Michelle LaRue
OWNER OF sonjablue digital marketing
I’m Michelle LaRue, and I love working with my fellow GenX solopreneurs and small businesses with tiny teams.
Like many of my clients, I spent more than a few years in the corporate world. After training as an engineer at South Dakota State University, I spent 25 years implementing environmental compliance solutions for industrial manufacturers. And then, I made a pivot in my professional life, as many of us GenX women have done, and here I am in the digital marketing world.
When I'm not helping people make more money through their marketing, I have a passion for talking about wine, dreaming about travel, and spending time with my daughter.
I’d rather talk about you. I want you to know that I see you…I mean really see you. I've been a corporate layoff refugee who decided to become a solopreneur rather than start over in a new company. After years of toeing the corporate line and stressing out over an impossible utilization ratio, I decided it was time to depend on myself instead of the whimsy of a system that wasn't built for me to win.
Friends called me brave for striking out on my own. To me, it was just practical. The corporate safety net is an illusion, and it can be ripped away at any time...especially at the higher salary rates that experience commands.
I know what it’s like trying to run your own business while balancing the unbelievable load that GenX women are under. I know what it’s like to be stretched so thin that you aren’t sure if there is enough of you left to make dinner, supervise homework, help an aging parent navigate insurance paperwork, reboot the laundry, and THEN sit down to work on the things that would make your heart and business sing.
We’re running on fumes while our overflowing To-Do Lists are begging for mercy. It feels so lonely trying to get ahead and then you stop to think…get ahead of what? When did life become a thing to be managed and “gotten through” instead of experienced and savored?
What are we doing this for??
In the quiet late nights or early mornings, when we get a few precious moments to think, we come back to why we started a business in the first place. Whether freedom, flexibility, finances – or all three – sparked the inspiration, there is a soul-deep reason why you want your business to grow and thrive.
I see you…because I have that dream, too, and we can make more progress together than each of us on our own. I’d be thrilled and honored if you decided to work with me to make your entrepreneurial journey more focused, strategic, and effective.
In Case You Need More Convincing, Here Are
Just Three Reasons Why
GenXers Are Built for Entrepreneurship
We've got a toolbox overflowing with skills – marketing, sales, project management – decades of experience honed in the corporate trenches. We grew up in the analog age, and we've adapted and pivoted through the decades.
Years in the corporate world mean we've built a network of contacts – potential clients, collaborators, and industry veterans. We know how to tap into those connections for our solo ventures.
Although money is important to securing the future for our selves and families, this solo venture isn't just about money. It's about creating something meaningful, leaving a legacy, and making an impact in the world.
“When she says she'll get the project over the finish line, she means it!”
I can't say enough about how awesome it was to work with Michelle on my recent Giveaway Launch!! She helped me keep things moving forward even when other project commitments took my attention and filled in all kinds of gaps I hadn't thought about or didn't have the bandwidth to research on my own.”
Aryeh Sheinbein
6 Figure Future Fund Launch Debrief
Renee Rhibar
Funnel Upper Relaunch of Sales Program