Starter Guardrails: Before You Spend Your First Digital Marketing Money
If you are new to online marketing, it can feel like every website or ad offer is urgent. Starter Guardrails helps you slow down, understand your options, and choose a safe first step before you spend your first real budget.
New to online marketing and not sure where to start?
We talk through your business, your budget, and what matters most right now. Then we map out a simple first step, like a basic website and Google Business Profile, instead of jumping into big packages or long contracts.
What Are You Trying to Decide Right Now?
Most service businesses come to us with one central question: a website decision, an ad decision, or a “where do I even start?” decision. Choose the one that sounds closest to you.
Deciding on your first website or redesign.
We look at the website offers you have received, explain the differences in plain language, and help you match them to what your service business actually needs right now.
- We review each quote or package and show what is essential and what is “nice to have.”
- We point out where you might be overpaying or missing basics like clear calls, mobile layout, or local SEO.
- We help you choose one realistic option for your first version instead of trying to buy everything at once.
Before you sign a website deal, talk to someone on your side.
Book a Starter Guardrails Call
Is Starter Online Marketing Guardrails Right for Your Business?
Tick the statements that match your situation. The more you select, the more Starter Guardrails can protect your first online marketing decisions and budget.
Start by selecting any statements that sound like your business.
How Starter Online Marketing Guardrails Works
This is not an open-ended consulting retainer. It is a straightforward three-step process that takes you from confusion to a simple, safe first move with your online marketing.
Step 1 – Clarity Call (20–30 minutes)
We start by understanding your service business in plain language: what you do, who you serve, and what you are hoping online marketing will change.
- We talk about your current situation: no website yet, an old site, or ideas you have been pitched.
- We ask how people find you today and what “better” would look like in the next 3–6 months.
- We confirm your real budget range so recommendations match where you are now, not where you might be one day.
The goal of this step is simple: a shared, honest picture of your business before you commit to any online marketing spend.
Book Your Starter Guardrails CallFAQs About Starter Online Marketing Guardrails
If you are thinking about using Starter to protect your first online marketing spend, these answers will help you see how it works in real life.
How is Starter Online Marketing Guardrails different from hiring a marketing agency?
A marketing agency is paid to do the work; build your website, run your ads, write your content. Starter Guardrails sits on your side of the table. We do not sell websites or ads. Instead, we look at the offers and ideas in front of you, explain them in plain language, and help you choose a safe, realistic first move. Agencies execute. We protect your decisions and your first real budget.
What exactly do I get when I pay for Starter Guardrails?
Starter is a one-time service, not an open-ended retainer. You get a clarity call (20–30 minutes), a review of up to three offers, quotes, or ideas, a short written summary of your situation in plain language, one recommended starting move that fits your budget, and a simple list of what to say yes, not yet, and no to. You keep the summary and can reuse the questions we give you with any future provider.
How much does Starter Online Marketing Guardrails cost?
Starter is a one-time flat fee of $495. It covers your clarity call, review of up to three offers or quotes, and a simple written plan so you can make your first online marketing decision with confidence— no ongoing retainer or hidden add-ons.
How long does the Starter process take from first call to final plan?
Most Starter projects are finished within 7–10 days. After your clarity call, we review your offers and prepare your notes. You then receive your written summary and recommended starting move, plus a short call or recording to walk you through it. If you have a hard deadline, we will tell you up front whether we can meet it.
Do I need to be in Virginia to work with you?
No. We are based in Virginia and understand local service markets very well, but Starter Guardrails works for service businesses anywhere in the USA. All calls are online, and you can email or upload your quotes, offers, and screenshots. The only thing that changes by location is how we think about your local search area and customer base.