How My Business Went from Zero to Credible — Overnight

When I first launched Hawke Media, it was just me. No office, no team, no brand recognition. Just a guy who had built and sold a couple companies and believed there was a better way to approach marketing.

Back then, we weren’t even close to being considered a serious player in the industry. No one was searching for Hawke Media or fractional CMO services. We weren’t showing up on anyone’s radar yet.

My very first client was a friend who believed in what I was building and hired me to help with his marketing. A few months in, he sat me down for a talk.

“Erik, I don’t have a lot of money to pay you right now,” he said, “but I love the progress we’re making. I want you to do more. What else can we do?”

I had two options.
Stick to the standard time-for-money model.
Or think bigger.

That’s when I realized something. This wasn’t just a client. This was a potential partner.

I knew he was a contributor at Forbes, so I made him a deal.

“No problem. Let’s find a way to keep going. If you’re open to writing a feature on Hawke Media, we’ll make it work.”

A few weeks later, the article went live:
“Why You Should Outsource Your Marketing to Hawke Media.”

And just like that, everything changed.

The Power of Being Featured

People started reaching out. Site traffic spiked. Leads started coming in from brands searching for outsourced marketing agencies and fractional CMOs. And more importantly, people started taking us seriously.

We still get organic traffic from that article to this day. But the real game-changer wasn’t the clicks. It was the credibility.

When a trusted source like Forbes puts your name out there, it creates immediate trust. That’s the power of third-party validation.

It tells people, “Hey, this company is legit.” And that trust accelerates everything. Sales, recruiting, partnerships, and more.

What This Means for Founders and Marketers

If you’re trying to break through the noise—whether you’re a founder, a marketing leader, or just getting started—don’t underestimate the value of credibility.

Get featured. Build relationships. Leverage platforms that already have your audience’s attention. Because when someone else with authority talks about what you’re doing, it means a hell of a lot more than you saying it yourself.

That one feature didn’t just drive traffic. It gave Hawke Media a seat at the table.

And in this business, sometimes that’s all you need to go from unknown to undeniable.