Bella Vasta on The New Frontier in Small Business Marketing
The Evolution of a Marketing Mindset
In the bustling world of digital marketing, change is the only constant. But what happens when that change arrives in the form of an intelligent assistant that can transform your entire approach to business? That's exactly what entrepreneur Bella Vasta discovered as she watched artificial intelligence reshape her marketing agency and ultimately her entire business philosophy.
Bella's journey began far from the cutting edge of AI. Starting as a high schooler looking for a way around her parents' curfew, she built a pet sitting business that eventually grew into a six-figure company with ten employees. After selling that business in 2016 following the birth of her premature daughter, she pivoted to coaching other pet industry professionals and running a marketing agency focused on the pet care industry.
"I realized that coaching and pouring into people and changing their 'I can't' into 'I cans' is my calling," Bella explains. This passion for empowering others has remained constant even as her business models have transformed.
Burning Down the Traditional Agency Model
In a bold move that might seem counterintuitive in today's uncertain economy, Bella recently announced she's "burning down" her marketing agency. But this isn't about closing shop—it's about evolution.
"I'm still keeping the marketing agency, but I'm burning it down as it is," she clarifies. "We're not helping like 40 people a month anymore. I'm helping 10."
This strategic contraction allows Bella to provide deeply customized marketing support to a select group of clients, functioning as an "in-house marketing strategist who's also been in the industry for 20 years." The key to making this viable? Artificial intelligence.
The AI Paradigm Shift
What makes Bella's approach particularly interesting is her recognition that we're experiencing a fundamental paradigm shift in how marketing works. In her view, we're entering an era where everybody has access to powerful AI tools but lacks the discernment to use them effectively.
"AI is never going to tell you, 'No, I don't have an answer for that,'" she points out. "They're going to give you answers, but your discernment of if it's actually a good one is a whole other ball field."
This insight reveals the emerging divide in marketing: those who can strategically leverage AI versus those who simply input prompts and accept whatever comes out. The latter approach, Bella warns, is leading to an oversaturation of "generic BS" in the marketplace—content that savvy consumers can easily identify as AI-generated.
From Generic Templates to Authentic Connection
Traditional marketing agencies (including Bella's, before its transformation) have long relied on templated approaches—create something once and replicate it for different clients with minor customizations. This model became increasingly problematic as social media platforms evolved to favor authentic, relationship-based content.
"Social media has never been so much more important in my opinion than right now to be valuable and relatable and relationable," Bella emphasizes. She points to social media influencers like Jenna Kutcher who avoid perfectly designed graphics in favor of more authentic content that generates emotional connections.
This need for authenticity presented a challenge for the templated agency model. How do you create personalized, emotionally resonant content at scale? The answer, for Bella, was leveraging AI strategically rather than generically.
"Now I can leverage AI to get into the minds and the souls and the brand beat of these actual companies where I couldn't be before because it would take me weeks," she explains. "But now I know how to leverage it, structure it, strategize it, and then point in the right direction, which is very different than just someone throwing something in ChatGPT."
AI in Daily Life: The Gateway to Business Innovation
One of Bella's most compelling insights is that business owners should start using AI in their personal lives before trying to implement it professionally. This approach builds comfort with the technology and creates a safe space to experiment.
She shares numerous examples of how she uses AI in her daily routine:
Having AI explain improper fractions to her fifth-grade daughter when math isn't her strong suit
Troubleshooting household projects by showing AI photos of the problem
Creating custom images for websites instead of spending hours searching stock photos
Building automated workflows that previously required technical expertise
"I think the biggest thing is you need to start using it in your personal life. I can't express that enough because I think people are really afraid of the business side of it," she advises.
This strategy allows people to "fall on your face and try to use it in your everyday life" where the stakes are lower. The skills and confidence developed through personal use naturally transfer to business applications.
The New Marketing Equation
Perhaps Bella's most provocative insight comes when she reimagines a classic business framework. For years, consultants have asked whether problems are "people problems or process problems." According to Bella, this distinction is now obsolete.
