Willow & Oak Business Solutions

What Willow & Oak Business Solutions does

Willow & Oak Business Solutions is a privately held, Seattle-based boutique marketing agency founded in 2016 by Kelly Smith, serving service-based small business owners and solo entrepreneurs in the United States. The firm delivers four core service lines: a half-day Strategy Session that produces a content marketing plan executable in two hours per week, a recurring Monthly Marketing Support retainer (social media, email newsletter production, blog editing and publishing, metrics tracking, digital ad management), a 40-point Small Business Diagnostic with a customized growth plan, and one-on-one Marketing Consulting. Workshops and speaking engagements round out the offering. No proprietary technology platform is disclosed; services are delivered through founder-led human expertise, primarily remotely, and qualified via complimentary Calendly consultations.

The go-to-market motion is a mix of direct sales (Calendly consultations that convert to paid engagements), community-led content marketing (The Marketing Solutions Podcast of 23+ episodes, an educational blog, an Instagram presence, a monthly email newsletter, and free lead magnet downloads), and event-driven demand (workshops and speaking engagements for SMB audiences). Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; only the free consultation tier is listed. Revenue streams split between one-time professional services engagements (Strategy Sessions, Diagnostics, Consulting) and managed-services retainers (Monthly Marketing Support), with minor episodic revenue from Workshops & Speaking.

Customer evidence is concentrated in named SMB clients across coaching/consulting, legal services, recruiting, and real estate — including Edgeworks Management, Awaken Your Greatness, Mastor Recruiting & Consulting, Suzanne Fortune Realty, Boeshaar Law, Cornerpoint Law, Jill Sammak Coaching and Consulting, and Kaizen Business Consulting — with reported outcomes such as an 8.5% average monthly Instagram engagement rate versus a 1–3% industry benchmark. The firm carries no external funding, no disclosed headcount beyond the founder, and no M&A activity; it has earned regional recognition including a 2020 Woman Business Owner of the Year award and a 425 Business Magazine cover and 'Ask The Expert' feature in 2022.

Name

Willow & Oak Business Solutions

Legal name

Willow & Oak Business Solutions

Website

https://willowandoaksolutions.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Willow & Oak Business Solutions is a Seattle-area boutique marketing agency, founded in 2016, that provides strategy sessions, monthly marketing support, diagnostics, and consulting to service-based small business owners and solo entrepreneurs, delivered remotely.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Strategy Sessions: Half-day deep dive consultation sessions where Kelly leads business owners through identifying their ideal client, aligning offerings with client needs, and developing a complete content marketing strategy with execution system.
2. Monthly Marketing Support: Recurring monthly retainer service outsourcing all marketing activities including social media content creation, email newsletters, blog management, analytics tracking, and campaign optimization for service-based small businesses.
3. Small Business Diagnostic: 40-point audit providing diagnosis for business growth issues with customized growth plan targeting problem areas. One-time consulting engagement.
4. Workshops & Speaking: Fee-based workshops and speaking engagements on marketing topics for events, conferences, and business groups.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Willow & Oak Business Solutions is a boutique marketing agency that teaches and executes marketing strategies for service-based small business owners and solo entrepreneurs. Its primary paid offerings include a half-day Strategy Session that develops a complete content marketing plan, recurring Monthly Marketing Support that outsources social media content, email newsletters, blog publishing, and analytics, a 40-point Small Business Diagnostic that diagnoses growth blockers, and Marketing Consulting plus workshops/speaking engagements.

Product overview

Willow & Oak Business Solutions is a marketing agency providing a suite of services for small business owners and solo entrepreneurs. The core offerings include the Strategy Session (a half-day deep dive planning engagement), Monthly Marketing Support (full-service outsourced marketing), the Small Business Diagnostic (a 40-point business audit), and Marketing Consulting (one-on-one coaching). The company also produces The Marketing Solutions Podcast as an educational content product, distributes free lead magnet resources, and offers workshops and speaking engagements. Services are designed to help clients implement marketing activities in two hours per week or less.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Marketing Solutions Podcast: A podcast hosted by Kelly Smith focused on marketing strategies for small business owners.

