Social Media Is Undervalued by Most Small Businesses

Small businesses often overcomplicate growth. Founders invest in polished campaigns, refined brandingand expensive strategies before they’ve earned consistent attention. In my recent conversation on The Big Idea podcast from Yahoo Finance, I sat down with POV Beauty co-founders Mikayla Nogueira and Ani Hadjinian to unpack what drives breakout success today.

What stood out in this conversation is how intentional their approach has been from the start. While many small businesses default to traditional marketing playbooks, POV Beauty focused on trust, speed, and a deep understanding of how customers engage online.

That approach reflects a broader challenge. Roughly 90% of small businesses use social media in their marketing. Yet, many still struggle to turn that activity into real revenue. They have access to the tools, but they just need to use them effectively. Here are three takeaways from our conversation.

Build a partnership that challenges you, not mirrors you.

One of the core themes we explored was partnership, specifically, how to choose the right one.

It is easy to default to someone who thinks the same way you do. It feels efficient, and it reduces friction quickly. Over time, however, that similarity can limit how a business evolves.

Nogueira and Hadjinian built their partnership on contrast, grounded in shared values.

As Hadjinian explained, “At the center of whatever you want to call it, whether it’s like the yin and yang or the contradiction, to me, that’s where the magic lies.”