Today we’d like to introduce you to Abbey Oslin and Courtney Petersen.
Hi Abbey and Courtney, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Being business partners, we both had our own unique stories prior to starting this business together. Everything so naturally lined up for us that we knew this was what we were made for. We both worked at a local marketing agency for many years, starting on completely separate teams while occasionally crossing paths at fun company-wide events and gatherings. We were both super passionate about various side-hustles. Abbey began writing weekly blogs for a dreamy travel blogger and learning everything about how to write for search engines. Whereas Courtney was working with some influential local businesses on branding and designs.
We really got to know each other better when we were put on the same client team. We worked together day in and day out building marketing plans for some well-known brands and retailers across the country. We instantly bonded and spoke each other’s language making our partnership feel natural. Almost daily we would take walks through the Minneapolis skyways checking out new lunch spots, coffee shops and food trucks. On these walks, we’d be constantly daydreaming about something bigger. What was next?
One day we finally said, what if we do what we do now, but for passionate small business owners and entrepreneurs? It was an instant lightbulb moment and in such a meant-to-be moment, a local client landed in our laps. We touched everything for her business and had so much fun doing it. From that moment Duo Collective was born and it continues to grow into the dream we had those skyway-walking days.
We’ve built a business that emphasizes both of our strengths from strategy and analytics to design. Our business is still evolving today and we know that journey is never going to end. We are passionate about so many different things and want to use all the tools in our arsenals to help support other business owners. Today we focus primarily on organic marketing. In other words how to grow your business without relying on paid advertising. We specialize in all things branding, Instagram strategy and search engine optimization. We’ve grown our business from day one without spending a dime on ads and we want to help you do the same.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Most definitely not! We think almost any business owner would tell you that entrepreneurship is a rollercoaster of crazy ups and downs. Not just in running a business, but also in managing a partnership.
In the beginning days, Duo Collective was just a side hustle. We had to find time before and after our 9-5 to grow our business. This meant lots of late nights and sometimes, pure exhaustion. Eventually, Abbey went full-time in Duo Collective after her second son was born while Courtney maintained the juggle of two jobs. This was by far one of the most challenging times of our business. It tested our partnership — but in the best of ways. In hindsight, it was such an amazing opportunity for us to build systems and set processes in place that allowed us to build a work-life balance that was manageable. By the way, we don’t believe in finding the perfect work-life balance, but rather the harmony of letting these two play together.
It was in this time period that we hired our first ever business coach. We credit her with so much when it comes to our business. She helped us save time with client workflows, create priorities, set boundaries and determine how to manage our finances and pay ourselves (which is incredibly important as an entrepreneur!)
To this day, we know that investing in yourself and your business is one of the biggest ways to grow. We still hit hiccups every now and again, but we have amazing processes in place to help us tackle them together.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Duo Collective?
Duo Collective is a boutique organic marketing agency for passionate entrepreneurs. We specialize in social media marketing, branding, and search engine optimization also called SEO. As one part creativity and one part strategy, we bring double the brain power, strategy and fun to every project we touch.
In addition to our done-for-you services like SEO website audits, branding packages and a 30-day Instagram content strategies, we are also coaches and educators. We love not only delivering you the tools, but educating business owners on how to grow their business without spending money on paid advertising.
We feel really passionate about helping business owners of all sizes and budgets which is why we dedicate so much time to content creation from our blog to our podcast, Duo On Air, we are constantly sharing free tips, advice and strategies to help you grow without spending any money. We are also launching a shop soon where we can share essential marketing templates, tools and apparel that elevates our mission of empowering entrepreneurs.
Finally, we are just like you! We will never admit that we “have it all” or “know it all”. We do know that with hard work and consistency you can grow your business just like we’ve grown ours. We are here to be that support you need in the jargon-filled world of marketing. We believe in the community more than anything and building those connections organically and authentically is where you will really start to shine. If we can help you do that, then we’ve done our job.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
We are very fortunate that we work in the world of digital marketing and that we are capable of working with people around the globe. That isn’t always the case for every business and we’ve seen this first hand with some of our clients. The biggest lesson that we took away from this crisis is that community is everything. Finding ways to connect is incredibly important. We have made a number of friendships on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok with people we’ve never met but are now our biggest cheerleaders and support team. It’s remembering that there are people behind those profiles and photos you are liking on your feeds — connect with them! Send them a DM and tell them how much you love their feed or that photo of their garden. Take little moments each day to connect with other humans because one connection could have endless opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://duocollective.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/duo.collective/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/duocollectivemarketing
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFH7A10t8i8C5lVi9zNq2Ww
- Other: https://quiz.tryinteract.com/#/61e23a64c76b5200189d6813
Image Credits
Julie Greer Photography| https://juliegreerphotography.com/
