Today we’d like to introduce you to Richie Treadway.
Hi Richie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My origin story is slightly different than the traditional tale. What started as a dream came to fruition because I found my village and my desire to serve those within it, but I digress. I didn’t follow the “traditional path”, graduate highschool, go to college and settle down. I was born and raised in the Baltimore, Annapolis Area. It’s hard to pinpoint a specific town or city because throughout much of my late teens and early twenties, I spent years homeless or “couch-surfing” despite working up to three jobs at a time. I bounced around trying to find my place and purpose for years and it wasn’t until I was in my late 30’s that I found my soul mate and got married. Finally after two decades of feeling unsettled, we created our home, the place we belong in New Cumberland. Together with our 25 year old bonus daughter, 4 year old son and 2 year old granddaughter we have built a life here.
It was with their support, I fulfilled my dream of going to college and graduated from Harrisburg Area Community College with my Associates Degree in Business Administration and have several credits towards my Bachelor of Marketing from Penn State. During my time in college that I started by building my own websites and experimenting with how to move them up in search rankings. This got me hands-on experience with SEO, a creative outlet for writing, and a way to practice what I learned in school. I also took on freelance work for friends who ran their own marketing agencies and worked with clients through platforms like Fiverr and UpWork.
I have always loved writing and being creative. I believe every business has a story to tell, and every business owner a passion to be expressed. But you can’t just have a good story. You have to get that story in front of the people it will truly connect with. I understand that small business owners are far too busy running their business to keep up with google updates to the search algorithm or new trends in social marketing. I began to get involved with the community around me and watched businesses struggle with this as well as deal with large scale marketers that knew the “lingo”, but rarely stopped to learn the story of the business.
So, I decided I was going to start a business where I get to use my love for storytelling and my knowledge of marketing to help them be seen, without adding to their already hectic workload and to stop small business owners from being taken advantage of from cookie cutter marketing “schemes”.
Therefore, Richie Treadway Digital Marketing was born. I help small businesses get the kind of marketing support they actually need. While I specialize in local SEO, I know no two businesses are the same. Some have their website and social media nailed but need help with paid ads or offline strategies. Others just need a bit of guidance or advice to move in the right direction, which I’m happy to offer freely. I meet them where they are and provide solutions that fit, not a pre-loaded one-size-fits-all plan.
While I do take clients outside of the New Cumberland area, I focus my energy on building my client base within the tri-county area and specifically within our community. What started with one client has now grown into a full size business with new client interest on a monthly basis.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The process of starting a business has been smoother than expected, but the road has not been without potholes and construction. There is an incredible amount of trust required to hire someone and give them unfettered access to your business’ image, to show them areas where you feel like you are failing and ask for their help. This is part of hiring a digital marketer. It isn’t asking someone to build you a widget, give them the dimensions and you receive the widget within the agreed upon timeframe. Marketing is fluid with technology and societal preferences changing daily. Additionally, there’s a level of skepticism to overcome. I work hard to rebuild that trust by being transparent about what’s working, what isn’t, and how we’ll adjust. I prefer to work locally so I can meet clients in their place-of-business and talk with them face-to-face. Marketing should be a partnership, not a gamble.
The road, although uphill and rocky, is worth it though. In addition to building a business doing what I love, supporting the community we live in, I am also showing my son first hand that you can create something out of nothing. You can achieve your dreams no matter how old you are, no matter where you come from and no matter what your starting point is. My son is a part of my business, as he tags along to almost all my client meetings. Where I grew up, we didn’t really know our neighbors, and we never just ‘ran into them’ while out shopping or at a restaurant. It was a world of strangers. Everyone kept to themselves and that’s the way they liked it. The people here are different, kinder. In Cumberland County you get to see the world through the eyes of your neighbor, and I want him to experience that. I want him to see how an ethical business is ran and to learn that he is a part of something bigger than himself.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Richie Treadway – Digital Marketing for Local Business?
The what is the common goal of all marketers, which is to drive customers to businesses and help businesses sell to those customers.
The how is what sets me apart from other businesses. I start by sitting down with the businesses and learn what’s important to them, find out their history and then figure out the best way to tell their story. While yes, the intention is to use my experience in SEO to achieve this, the reality sometimes looks very different. You have to know your business and your audience. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to reach the audience in the most authentic way possible for the business. So sometimes, this looks like creating flyers, assisting with hosting a booth at a local festival, creating different types of contests and/or give-a-ways to catch customer attention.
In an effort to create local connections, it looks like working with other small local businesses for photography and videography.
These relationships with both my clients and other small businesses is what I am most proud of. I’ve helped customers with marketing questions that didn’t even become clients and worked on issues well outside of the marketing focus, but that’s what a small-town business does. I want my clients to be able to know that if nothing else, they can trust in my efforts.
When you look at the rates on my website, or if you contact me for a quote you will see that my rates are generally much lower than my competitors. This isn’t a tactic or a scheme. This is my way of showing that I am a growing business and I’m hoping we can grow together. If a customer can’t afford the rates on my website, I’m willing to work with them at a lower rate or a slower pace. The goal will be the same, but it may take longer to get there.
What matters most to you?
Honesty and transparency. That’s what matters most to me in my business. Being able to look my clients in the eye and tell them the reality of any situation is imperative in a healthy, cooperative partnership. Whether or not they are happy with the information being presented is secondary to having complete confidence in the truth of what I’m saying. Using this honesty and transparency to build a network of local businesses, collaborative efforts is the next step.
Outside of the business, what matters most to me is still a part of the purpose of this business. My family is the focus on my life and the ultimate reason for this business. Writing and marketing are my passions, caring for my son is my life’s purpose and this business allows me to do both while showing him that if you follow your passion, you can succeed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.richietreadway.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richiet.seo/you
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TreadwayDigitalMarketing
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RichieTreadway-SEO
- Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/richie-treadway-digital-marketing-for-local-business-new-cumberland-5
- Other: https://simplythebestharrisburg.com/places/richie-treadway-digital-marketing-for-local-business/
