There is a trap that almost every business owner falls into at the $1M+ mark.

Sales flatten out, so you panic. You think: “We need more leads. We need to post more. We need to buy ads.”

So you hire an agency, turn up the volume, and spend thousands on PPC, social media, and billboards.

And… nothing happens.

This is the difference between Marketing and Branding.

Marketing is simply the megaphone—the act of asking for a date. Branding is the message—the reason they say “yes.”

If you turn up the volume (Marketing) but your story (Branding) is confusing, generic, or boring, you aren’t fixing the problem. You are just paying to annoy more people faster.

For our March Charting Opportunities event, we are hosting Anne Marie Holder, CEO of Spark Strategic Ideas.

Anne Marie runs a full-service agency that handles everything from “guerrilla campaigns” to media buying. But her superpower is helping founders understand that Strategy must come before Tactics.

She specializes in helping businesses tackle the “big, scary, ugly” growth problems that ads alone can’t fix.

On March 11th, we’ll discuss:

• The Difference: Where “Brand” ends and “Marketing” begins—and why you are likely confusing the two.
• The Conundrum: How to stop lighting cash on fire by fixing your identity before you buy the megaphone.
• The Audit: How to tell if your business has an awareness problem (which marketing fixes) or a trust problem (which branding fixes).

The “Amélie’s” Blueprint: How to use experience-driven storytelling to break into skeptical markets where nobody knows your name.

Stop guessing. Start strategizing.

Event Details

Date: Wednesday, March 11th

Time: 4:00pm (Live) / 4:30pm (Virtual)

Location: Triple C’s Barrel Room, Charlotte (or Virtual via the Portus Wealth Advisors YouTube Channel)

Who Should Watch This?

This session is critical for any business owner who is:

• Spending money on ads or agencies but seeing diminishing returns.
• Frustrated that competitors with inferior products are winning the market.
• Planning to expand into a new territory or launch a new product line.
• Ready to build a brand asset that adds value to the company’s eventual exit price.

About the Series

The Charting Opportunities Business Owner Series is designed to give leaders real-world tools for growth and transition. This series features practical insights from experts across various fields, including private equity, M&A, ESOPs and more.