If you’ve ever launched a website or video and walked away, this one’s for you. No worries, we’re not judging! It’s a common trap to fall into, and when you ignore it, it quickly becomes a pain to update. But in today’s world, where your brand story is always in motion, marketing needs to be treated as an ongoing, strategic effort. In this episode, we’re making the case for retainer-style budgets and maintenance models that reflect how content actually works: continuously, iteratively, and in partnership.

We explore how consistent investment leads to better outcomes, more efficient use of time and resources, and greater flexibility when the unexpected happens. Planning for ongoing care keeps your tools from becoming outdated, your messaging fresh, and your brand infrastructure responsive. It’s not just about having a polished launch — it’s about keeping things healthy, aligned, and ready for what’s next.

Why Ongoing Budgets Beat One-Off Projects

Hi. Jen Estill and Karen Stefl here. In The Speak Easy Podcast, we share years of expertise in marketing, branding, video production, strategy—not to mention management, employee development, mentoring, sales, creativity, maintaining life balance, managing money, and.. you get the idea. It takes a lot to keep a couple of creative studios thriving. 

We developed this podcast after years of "how do you..." boss lady conversations. It was clear that if we were both in such similar places with regard to business growth, and personal growth, and work/life/motherhood/bossland balance, then other women may be, too. We'd been sharing confessions over cocktails for quite a while—solving problems, asking for advice, and whispering the secret fears and disappointments that successful women are never supposed to have. (You've had those, right? It's not just us?)

Thus, Speak Easy was born. Our goal and our promise is to speak with honesty about the challenges that experienced women in the creative industry face. To create a community where we can support one another and abandon the mantra that we put on a good face and make it look like we have it all together, even when we don't. You can expect honesty, complete vulnerability and even a good laugh.

And cocktails. You can expect cocktails.