur, Nathan has started seven companies. He began in high school when started creating websites for local businesses. He taught himself how to create HTML and enough photoshop to build local businesses ' websites. Growing from this, Nathan learned that you have to love a business's idea in order to properly represent the company.

Nathan shares that he was inspired by the motivational posters of his youth and one that stuck with him is- "Your Altitude is Determined by Your Attitude." Two years ago, Nathan turned this outlook into his perception of there are only two kinds of days. Many describe the two types of days as good days and bad days. Nathan does not accept bad days. He lives his life of taking what someone might describe as a bad day and calls these, educational days. Nathan shares that he learns something from these days and this perspective allows him to do more with his life. There are plenty of moments of failure and every misstep offers learning opportunities. These moments helped shape his company into a better company. This outlook has Nathan in the midst of writing his book- 2 Kinds of Days. #2kindsofdays

Nathan shares his 2 rules of marketing:

1. Marketing should always be treated as an investment.

2. Never make it hard for someone to give you their money.

As a marketing professional, Nathan shares that word of mouth is the best advertising you will receive. Marketing as partners and not as vendors are important to sustain a successful business.  

Nathan's Favorite Books of Business

Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman