HOW WE GOT HERE…

Have you ever wondered why someone ended up doing what they do? Was it a winding road that took them there, or did they always know this was where they would end up?

My road to being a Social Media Manager and small business owner is indeed winding; however, social media has been a part of my professional journey from the beginning.

My love for social media on a personal level came in 2004, with the arrival of Facebook. At that time my son was a toddler, and you know how many pictures you take when your kids are that age! Before Facebook, the task of sharing those photos with friends and family involved hard-wiring the camera to your computer, downloading the photos, resizing them, putting them into a file folder, and then finally emailing them off to Grandma or Aunt Betty so they could share in your family memories. Inevitably they would call to say they couldn’t open the file anyway!

For personal reasons then, Facebook was obviously a game-changer. And I was hooked.

Several years later, I learned the benefits of social media from a business perspective. I opened my first small business in Burlington, Ont., in 2010 and decided to combine my love of social media with my education in broadcasting, and become my own social media marketing department.

Over the course of the next 18 months, I attributed close to 60 percent of my new and retained business to social media marketing. So I know it works!

But …

I also learned that doing it right is a huge time commitment. And time is something that’s always in short supply when you’re self-employed.

That’s why I’ve structured my business, The Social Gourmet, specifically to help small business owners and self-employed professionals achieve stellar online marketing while freeing up their own valuable time — all without breaking the bank.

I truly believe that focusing on the “social” side of social media is what will set your business apart. Like it or not, social media is the way we discover, research and build trust in new businesses, so you really can’t afford to not be a part of the digital world (or to be there but not recognizing your full potential).

If you’re interested in more information, please reach out. And, of course, we would love for you to connect with us on social media!