Ever feel like you’re stuck using social media to grow your business? Like if you check out of Instagram for a month, everything you’ve built will fall apart? But yet, you’re exhausted at how much effort you have to put in for so little results?

Maggie Pugh, owner and lead interior designer of Maggie Kate Made, has built a successful business marketing offline. Instead of depending on social media (or even SEO) to bring in new clients, Maggie is booked solid with ideal clients six months ahead.

How? The simple answer is the art of referrals. Through strategic relationships & what she considers her foundation for business success, she’s been able to show up on social only when she has something she really wants to say. She’s sharing what’s worked for her to grow her business “faster than she even wanted.”

Benefits of Not Depending on Instagram

I’m sure you can imagine all on your own how amazing it would feel to not need social media to grow your business. (Cue sigh of relief just thinking about it.) But Maggie talks about how this actually helps serve her audience / clients better. She is able to show up only when she really has something valuable to share!

And on top of that, because she’s not regularly scrolling the app, she can stay true to her business. Less imposter syndrome, less comparison, more authentic service. Sounds like a dream recipe to me!

How She Started Building Local Connections

Maggie slowly built connections with three main groups of business owners that have helped her grow her business and vice versa. She shares what she did to initiate these relationships and the #1 thing she would recommend you DON’T do if you’re hoping to see similar success in your business.

Why Sharing Clients with Competitors Can Be a Good Thing

As a Rising Tide Society co-leader, you can imagine I’m all for community over competition… but sharing clients? This is something Maggie does and after hearing why and how, it makes total sense.

Tune in to hear what she has to say about sharing clients based on location, availability, & specialty… and how it actually serves everyone involved best (including the client)!

The Key to Long-Term Business Success

Maggie also shares what she believes is the foundation of long-term business success. If you’re not doing these two things right, she warns this referral strategy may not work for you! Before you panic, you should know that while they’re powerful & important pieces of the puzzle, they’re also very simple.

How to Get More Referrals

At the tail end of this episode, she shares some tips for getting started with building your network including: how to decide who to reach out to, how to initiate a conversation, & what you shouldn’t do if you want relationships built on trust.

The Art of Referrals

Ironically, Maggie and I first met when a past client referred her to me. Since then, I’ve learned so much from her and am grateful she shared her wisdom with us in this episode. Be sure to check her out & give episode 20 a listen so you can fill your client calendar with people you love serving!