5 Questions with Stephanie Scholtz

Most small businesses know their marketing is falling behind. They just don't have the time, the budget or the in-house expertise to do much about it. Stephanie Scholtz built Archer Marketing for exactly that gap.

1. You left a stable marketing career to start Archer. What actually pushed you over the edge?

After more than seven years working in marketing, I reached a point where I wanted more from what I was doing. I knew I was good at it, but I wanted to use that experience across different businesses, with different people, rather than staying in one lane. The real turning point came when I picked up work supporting another business alongside my existing role. That relationship grew, they started recommending me to others, and one opportunity led to another. At some point I realised this didn't have to stay an idea. There were businesses that wanted exactly the kind of support I could offer, and a lot of that was coming through people who already knew and trusted my work. That gave me the confidence to make Archer real.

2. There are marketing agencies everywhere. Why is Archer something different?

I don't think of Archer as an agency. I work as part of the businesses I support, which means I'm not arriving to run a campaign and then disappearing. I want to understand how the business operates, where it's heading and what marketing genuinely needs to do to help it get there. I'm also very hands-on. I can develop the strategy, but I can also build the website, set up the systems and create the campaign. That combination of strategic thinking and practical delivery means clients aren't having to coordinate a handful of different suppliers just to get something done.

3. You've had to market yourself from scratch. What did that teach you about your own clients?

Building Archer made me understand my clients far better than I expected. Suddenly every decision about positioning, branding, the website, how you talk about what you do, it's all on you. You're trying to do your actual job while also thinking about sales, systems, finances, and a list that never really stops. Marketing might feel obvious to me because it's what I do every day, but when you're running a business, you can't possibly be across all of it. Sometimes you need someone to say, 'Have you thought about this?' or 'This is what we need to do next.' I've lived through that myself now, and I think it's genuinely made me better at what I do.

4. There's a myth you're clearly keen to put to rest about what marketing actually is. Go on then.

That marketing is just social media, or that its only job is to generate leads for the sales team. Both can be part of it, of course, but marketing is so much broader than that. It's about understanding your customers, existing ones as well as new ones, and keeping them at the heart of the decisions you make. It's your brand, your positioning, your website, your customer journey, your communications and the overall experience people have with your business. Marketing shouldn't just help you find the next customer. It should help you attract, engage and keep the right ones.

5. Who is Archer actually built for, and where do you want to take it?

Archer is for businesses that want to be consistent with their marketing but need the support to make that happen. What we work on might look different from one month to the next, a campaign, the website, content, but it all feeds the same direction and a consistent brand. I become part of the business rather than something that gets picked up and put down when there's time. In three years, I'd love Archer to have a small portfolio of brilliant businesses that genuinely see me as part of their team. I have no ambitions to build a huge agency. I want to build something where I stay close to my clients and they know they have someone experienced and trusted keeping their marketing moving.