Meet Sophie Goodman: Brand & Content Strategy Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sophie Goodman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sophie, what’s your definition for success?
2020 has been an incredibly difficult year. All of my planned benchmarks for assessing my growth and success basically disappeared with the onset of the pandemic, and so I’ve had to really re-think my definition. In terms of business-related measurables, success in 2020 has meant celebrating a 42% increase in revenue, even though the numbers are a lot smaller than I thought they were going to be this year. Success has also meant celebrating my relationships with my clients: I have an incredible client list of resilient, innovative, and trailblazing companies and individuals that have risen to the challenges that this year has presented. This is RANGE launched The Horizon Report, a badass trend-forecasting subscription newsletter that is visionary in its consumer insights. Outrider pledged to always push their thinking about how their work to build a great business can simultaneously build a better and more just world in response to racial injustice. They also raised $65M in their Series B financing round, which will allow them to scale their mission to bring zero-emission automation to our global supply chain. ROAMERICA’s owner, Gretchen Bayless, urged people to get outside to fuel their creativity and was featured in The New York Times alongside some amazing creatives. Callosum expanded their client base and helped an executive make an inspiring career shift with an incredible new website and digital platform. The examples that I just mentioned certainly aren’t my personal wins, but they do represent relationships that I have worked to build in the past two years. I am proud of the clients that I have cultivated and will continue to seek out clients that think big, work hard, and work towards making the world a better place. In short, my definition for success in my business has evolved. I’m proud to be working with such innovative leaders and truly amazing human beings. That feels like a huge success both in 2020 and in my professional life as a whole.

What should our readers know about your business?
The leap to starting my own consulting business was actually an easy one. In the fall of 2018, I started to get a lot of inquiries from my network, asking if I was able for contract work and consulting. I realized that I had a real opportunity to do some great work with interesting companies, build my portfolio, and grow my network. It was kind of a no-brainer, and I jumped right in. Year 2 (#is2020overyet) has been a different story all together, and I actually find myself now in a place where I need to do some active business development. I had been relying on my referrals and my immediate network for both ongoing and new projects, but when the pandemic hit, it became clear that I needed to diversify both in services offered and industries. In an effort to stay engaged and to force myself to track pandemic-era habits and trends, I started a slide deck in April that I’ve been continuously updating on precisely the consumer and content trends that we’re seeing evolve along with the pandemic, the election, and the national reckoning that we’re having with race, climate change, and socio-economic divisions. It’s a tool I’ve been using with my clients to illustrate these changes and to adapt the strategies that we already have in place. It’s been a huge value-add for both existing and prospective clients. Another example of a shift in services is in regards to consumer and market research. Pre-pandemic, I likely would have sold a package with surveys, stakeholder interviews, and a competitive analysis to gather vital data that would inform a new product launch or optimize certain marketing channels, but things are changing and moving so quickly in today’s environment that the data coming out of a months-long traditional consumer research initiative might be out of date by the time it’s finished and analyzed. It’s also incredibly expensive. So, in response, I’ve developed a zero-budget market research approach that takes into account social media interactions, keyword research, consumer market trends, and quick polling tools. This has been an incredibly useful service that I’ve added and adapted in response to the pandemic environment. So, what has 2020 taught me? Incredible patience and grace under pressure. Biz dev. And the flexibility to adapt when needed. It’s an ongoing process, and it hasn’t been easy, but I’m proud of where I’ve made it to so far.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The Mile High City is a great city with so many things to do and places to visit! When we first moved to Denver, my fiance and I moved to the RiNo Arts District neighborhood. At the time, it was still mostly warehouses, artist studios, and a couple of breweries. It’s now one of the most thriving neighborhoods in Denver, and though we don’t live in the neighborhood any more, it still feels like home. For good food, live music, and amazing arts, you definitely need to check out the RiNo neighborhood. During the pandemic, it’s also been such a wonderful gift to have hiking trails so close by. My favorite park is Matthews/Winters Park near Red Rocks. You’ll find beautiful views of Denver, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and moderate hiking and mountain biking trails.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
To Kevin, my fiance, who has supported all of my crazy ideas and who believes in me even when I don’t believe in myself.

Website: www.sophie-goodman.com
Instagram: @so.goodman
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/goodmansophie/

Image Credits
Stephen Martin