Small Business Pivots How to Get Unstuck in Marketing and Actually Get Found | Dave Burnett
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Oct 8, 2025 In this discussion, Dave Burnett, founder of AOK Marketing and PromotionalProducts.com, shares 27 years of valuable entrepreneurial insights. He elaborates on the critical moment to pivot your business and the five stages of customer awareness, emphasizing why many fail to start. Dave also dives into SEO for AI, highlighting its impact on search behavior and the necessity for businesses to adapt quickly. His practical tactics for awareness and unique differentiators will help businesses stand out in an overwhelmed digital landscape.
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College Sampling Hustle
- Dave started his first business in university giving out alcohol samples to promote brands like Bacardi and Labatt's.
- He ran operations with a minivan full of product and used personality and hustle to win clients.
Door‑To‑Door Growth
- Dave cold-called and knocked on doors to grow his sampling company to 50 employees across the province.
- He ran the business full-time during weekends while still in university classes.
Recession Forced A Digital Pivot
- During the Great Recession Dave lost significant revenue and pivoted by buying 3,000 URLs and building 500 websites.
- His SEO experiments for his promo business led competitors to hire him and launched his digital agency.