"That doesn't matter anymore. It's 2025," she declares. "In my opinion, it's a question of: is it an information problem or an instruction problem? The people and the process have been replaced."
This perspective highlights how AI has fundamentally changed the nature of business challenges. Success now depends on:
Providing the right information to your AI tools
Giving them the right instructions to process that information
This shift has dramatic practical implications. Projects that once took weeks can now be completed in days. Customer service that required a team can now be handled by a properly trained AI assistant. Marketing campaigns that demanded extensive creative resources can be developed with a fraction of the human input—provided you know how to guide the AI effectively.
Learning to Challenge Your AI
Another misconception Bella addresses is the idea that we should simply accept whatever output AI provides. She encourages business owners to treat AI as a tool that can be refined and improved through feedback.
"I think learning to know that you can tell it, 'No, that's not good enough,' I don't think that's programmed in people's brains," she observes. One of her favorite prompts is simply asking, "Is that the best you can do?"
This willingness to challenge and refine AI outputs is essential for getting truly valuable results. As she puts it, "AI is not going to get offended. You can keep telling it no."
The Human Element Remains Essential
Despite her enthusiasm for AI, Bella is clear that human strategy and creativity remain irreplaceable. The technology is a tool that amplifies human capabilities rather than replacing them entirely.
"You have to have a good strategy," she emphasizes. "You have to have the strategy behind it, or you have to have the compelling copy that's going to get people to actually write 'dog' [in response to your post]."
This human element explains Bella's new focus on working deeply with fewer clients rather than providing templated solutions at scale. AI can generate the tactical elements, but the strategic guidance still comes from her decades of industry experience.
The Future: AI Optimization
Looking forward, Bella is positioning herself as an "AI optimizer"—someone who helps business owners implement AI effectively in their operations. This role fills a crucial gap in the market.
"I want to meet business owners where they're at. They know they need AI—I'm not there to convince them—but they have no idea how to implement it or what it is. They just think it's ChatGPT changing the sound of an email," she explains.
Her mission is to "change people's 'I can't's into 'I can's" by showing them the full potential of AI tools. This approach aligns with her core values while addressing a genuine need in the business community.
The Warning: Don't Get Left Behind
Bella delivers a clear warning to business owners who are hesitating to embrace AI: your competition isn't waiting.
"If you're a business owner and you're sitting there petrified of AI—and I'm not saying this to scare you or sell you or anything—but you're going to get passed by by your competition," she cautions. "We all have the opportunity to have this like sword in our pocket... And if you choose not to use yours, other people are going to start using it."
The stakes are particularly high for businesses already struggling with capacity issues or creative blocks. Bella specifically mentions how AI can help business owners dealing with brain fog or creative exhaustion—a particular issue she's observed among women in perimenopause and menopause.
"A lot of women between the ages of like 35 to 55... we have brain fog and we're tired and we're not creative," she notes. "This is like a great tool to help you with that because you don't always have the creativity."
Embracing Authentic Innovation
As our conversation with Bella concludes, she emphasizes her commitment to "living in creative juices" and being "boldly authentic" in her approach to business and life. This authenticity, paradoxically enhanced by artificial intelligence, allows her to better serve her clients while staying true to her passion for empowering others.
For business owners navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of marketing and AI, Bella's journey offers valuable insights. The future belongs not to those who simply adopt AI as a cost-cutting measure, but to those who leverage it as a creative amplifier—a tool that enhances human strategy rather than replacing it.
The most successful businesses will be those that maintain their authentic voice and strategic vision while using AI to execute at previously impossible scales and speeds. As Bella puts it, the goal should be that people look at your content and think, "I don't know if you wrote that or if AI wrote that. That's how good it is."
Watch the full episode for additional insights on how often to update the creative in your digital advertising campaigns.
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This article is based on insights from the Click and Mortar podcast hosted by Mike Patterson and Dustin Trout, digital marketing experts focused on helping businesses maximize their advertising ROI.
