Why Your Best Business Tool Might Be Restraint

Susan Finch sits down with Laura Patterson, President and Co-Founder at VisionEdge Marketing. They explore why businesses chase shiny new tools instead of maximizing what already works, the real cost of remote work on mentorship and professional development, and how strategic restraint might be the most powerful tool in your marketing arsenal.
Laura brings decades of experience helping companies achieve measurable business outcomes through marketing, while Susan brings her perspective from working with business-focused podcasts and small- to mid-size companies. Together, they challenge the assumption that more tools, more content, and more technology automatically equals better results.
The conversation moves from the "random acts of marketing" that plague so many businesses to the critical importance of in-person mentorship for young professionals. Laura shares insights from her 20-year intern program, while both hosts discuss how the shift to remote work has created a mentorship crisis that's hurting the next generation's ability to navigate difficult conversations and workplace dynamics.
Whether you're drowning in marketing tools, struggling to find clarity in your strategy, or wondering how to bring up the next generation of professionals, this episode offers a refreshing dose of reality and actionable wisdom.
 
Laura Patterson is President and co-founder of VisionEdge Marketing, a growth strategy firm she launched in 1999. A globally recognized expert in customer-centric growth and Marketing Performance Management, Laura has worked with over 300 companies to replace disconnected acts with deliberate, measurable strategies rooted in creating business and customer value. Her career began at Motorola and grew through leadership roles in marketing operations, product and strategic marketing, and customer marketing and loyalty. She is the author of multiple books, including the award-winning Fast-Track Your Business: A Customer-Centric Approach to Accelerate Market Growth, and holds a patent for Accelance®, a SaaS platform that connects activities directly to business outcomes. Laura hosts the "What's Your Edge" podcast and has mentored over 50 marketing interns over 20 years. A LinkedIn Influencer and frequent keynote speaker, she has won over a dozen thought leadership awards. Connect with Laura at visionedgemarketing.com.

Tool Addiction is Killing Your Company Culture

Technology promises to solve every business problem, but what if the tools themselves are creating the chaos? Susan Finch and Lany Sullivan explain some reasons why organizations continue to struggle despite investing in the latest software, platforms, and systems.
The pattern is predictable: Someone attends a conference, hears about a game-changing tool, signs up immediately, and brings it back to the team without considering compatibility, redundancy, or whether anyone will actually use it. Or worse, a new executive arrives and forces their favorite tools on everyone without understanding existing workflows.
Before reaching for another software solution, companies need to answer fundamental questions about mission alignment, internal communication, and who will own the implementation. The disconnect between leadership vision and team reality creates friction that no amount of technology can fix.
They break down the patterns they see repeatedly: reactive purchasing, shiny object syndrome, and tools piled on top of unresolved problems. They offer a framework for slowing down, asking better questions, and ensuring your team is aligned before spending another dollar on software that might just become expensive shelfware.

You Earned It, Now Flaunt It: Marketing Your New Professional Designation

You earned that certification. Now what?
If you're like most professionals, you invested time and money into leveling up your expertise... only to let that shiny new credential sit quietly in your inbox, in your bank statement, rather than on your LinkedIn profile. Sound familiar?
In this episode of Rooted in Revenue, I'm sharing the exact 14-day launch plan I use with clients to transform professional certifications into credibility, conversations, and clients.
What you'll learn:
Why the first 48 hours after certification are critical (and what to update first)
The "badge reality check" that could be killing your credibility
How one announcement postcard generated 10 quality conversations
The LinkedIn "position hack" that notifies your entire network
A complete checklist to implement in just 2 hours
Whether you just completed training, earned a designation, or achieved any professional milestone, this episode gives you the roadmap to maximize your ROI.
Episode highlights:
[2:00] The trust signal you're not using effectively
[5:00] Why print marketing still works in 2025
[8:00] Your 14-day certification launch plan
[10:00] The part-time position trick for LinkedIn visibility
Stop letting your credentials collect dust. It's time to make them work as hard as you did to earn them.

The 5 Questions That Prevent Email Migration Disasters

Moving your business email from one system to another sounds straightforward until it isn't. Susan learned this the hard way during a weekend-long migration that revealed every hidden complexity you never think to ask about upfront. In this episode, she breaks down the five critical questions every business owner must answer before switching email systems - questions that could save you from your own technical nightmare and budget explosion.
The 5 Questions That Prevent Email Migration Disasters
How big are your mailboxes, and where is your old mail stored? Large mailboxes with years of Sent/Deleted items cause export failures. You need to know mailbox sizes and whether users keep local PST files before you can estimate the timeline.
Who will be available during the actual migration for testing and approvals? Migrations require live client participation for password resets, login approvals, and testing. Without committed availability, projects stall.
How do your users actually access their email today? Classic Outlook, new Outlook, web-only, mobile apps - each requires different configuration steps. Mixed environments multiply complexity.
What domains and aliases are tied to your current email system? Hidden alias domains and Microsoft's "ownership" of domains can prevent a clean cutover to Google. You need the complete domain picture upfront.
Do you need to keep Microsoft Office apps or other integrations? Many businesses use Microsoft 365 for more than email. Licensing decisions affect migration approach and ongoing costs.
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Blog series on the topic of tech stacks and email migration.