The year was 2004. There wasn’t much of a marketing department to speak of. The website was untouched. The tools existed but weren’t being used. We had a “marketing team,” but it was really just a graphic designer that produced a catalog once a year.
I raised my hand and offered to take the lead, to learn what I didn’t know, and to build something better. Over the next decade, we did exactly that. We significantly grew the business, built a robust marketing function, and ventured into content work before content was cool. By the time we merged with another company, marketing was making a meaningful contribution to growth and I gladly handed off the reigns to another leader to take the team to the next level while I focused on another area of the business.
A few years later, leadership changed. Vision shifted. The team evolved. And, I was asked to step back in and lead the marketing team again.
Only this time, the challenge was different. I had inherited a team shaped by someone else’s vision. The work we were doing didn’t exactly match the opportunity in front of us. And while I was experienced, I was also inside the four walls—too close to see clearly. That was the turning point. I needed clarity. I needed a strategy. I needed a sounding board. And I didn’t know where to find it.
When You Can’t Read the Label from Inside the Jar
I went to my boss and asked if he could connect me with marketing leaders outside of our industry. What I didn’t realize at the time is that I wasn’t just asking for a connection. I was asking for external objectivity.
I didn’t need someone to take over my role. I needed someone to come alongside me—a trusted partner who could challenge my ideas, sharpen my thinking, and help me see what I couldn’t on my own. I wanted someone who could walk through strategy with me, hold me accountable, and help me lead my team with purpose. I needed someone who wasn’t particularly impressed by me but was absolutely invested in my success.
Today, that’s exactly what Heritage Brands offers.
What I Wish I Had Then—And What We Offer Now
If Heritage had existed back then, I would have signed up immediately. We would have gone through the Strategic Roadmap process. We would have clarified what mattered, cut what didn’t, and found smarter ways to use the team we already had.
That’s the kind of clarity that creates capacity. It frees your team to focus on what works and stop chasing what doesn’t. It builds confidence in your next move. And it makes your job as a marketing leader feel less isolating.
Even now, running Heritage Brands, we still seek that kind of objectivity for ourselves. We could build our own website. We could design our own logo. We have the skills. But we bring in outside voices—because we know what it feels like to be too close to our own story. And we’ve seen firsthand how much better the result is when we do.
You’re Not Stuck Because You Lack Skill. You’re Stuck Because You’re Alone.
If you’re an in-house marketer feeling stretched thin, unsure of your strategy, or just creatively worn out, you’re not alone. It’s not a failure on your part. It’s a natural result of being in it too long without someone in your corner.
Heritage Brands isn’t here to take your job. We’re here to help you do it even better. We bring clarity to your vision, help you align your team, and give you the kind of strategic partnership you can’t find inside your own four walls.
If that sounds like something you need, let’s talk.
Because the help you’re looking for does exist. And it changes everything.
