Mykah Ballard on Building a Message That Reaches the Right People

In this episode of the Kanawha Valley Hustlers podcast, I talk with Mykah Ballard, creative director for Virtue Marketing Collective, the in-house marketing studio for Selah Directive. Mykah got into marketing in college and always had a goal of building an agency. That path opened when her husband looked at expanding his company, and Virtue became a way to help businesses move into new markets. She explains that her work is about giving a vision a voice. A lot of business owners know what they do, but they struggle to explain it in a way that reaches the right people. Mykah helps them build the message, the strategy, and the digital presence to connect with that audience.

One lesson she learned early was that trying to talk to everybody makes the message weaker. She had to learn her own niche and find where she could bring the most value. That included helping small businesses, entrepreneurs, and even other marketing agencies that had gaps in their own support.

We also talk about one of the biggest misunderstandings in social media: posting is not the same as marketing. Anyone with a phone can post, but that does not mean they have a strategy. Mykah pushes back on the “post and pray” approach and explains why targeting, messaging, and data matter.

Her best business investment was a project management and CRM system that helped her stay organized. Her biggest waste was an ad that was too broad. The skill she believes every entrepreneur needs is self-discipline, because no one is always standing over your shoulder.

Mykah’s core principle is simple: you do not get what you do not ask for. Whether it is a proposal, an email, or a new way of looking at a problem, you have to be bold enough to make the ask.