The Mission Driven Business Podcast Episode 94: Marketing With Partners And Purpose With Erika Rodriguez

Brian chats with Erika Rodriguez, founder and CEO of Nadi Marketing and co-founder of Tidal Pages. Erika specializes in partnership marketing for sustainable and purpose-driven businesses. In this episode, she shares how being laid off led her to entrepreneurship, the power of niching down, and how authentic partnerships can amplify your impact. Erika also details why email should be a top marketing priority and how joy, connection, and community have shaped her businesses.

Episode Highlights

Mission-driven businesses prioritize sustainability.

Erika defines a mission-driven business as one that prioritizes sustainability throughout the entire product lifecycle -- from who makes the products to how they’re disposed of.

“They don’t create the product just to make profits,” she said. “They actually think about the whole lifecycle of their product and about more of the people in the planet that they serve.”

Niching down makes marketing easier.

When Erika started Nadi Marketing in 2020, she offered a full suite of marketing services: websites, blog posts, social media, and events. But after deciding to follow what brings her joy, she niched down to specializing in partnership marketing for sustainable businesses. She’s now seen as an expert in her field and the work itself has become a lot easier for her.

“It made me target my marketing more, and it’s putting me as the expert,” she said. “The client work has been so much easier because I enjoy that work.”

Partnership marketing allows for mutual growth.

Erika defines partnership marketing as collaborating with another business to create a marketing campaign, product, bundle, or other shared initiative. The goal is to build relationships that benefit both parties and align with shared values.

“If we can find businesses the right partners, then they can make partnerships specifically for impact,” she said. “We can do so much more together.”

Build your community.

Building a business is not easy, which is why Erika hopes that all entrepreneurs have a community to support them during tough times. During the pandemic, Erika built her social media community by organically connecting with people on Instagram, which turned into IRL relationships. She encouraged other business owners to lean on the partners they have in their communities.

“Start with the connections and partners that you have,” she said. “Everyone has a network already, but maybe you’re not leveraging it.”

Resources + Links

• “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek

• Erika Rodriguez: LinkedIn

• Nadi Marketing: Website, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook

• Tidal Pages: Website, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook

• Brian Thompson Financial: Website, Newsletter, Podcast

• Follow Brian Thompson Online: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Forbes

About Brian and the Mission Driven Business Podcast

Brian Thompson, JD/CFP, is a tax attorney and Certified Financial Planner® who specializes in providing comprehensive financial planning to LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs who run mission-driven businesses. The Mission Driven Business podcast was born out of his passion for helping social entrepreneurs create businesses with purpose and profit.

On the podcast, Brian talks with diverse entrepreneurs and the people who support them. Listeners hear stories of experiences, strength, and hope and get practical advice to help them build businesses that might just change the world, too.