Jill Goodwin-Helgerson wrote her master’s thesis on why people cry at Disney World, and what she found shaped her whole career.

What we know as “Disney magic” comes from thousands of small details telling the same story, over and over, until people trust it enough to come back (and bring their friends).

The best part about this strategy is that every small business can build that kind of brand community.

Jill is the Chief Magic Maker and Fractional CMO behind Brand Magic, and an Atlas Rose Licensed Marketer. She joins Branden and Randi Beth to talk about building brand community, getting the whole leadership team focused on the customer, and why some of the best marketing will never fit on a dashboard.

Given her background in events, it’s no surprise that Jill considers a trade show booth “your own personal Disneyland.” Branden, RB, and Jill discuss how to get creative with tight budgets and industry restrictions, including:

• Designing merch that people will actually use
• Treating customers like VIPs in front of your prospects
• Investing in training for booth staff
• Booking meeting spaces that cultivate deeper conversations

Plus, a few other strategies (Hint: there’s a reason our motto is, “if you’re not getting in a little bit of trouble, you’re not doing it right!”)

Episode Outline

(04:02) What the Disney Ducktorate program taught Jill about branding

(11:07) The first step to building an impactful brand experience

(19:18) The most expensive trade show mistake

(31:18) The booth giveaway people actually keep

(35:55) What to do at an event when industry rules force you to get creative

(37:33) The trade show opportunities nobody is selling

(39:28) The marketing ‘magic’ AI can’t replace

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Jen Singer scaled a company 7x to a $35 million acquisition in under two years. She drove $14 million in new revenue after that deal closed. She co-founded the golf lounge Avid Caddie from scratch and built it into a 160-member community. However, she doesn’t call herself a CMO.

Jen’s take is that marketing tactics don't scale a company, but strategy, values, and a steady system does. Marketing works as one lever inside that machine, but it’s not the whole engine.

Jen runs Blueprint to Bold, her own fractional practice for small businesses and founder-led teams, and in this episode, she joins Randi Beth, Monica, and Branden to talk about how to position yourself as a growth partner.

They get into how to have the “CMO vs. tactician” conversation with an owner in a way that builds understanding and doesn’t get misinterpreted as upselling. They also outline why defining a company's core values early is one of the most important moves you can make. Done right, it turns marketing from an abstract idea into a measurable strategy, translated into the same language that CEOs, CFOs, and COOs speak.

Jen also reflects on working with small business owners who have never had a real strategic partner before. She unpacks how small businesses are exactly where a fractional CMO can make the biggest difference: we move fast, make a visible impact, and we’re willing to do the work of educating the client along the way.

Episode Outline

(05:44) How marketing earns its way back into the boardroom

(15:14) Three questions that differentiate a fractional CMO from a marketing manager

(19:54) Why small business owners don't need more tactics (and what they need instead)

(27:06) "Strategy scales, and values are the framework for strategy."

(34:56) A 90-minute process for defining a company's core values from scratch

(47:26) The advantage of working with small business owners

Additional Resources

Learn more about becoming an Atlas Rose Licensed Fractional Marketer

Connect with Jen

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Learn more about Avid Caddie

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More From Atlas Rose

Learn more on the Atlas Rose website

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Twenty years ago, when Chrissy Bernal's twins went viral, she had to learn PR in real time without a roadmap. That crash course became the foundation of Be a Better Brand, Chrissy’s personal branding agency helping business owners bridge the gap between what they've earned and what their position in the market.

But building a career around highly custom, relationship-driven marketing offerings creates a challenge most practitioners never see coming: how do you take tailored services and package it into a structured, scalable fractional business?

That's the work Chrissy is navigating now as an Atlas Rose Licensed Marketer. In this episode, she joins Randi Beth, Monica, and Branden to talk about the shift from being a solo practitioner to a business owner following a proven system for structure, delivery, and growth.

Chrissy gets specific about what kept her playing small and the mindset switch that finally moved her forward. She also shares the invoicing lesson she learned the hard way and what happened when she finally made her first part-time hire.

Episode Outline

(01:48) How Chrissy went from managing a media firestorm to running a PR agency

(09:43) How to keep building your own business when client work is at the forefront

(17:55) The differences between a solo practitioner and fractional CMO

(24:21) How hiring a VA led two new clients in the same month

(28:22) Taking the first step into positioning yourself as a fractional CMO

(35:12) Using emotional intelligence to filter clients before they cost you

(46:58) Advice for getting paid in full and on time

Additional Resources

Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell Who Not How by Dan Sullivan Time as a Tool by Dr. Ben Hardy and Blake Eriksen Learn more about becoming an Atlas Rose Licensed Fractional Marketer

Connect with Chrissy

Connect on LinkedIn

Website

More From Atlas Rose

Learn more on the Atlas Rose website

Follow Atlas Rose on LinkedIn

Follow Branden on LinkedIn

Follow Monica on LinkedIn

Follow Randi Beth on LinkedIn

Watch this episode on YouTube