I’ve become more creative in the last 365 days.
September 1, 2015, marked my last day as the Digital Marketing Manager at the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, and my first day as a full-time social media marketing consultant.
Making the decision to leave my role at the Partnership wasn’t easy; I enjoyed my responsibilities, had some kickass coworkers, and truly believed in The Partnership’s mission and vision.
However, after an extremely transformational weekend workshop, I felt my priorities shift.
I left Ruckusmakers knowing in my heart that I needed a change; I was no longer excited to go to work.
In fact, I was the living example of someone who was “working for the weekend.” I would work hard during the work week at The Partnership, and count down the hours until Friday at 5:00 p.m. when I could get started on my consulting work.
At the time, I was working with only a few clients — but I knew in my heart that there was so much more potential to make a greater impact.
I took a leap, followed my gut and founded Bravery Beats.
That was one year ago today.
Since then, a lot has happened. I have:
- created 350+ hours of video content centered around social media tips and tactics
- managed 30+ business profiles on various social media networks
- launched my website AND YouTube channel
- guest blogged for both Entrepreneur and Kissmetrics
- listened to 400+ hours of podcast content centered around entrepreneurship, social media, and marketing strategy
- shared 100+ hours of marketing advice, tips, and tricks on Snapchat
- created a free social media guide that has been downloaded by 100+ people
- crafted over 3,000 Facebook posts, 6,000 tweets and 1,500 Instagram posts
- reached 15,000+ people through Periscope
Are any of these wins revolutionary or astonishing? Absolutely not. In fact, a lot of them are pretty minimal.
Nothing that I have achieved is unique to me.
I don’t say that to imply it’s been easy; I say it so that you understand that it’s not rocket science.
Every win has come as a result of commitment, enthusiasm, authenticity and consistency.
So, what have I learned along the way? A lot.
I have learned that:
- social media doesn’t stop: customers expect a 1-hour turnaround time.
- authenticity attracts: the live videos where I have been extremely true to myself (cracking jokes, making silly faces and/or dancing) have gotten the most engagement by FAR.
- consistency is critical: if you want to grow your audience and engagement on social media, you have to post and engage consistently.
- you don’t have to be everywhere: you’ll see a bigger impact on your bottom line by focusing on one social media channel. Pick a channel of focus and start showing up, and delivering value, consistently. If you try to be everywhere, you often end up getting nowhere because it becomes a struggle to just maintain the presence.
- having a team helps: I do much better work today, thanks to my decision in April to join the team at Telesco Creative Group, than I did one year ago.
I wrote this blog with two goals in mind.
Firstly, I want to share more stories and experiences here on the blog.
I’m learning so much every single day about social media, entrepreneurship, marketing strategy and life in general, and I want to share those ideas and insights with you. If my experiences can help you make better decisions, or inspire an idea within you, it’s a win for me.
Secondly, I think that reflecting on our experiences is what really lets the lessons learned sink in.
Living an authentic life, by doing what I love and sharing my stories through my blog and social media, feels absolutely amazing.
I work 60+ hours each week, compared to the “typical” 38-42 hour work week.
And yunno what? I’m happier, more satisfied, smarter AND wealthier now than I was just one year ago.
…If that’s not a case study for pursuing your passion, I’m not sure what is.