Meet Samantha Raj

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Samantha Raj. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Samantha below.

Samantha, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

This is actually something I plan to talk about a lot in my podcast, Cold Brew Hot Takes.

When I started my business, a million thoughts flooded my head about if I was actually good enough to succeed. I thought to myself, there’s so many other people out there who are smarter than me, more established than me, who probably have better ideas than me, and the list goes on. So I started listening to a lot of podcasts that addressed imposter syndrome and growing a new business. One thing that has stuck with me for the past year is: you can’t get to 100 if you don’t start at 1.

I started to realize that everybody has to start at the ground level. And in doing so, you are going to learn so many lessons and so many important things about yourself and your business. And the fact of the matter is, everybody struggles with imposter syndrome. It is perfectly human to have doubts about yourself and to ask yourself questions about your worth. But it’s important to remember that challenging ourselves and asking how we can become better will bring an immense number of opportunities and growth.

Once I got over my fear of failing, and accepting that even failure isn’t *actually* failure– it’s growth — I started to feel like I was in good company by just trying. Because most people actually quit before they even take the first step, and just putting yourself out there and giving it a shot is something to be proud of.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My name is Sam and I have my own marketing consulting business. I had been thinking for many years about starting my own business, but I felt that imposter syndrome and the fear of getting started and failing. After losing my corporate job in May 2024, I decided to give it a shot because I was not in the right mindset to endlessly apply to job after job until something stuck.

Marketing by Sam, LLC was born in June 2024 and starting my own business was the best decision I’ve ever made for myself. My mission is pretty simple: I help small business owners get the gift of time. I hear time and time again that marketing efforts take up so much time from CEOs and business owners that they start to lose sight of their own business and the things that they actually enjoy. Hairstylists got into their line of work to make people feel beautiful, not to develop and implement a social media content plan. Roofers got into their line of work to help improve the homes of their community, not to figure out how to run Google Ads. Nonprofits got into their line of work to help people in need, not to develop marketing plans on how to get more donors. And yet all of these businesses (and many others) are either spending a lot of time trying to figure out those marketing tasks instead of focusing on the passion that they have for their business, or they are neglecting their marketing strategy altogether because they don’t have time.

The fact of the matter is, marketing is not an “I’ll do it when I have time” task. Things need to be constantly monitored, optimized, and tweaked; you have to stay on top of trends; you need to be on top of any agency partners or vendors and make sure that they are working succinctly with all of your efforts, you have to plan for the future and how you’re going to meet your business goals through your marketing efforts… and the list goes on. It can be very frustrating for a business owner to take the time to do all of the things, or feel like they are not growing because they can’t execute a marketing plan. But that’s where I come in. I help business owners with any of their marketing tactics as well as developing strategies for them in case they want to take my brain power to execute on their own.

I also recently started my own podcast, Cold Brew Hot Takes. It’s not exactly marketing specific, but the goal of it is to help motivate people in the morning while they have their cup of coffee. Whether it’s personally, professionally or anything else, I’m tackling subjects to help people have an even better day today than they did the day before.

I’m also a content creator where I talk about all things going on in my personal life; as a mom, as a business owner, as a wife, as a dog owner, as a friend, and all of the things that make me who I am.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The first is definitely discipline. If you want to start anything new, whether it is a business, a small side hustle, a passion project, whatever it might be: you have to be ready to put in the work even when you don’t feel like it.

Next is asking for help when you need it. Whether you need motivation, help in a particular area, somebody else’s skill set, or just some feedback, you can’t let your own ego get in the way. Asking for help is not a weakness. In fact, I think it’s a sign of strength.

And last is having the right mindset. I have talked to endlessly about the power of manifesting and changing your mindset in order to make your dreams a reality. I have seen it firsthand happen to me and to people that I love and respect. You need to change your mindset to allow the universe to fulfill the things that you are trying to attract. So instead of focusing on the negative, focus on the positive. Instead of saying, “wow I hate my situation and I feel hopeless” try shifting your mindset to say, “I know there are better things out there for me, and I am ready for new opportunities so I can live a more fulfilled, joyful life.” Not only does it help you manifest positive changed, but it will certainly make you have a better day without having this gloomy attitude about how your day is going to go.

How would you describe your ideal client?

My ideal client is somebody who is ready to work together and make real change for their business. It doesn’t matter where you’re located, how long you’ve been in business, the industry that you are in, if you’re local, across the country, a small shop or if you are a Fortune 500, I have worked with a wide array of different clients and I’ve been able to help all of them grow.

I’ve worked with people who have no idea what they’re looking for, but after a consulting session with me, they are feeling empowered to take action in order to change their business and see real growth.

I’ve also worked with people who are very specific about the areas they are looking to grow and what their KPI’s are, but needed some advice and how they could get there. And after chatting with me and hiring me, they were blown away by the difference they’ve seen in just a short period of time.

On the flip side, I’ve also worked with people who have asked for my opinion on how they can see growth — whether it is getting more clients, growing their social media platforms, investing in advertisements, etc. — but when push comes to shove, they’re not actually ready to start implementing things themselves or investing in some level of help to get things off the ground. It’s okay if you’re not ready to make an investment in part-time or full-time help, but I think it’s very important that anybody who is looking to grow their business is prepared to make the necessary moves or changes to get to where they want to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marketingbysam.com
• Instagram: @marketingbysam ; @coldbrewhottakes ; @_samantharaj

Image Credits

Leo J Brown: https://www.leojbrown.com/