Today we’d like to introduce you to Ilise Benun.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
In a nutshell, I am a business coach for creative freelancers.
That means I teach freelance writers, designers and other creatives, as well as coaches and consultants – how to get better clients with bigger budgets.
I didn’t study this. My degree from Tufts University is in Spanish. From there, I had two jobs. One in the fashion industry, the other in the travel industry. I quit the first and was fired from the second. That’s when I realized I was unemployable. I was 27.
At the time, I was living in New York – in Hoboken, New Jersey actually – and I was surrounded by dancers and actors and artists – all creatives who seemed very disorganized. I was pretty organized, so I thought I could help my friends get organized. That’s how it all started. However, little by little, I realized clutter wasn’t the real problem. It was hiding the real problem.
You see, at the bottom of everybody’s pile, there was always something that had to do with the marketing and self-promotion of their creativity that was not getting done.
That happened so often that my work evolved very naturally into a marketing business, to solve the real problem.
Fast forward almost 40 years and the business is now called Marketing-Mentor.com. Over the years, I have given talks all over the world and developed courses and downloadables, like The Pick a Niche Kit. (For sale on my web site.) I’ve been hosting the Marketing Mentor Podcast for almost 20 years. And I’ve written 7 books, including The Creative Professional’s Guide to Money and Stop Pushing Me Around.
Recently, I’ve taken everything I”ve learned since I started and turned it into a framework called The Simplest Marketing Plan, which is both a plan and a program through which I teach people how to build a business they can depend on.
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?
I wouldn’t say it was easy, but it wasn’t hard either. I’m a worker so I don’t have any problem working. What I didn’t know when I started is how much responsibility accompanies the freedom of running your own business. You only hear about the freedom, But to be successful, you have to be self motivated and that usually takes discipline.
But the real benefit of being self employed is that it allows you to grow personally, as well as professionally, if you use your business as a laboratory. The most important growth for me has been in my personality: I’ve gone from being a quiet, people-pleasing good girl to a strong, self-respecting woman.
But this shift didn’t happen overnight – far from it.
When i started my business, I had no grand plan—in fact I had no plan at all. I had no “dream.” I had literally no idea of what I’d do. And for a long time, I had no idea what I was doing.
I was a bundle of contradictions: I seemed fearless but really I was lost. I was compliant, but also sneaky. I was defiant and easily intimidated. I was scared but I didn’t dare show it, even to myself.
Worst of all, because I didn’t want to reveal my ignorance (which I imagined would make me look stupid), I never asked questions. In fact, I remember several early clients whose businesses I didn’t understand at all. But I never asked them to explain. How could I help them if I didn’t understand what they did? At that point, I clearly cared more about how I looked than whether I was helping them.
Still, there was definitely something moving me forward. I followed my curiosity and asked a lot of questions. There was something in me that I was unaware of – maybe it was chutzpah. And with the help of my own mentors, I was able to slowly surface many hidden qualities – strength, focus, calm, reliability, logic – and begin to develop them.
And here I am, only 40 years later (haha), thriving in Savannah!
We’ve been impressed with Marketing-Mentor.com, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am on a mission to teach creatively self employed freelancers how to thrive independently. No one ever taught this to them. But it is a skill anyone can learn – I believe that.
That means, they need to know how to:
1. Find and approach the right prospects
2. Build real relationships instead of chasing work
3. Talk confidently about money (and charge what they’re worth)
4. Use simple, strategic marketing tools—consistently
My framework, The Simplest Marketing Plan, makes that possible. It’s built on three timeless tools: strategic networking, targeted outreach, high-quality content marketing.
That’s it. Those are the only marketing tools you need—if you do them right.
I’ve come to believe a few other things too:
1. It’s not confidence you need; confidence is a byproduct of doing. What we really need is courage.
2. Everything is easier if you treat your business as a laboratory. Try something, see if it works. If it doesn’t—no big deal. Adjust and keep going.
3. Marketing is really about building relationships. Meet people and stay in touch. That’s really all there is to it. Simple, right?
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Check out my web site: https://www.marketing-mentor.com/
And sign up for my Quick Tips: https://quicktips.marketing-mentor.com/
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.marketing-mentor.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilisebenun/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@marketing-mentor
- Other: https://www.marketing-mentor.com/pages/podcast