Products and services

• Strategy Session A half-day deep dive consulting session where Kelly leads business owners through identifying their ideal client, aligning their offer with market needs, and developing a complete content marketing strategy with a system to execute it in two hours per week or less. Targeted at small business owners and solo entrepreneurs who need marketing clarity and a documented plan.
• Monthly Marketing Support Recurring monthly retainer service that outsources all marketing activities including social media content creation, email newsletter production, blog editing and publishing, metrics tracking, and digital ad management. Designed for service-based small businesses that need consistent marketing execution without hiring in-house staff.
• Small Business Diagnostic A 40-point audit that diagnoses why a business is not growing, delivered with a customized growth plan targeting problem areas across operations, marketing, and customer acquisition. Intended for small business owners experiencing stalled growth or inconsistent client flow.
• Marketing Consulting One-on-one consulting that teaches business owners how to establish sustainable marketing strategies, batch and automate social media content, create effective email newsletters, and implement marketing activities in two hours per week or less. Targeted at solo practitioners and small business owners seeking to build internal marketing capability.
• Workshops & Speaking Engagements Fee-based workshops and motivational speaking engagements on marketing topics including metrics, email marketing, social media strategy, ideal client attraction, and achieving exponential business growth. Delivered to events, conferences, and business groups targeting entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Quantifiable outcome

• 8.5% average Instagram engagement rate (vs. industry average of 1-3%)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Charity: WaterminorOthersWillow & Oak donates a percentage of monthly revenue to Charity: Water as part of their corporate social responsibility initiative. The company believes clean, safe drinking water should be a basic human right. Currently, 663 million people do not have access to clean water.
• BufferminorOthersBuffer is recommended as the social media scheduling tool for clients to batch and automate social media posts, allowing business owners to spend less time posting and more time engaging with their audience.
• FlodeskminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKelly Smith recommends Flodesk as her preferred email marketing platform and provides a 50% discount coupon code to clients and audience members. This is a mutually beneficial relationship where Flodesk provides discounted access and Kelly directs her audience to the platform.
• CanvaminorOthersCanva is recommended for creating beautiful graphics for social media posts and marketing materials as part of the content creation workflow taught to clients.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tilt Metrics: Boutique digital marketing agency serving service-based small businesses with strategy and HubSpot-driven execution. Comparable in boutique agency positioning, SMB focus, and recurring-retainer engagement model.
• Ironpaper: B2B marketing agency offering demand generation, content, and ABM services to SMB and mid-market firms. Comparable in professional services approach, content-led strategy, and recurring engagement model.
• Cardinal Digital Marketing: Digital marketing agency providing SEO, paid media, and content for small-to-mid-size businesses with deep vertical specializations. Comparable end-to-end service delivery model and SMB client orientation.
• SmartBug Media: Full-service inbound marketing agency serving B2B and SMB clients with strategy, content, and CRM implementation. Comparable offering structure (strategy + ongoing execution) and similar client profile of growth-stage SMBs needing marketing outsourcing.
• Main Street ROI: Digital marketing agency specializing in lead generation for small businesses across the US. Highly comparable in target customer (SMB owners needing outsourced marketing), service mix (done-for-you campaigns), and localized content-marketing approach.
• Duct Tape Marketing: Marketing consulting and coaching firm for small business owners founded by John Jantsch. Direct comparable to Willow & Oak — both target service-based SMBs with a consulting + content + systems approach, and both leverage a podcast and educational content to drive inbound.
• LYFE Marketing: Social media marketing agency focused on small and mid-sized businesses, providing content creation, ad management, and strategy. Direct comparable in SMB targeting and outsourced social media delivery model.
• Single Grain: Digital marketing agency offering SEO, content, and paid media services to SMB and mid-market clients. Comparable in service mix (content-led demand generation) and emphasis on educational content (podcast, blog) to build authority and inbound pipeline.

Broad incumbents

• HubSpot: Large incumbent marketing/CRM platform with an agency partner program and inbound certification ecosystem that competes for the same SMB marketing-services dollar. Adjacent infrastructure that SMB marketing consultancies leverage but that also disintermediates pure services players.

Emerging players

• MarketingProfs: Marketing training, community, and education platform for SMB marketers. Adjacent positioning to Willow & Oak's educational/content flywheel (workshops, podcast, lead magnets) and competes for the same SMB mindshare around marketing best practices.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/willowandoaksolutions
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/willow-oak-business-solutions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Willow & Oak Business Solutions