Behind the Scenes with P.F. Hendricks & Co.
Lori Warren shares her experience with the Level Up Business Branding program
September’s Level Up by Inventrek Tech Park spotlight goes behind the scenes with Lori Warren, owner of P.F. Hendricks & Co., to share her experience in the program. For Lori, the experience brought fresh perspective, new confidence, and some much-needed encouragement to show up more often online — even when things aren’t perfect.
Finding new angles
When it came to social media, Lori didn’t hold back: “I am not tech savvy at all — and that includes social media,” she said with a laugh. “It’s just me, and it’s time-consuming. It’s not just the doing it; it’s the thinking of what to do.”
That’s where working with Ahmad McKinney of Vision Studio made a big impact. “He shared some really great ideas of what to do,” she said. “It was amazing how he was able to find angles that I never would have thought of when shooting photos in the store.”
She especially appreciated having someone else look in on her marketing approach. “It’s so easy to develop tunnel vision and focus on what’s familiar,” she said. “Having another perspective really opened things up for me.”
Learning to let go of perfect
Like a lot of small business owners, Lori admitted she used to get stuck trying to make every post “just right.”
“I’m a perfectionist,” she said. “I was taking things way too seriously. If I couldn’t get it perfect, I’d put it off for another day. I was clearly not posting enough.”
Through Level Up, she learned that showing up — even imperfectly — is better than not showing up at all. “This process got me back in the habit of posting,” she said. “It’s important to be consistent. In some ways, this was the jolt I needed to get back in the saddle.”
Getting comfortable on camera
One big milestone for Lori? Her first videos.
“I’ve never done videos,” she admitted. “I felt weird listening to myself talk.”
But Ahmad helped her relax and see it differently. “He put me at ease and helped me understand how people want to know the owner of a small business. That it’s OK to show who you are.”
Once she started experimenting, she was surprised at how much engagement she got. “I learned how to know what time people are looking at my Facebook page,” she said. “I posted a video at a good time and got great traction with it.”
Small wins, big impact
Lori also took away some simple but powerful advice: highlight the little things.
“I’d never done posts on small or inexpensive products,” she said. “His suggestions helped me create entry points for all types of customers. Not everything has to be a high price tag item.”
Now, she’s excited to keep experimenting and track the results. “It’ll be awesome to see the metrics as I make these changes,” she said. “Social media is so important, and I finally feel like I can handle it.”
Level Up gave Lori more than marketing tips — it gave her a push to trust her instincts, embrace imperfection, and show off the personality behind her brand.
Want to have this experience for yourself? Local entrepreneurs and small business owners can apply for the Level Up Business Branding program greaterkokomo.com/levelup