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I just shared an article on LinkedIn that I think you will enjoy, Check it out here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/local-businesses-dont-need-go-viral-lisa-balthaser-u23me

Listen to mt latest podcast below: Most local business owners think they have a marketing problem right now. More leads. Better ads. More posting. New AI tools. A new strategy. But that’s not what’s actually happening. What’s happening is something most people haven’t named yet. There is a growing gap between what you think your business is… and what the market now sees it as. And that gap is quietly deciding who grows, who stalls, and who disappears. In this episode, I want to break something open that will probably feel uncomfortable at first, but also clarifying. Because a lot of owners are working harder than ever, yet getting results that feel weaker than before. And instead of questioning their effort, they blame the tools, the economy, or the algorithm. But the real issue is deeper. The type of business you think you are running may no longer match how customers actually experience you in 2026. AI, changing buyer behavior, and a more competitive attention economy have reshaped what it means to be a “local business.” And most owners never adjusted their identity to match it. So today we’re going to walk through something simple but confronting: What business are you actually in now? Not what you started as. Not what you wrote on your website years ago. But what the market is responding to today. Because once you see this clearly, a lot of confusion starts to make sense. And more importantly, you’ll see exactly what needs to shift next. https://open.substack.com/pub/lisabalthaser/p/the-local-business-identity-crisis?r=g3165&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true